{"id":5604,"date":"2012-07-26T06:50:47","date_gmt":"2012-07-26T10:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beyondblue\/?p=5604"},"modified":"2012-03-10T21:18:01","modified_gmt":"2012-03-11T03:18:01","slug":"be-still-no-really-be-still-an-interview-with-anne-simpkinson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beyondblue\/2012\/07\/be-still-no-really-be-still-an-interview-with-anne-simpkinson.html","title":{"rendered":"Be Still … No Really, Be Still: An Interview with Anne Simpkinson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I\u2019ve dedicated many Mindful Monday posts to the topic of stillness \u2026 like how to do it. I\u2019m still really confused, to be perfectly honest, HOWEVER, I have met several soul sisters along the way that are pursuing the same kind of spiritual peace. One of my stillness buddies is Anne Simpkinson<\/a>, the online managing editor for Guideposts.org<\/a>. Anne has co-edited two anthologies: \u201cSacred Stories\u201d<\/a> and \u201cNourishing the Soul,\u201d<\/a> and co-wrote \u201cSoul Work: A Field Guide for Spiritual Seekers.\u201d<\/a> You can read her wonderful blog posts at \u201cThrive\u201d on Guideposts.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. I just wrote a piece on vacations and came across some literature that said, as much as we talk about wanting to change our environments and chill out for a week or two, most of us are incapable of doing just that, and scared to, actually, because it creates a kind of uncomfortableness of sitting with silence and tapping the desires of our heart. Can you speak to that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anne:<\/strong> We are bombarded daily with noise, information and activity. So yes, in that environment, it\u2019s difficult to listen deeply to our innermost selves. Quiet, contemplation and silence can make people uncomfortable because they are not used to it. And yet, silence is like a deep, refreshing well that can buoy you in difficult times, ignite your creativity, deepen your faith, give more meaning to your life. <\/p>\n

Many people turn the TV on first thing when they wake up in the morning! I can\u2019t start my day with the energy of loud commercials and breaking news. It\u2019s too jarring. That said, I live in New York City and love the energy, the sheer numbers and diversity of people from all walks of life and all corners of the world\u2014the general chaos of a large, international city. So when I go on a silent retreat, it takes me several days to slow down, quiet my mind and turn inward.<\/p>\n

When I was younger\u2014I was a child of the 60s and 70s\u2014I thought that Nirvana could become an everyday state of mind. I realize now that we live life as best we can \u201cin the marketplace\u201d but also need to create places and spaces where we can slow down, breathe, contemplate, immerse ourselves in silence. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

2. What techniques have you used to slow down and try to be still?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anne:<\/strong> There are little tricks I play on myself. Like I said, I don\u2019t turn on the radio (except to wake me up in the a.m.) or TV in the morning. Many times when I\u2019m driving I\u2019ll turn off the radio. I don\u2019t bring an ipod or radio with me when I\u2019m out walking in the morning. When I\u2019m writing, I\u2019ll occasionally have music in the background, but more times than not, I won\u2019t. The quiet helps me better concentrate and focus.<\/p>\n

I have a surefire way of slowing down: living with a cat or two. My seven-and-a-half-year-old tuxedo cat, Mimi, joins me when I do my centering prayer in the morning. Once she settles down, she surrenders to sleep, \u201ccat naps,\u201d and her stillness is contagious. After 20 minutes, my regular period of prayer, I add time for intercessory prayers just to stay a little longer in that peaceful state with her.<\/p>\n

3. Do you have any daily meditative practices that help you begin your day with (relative) peace of mind?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Anne:<\/strong> In the mid-90s, I found a practice called Centering Prayer, which was developed by three Trappist monks\u2014Father Thomas Keating, Father M. Basil Pennington and Father William Menninger. The practice is based on a method described in the 14th-century text, The Cloud of Unknowing, and which has been refined over the years. Instead of focusing on one\u2019s breath or repeating a mantra, one uses a sacred word to renew one\u2019s intention to be with God, to be with God as God is. This of course requires us to disengage from our thoughts. Thoughts never really go away but they do move from their usual noisy place in the foreground of consciousness to the background; the experience is of simply sitting in Stillness and Silence. Or using St. Gregory\u2019s words, one \u201crests in God.\u201d That\u2019s a lovely image, isn\u2019t it? Just like Mimi surrendering to sleep in my arms, I too can surrender to God\u2019s loving presence and embrace through centering prayer, through Silence. <\/p>\n

So that\u2019s my daily practice plus I participate in a weekly group, which is a really important element of the practice. I think that praying with others intensifies the experience and re-charges one\u2019s commitment. <\/p>\n

Occasionally, I will either lead one-day Centering Prayer workshops, like an Advent or Lenten Quiet Day, or participate in a silent retreat weekend. I\u2019ve also done a couple ten-day retreats. If you have the time and resources to do so, I highly recommend extended retreats. They turbo-charge your practice and help you realize the riches that dipping into one\u2019s center can yield.<\/p>\n

* Click here to subscribe to Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a> and click here to follow Therese on Twitter<\/b><\/a> and click here to join Group Beyond Blue<\/b><\/a>, a depression support group. Now stop clicking.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve dedicated many Mindful Monday posts to the topic of stillness \u2026 like how to do it. I\u2019m still really confused, to be perfectly honest, HOWEVER, I have met several soul sisters along the way that are pursuing the same kind of spiritual peace. One of my stillness buddies is Anne Simpkinson, the online managing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-inspiration-and-prayer"],"yoast_head":"\nBe Still ... 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