They laughed, they cried, they lined up for more… what could make at risk kids feel this way? A new drug, a safe place to sleep, a teacher who didn’t ride them for who they are? Stillness…

Sitting in a crowded room in the local community center were those who live with the pain of being on drugs, running away from home, the anxiety of becoming sober and hoping to stay that way, of not being accepted for being too ‘gay’ or too ‘different.’ It was here they gathered once a week to be with others facing the same challenges. Today, these young people, fourteen to twenty-four, would discover more than what they showed up for.

I was told that some of them would probably not understand what I was there to teach, that many had ADD or health issues that made it hard for them to concentrate or be quiet even for a few moments. I nodded my head and smiled – not just because whatever happens was OK with me, rather it is the knowing one gets after years of distinguishing how the unexpected becomes the norm.

Stillness is not a concept, I have seen it alter one’s perception of ‘the way life is’ or their opinion of ‘the way people are’ in such a brief amount of time, you are left in wonder at the unimaginable magnificence of it all. I shared with them my own journey into hell, when my alcoholic father told me that I wouldn’t amount to anything and so at sixteen, I ran away, seeking solace in many of the exotic drugs of the day.

Once you connect with your true essence, no one can ever take that awareness away from you. You have tapped into a core of strength and love that is always there to guide you in every moment of the day. One way I know to find it is by experiencing The Simplicity of Stillness®.

As the music of a Stillness Session® blanketed the room like balmy air before a summer rain, what was seen, touched and discovered... was the beauty of their own true nature. Emotions surfaced that had been buried under the weight of not feeling loved... not feeling accepted…what they tapped into in these moments of pure peace showed them – who they really are. Stillness… where we find a core of wellbeing and love that can never be taken from us. Stillness… where we discover what lies beyond the pain... Stillness… where true home really is...