Article September 16, 2019 Issue

The transformative art of stillness

Steve Levey

Those who find the positive changes they seek often find them in a state of utter mental stillness. Character shifts, healing, and decisive life choices all require stillness—a peaceful mental quietness that actively shuts out distractions, including what often feels like mental static.

You can read about the need to be still in just about any sacred text. In the Bible’s book of First Kings, Elijah finds the presence of God and His powerful goodness not in the wind, earthquake, or fire but in a “still small voice” (19:12). Becoming mentally still enabled him to hear the voice of God, which revealed to him how to defeat those enforcing the worship of Baal and turn the Hebrew people back to their worship of God.

The events that ultimately resulted in Elijah’s hearing the “still small voice” of God were not unlike our struggle to relate closely with the Divine in a modern world. We each can find the peace-filled power of God’s love and guidance in our lives today, no matter how tumultuous our lives may seem.

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