: Awareness of stillness often starts with noticing the small gaps between your thoughts. As you focus on these gaps, they naturally widen, and the stillness becomes more palpable.
: Tolle suggests that external silence is a gateway. When you notice the silence around you, you are forced to stop thinking to perceive it. This "not-thinking" is the arising of inner stillness. Stillness III.1
: Practice "looking" or "listening" without labeling. When you see a tree or hear a sound, try to perceive it for a few seconds without the mind's commentary. : Awareness of stillness often starts with noticing
The central theme of this section is that . It is the space in which all experiences happen, much like the silence that allows sound to be heard. When you notice the silence around you, you
: Stillness is not a state of sleep or "spacing out." It is a state of heightened alertness where you are fully present but not actively engaged in discursive thinking. Why Stillness Can Feel Challenging