“Stillpoint” is defined as “a state following surrender that resets internal rhythms to natural, universal rhythms, allowing for an infusion of grace. Grace when experienced in the heart is about being one with unconditional love.”
Author Ian Cron enriched my understanding of “stillpoint” through some observations that the church and our culture are in “deep trouble” because of the noise and absence of silence. We gather noise from the outside and bring it inside our bodies. Ian recommended working up to two 20-25 minute periods of silence each day when we can experience the limitless landscape of God inviting us into our true selves. Although it is difficult to set aside the time in today’s busy world, it is most important to express our creativity and to create the space where we can meet God. That silence is where God “beholds” us and we “behold” God.
Typically when we face encounters, we categorize everything. We decide when we meet someone whether they are good or bad, to pursue or not to pursue them, and whether we find them attractive or not. We have conditioned ourselves to judge every person and every encounter as to whether they can be helpful to our interests.
“Behold” is an entirely different experience. When a mother looks at her newborn infant in her arms, her face turns soft; she is seeing the child and “beholding” it. She is in awe, delighting in it, astonished in it. The infant looks back with an even deeper response; the child sees its value through the mother’s eyes.
It is in the place of “stillpoint” that we can experience the joy of “behold”. It is where God looks at us tenderly, not judging us but looking at us in awe, delighting in us, and astonished by us. In return, we are no longer fearful of God or of His punishment; instead we return the “behold” to God, looking to Him as our loving father.
We should befriend the silence of our “stillpoint”. It is a place of wonder and terror but also the place where our transfiguration occurs; where we can finally begin to “behold” God, ourselves, and our neighbors.
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”
1 Corinthians 15:51.
Blessings, my friend,
Agatha
<Based upon comments by Ian Cron at the #LUMINOUS12 Conference in Franklin, TN, May 9-11, 2012>