Finding your still-point

What do a compass, weighing scale balance, clock, and an explorer have in common? They all have a still point - a center, midpoint, or a base (in the explorer's case) - from which to orient, move and act.

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What do a compass, weighing scale balance, clock, and an explorer have in common? They all have a still point – a center, midpoint, or a base (in the explorer’s case) – from which to orient, move and act.

So where is that still point for you?

Looking outwards – there’s too much change, instability and inconsistency.
Looking inwards to our minds – our thoughts barely last a few seconds before they quickly morph into something else, or are replaced by the next thought.
So it’s no wonder we feel exhausted, disoriented or spun out. The trouble might well be that we are seeking stability in what’s inherently inconstant and unreliable!

“…the head is just not a place where you can come to rest.
It goes round and round endlessly…..
The body, on the other hand, loves to come to rest in the present.
How wonderful to join it there.”
– Philip Shepherd

We mistrust the body, but really, we are wed to it… for an average of 70-80ish years! Surely that’s a whole lot more constant than our minds, which rarely stay with us for 70 seconds before bolting off.

Learning to come back to the body is an incredible stabilising force amid our hectic lives and busy minds. The body provides the base for the mind to then settle back into the now.
We then find our still point, our center, from which to act and engage in the world.

Looking for your still point?

Here are some places to start…

1) Practice stillness

just 5 minutes a day – start here. Don’t overthink it, try it and see 🙂

2) Hands, Feet, Seat –

throughout your day, check in with your hands, feet, seat. Or just pick one! right now, I feel my fingers moving on the keyboard, my wrists resting on the laptop. I feel my bottom on the seat, solid, a little more on the right sit bones than the left. Doing this repeatedly trains us to habitually return to the sensitivity of the body. See for yourself if this provides more stability in the moment.

3) Knowing who you are –

do you know your strengths and values? I use this free Via strengths assessment as a starting point. I don’t like to use assessments as a way to box myself in. Instead, it’s more like a still point of a compass, a solid foundation and starting point from which the needle extends outwards – which way shall I go? Or like the explorer, it becomes my base where I regroup and replenish before heading out on my next adventure.

P/S The promotional offer for the taster version of the Pause and Relax Program runs out at the end of September. 3 x 45 minute 1-1 sessions with me, designed to help you find your still point, to learn the skills of deep Pause and Relax. Get in touch soon, before the offer ends!