Day 7 – Rest

7 days of presence | a course in inner peace

Day 7 is all about resting in the present moment. The ability to rest in the present moment gets easily lost in human societies. The foundations of mental and physical healing are resting and learning to say 'no' to doing. These two possibilities act as a catalyst in revealing peace. Allow yourself to be in a state of not choosing. Let everything arise as it does—all the happenings in the world around you as well as all your own thoughts and actions. Do not interfere with anything unless your actions contribute to avoiding unnecessary suffering on yourself or others.

Cultivate your ability to give attention. Give non- judgmental attention to the present moment and everything it holds within. This natural and effortless ability is your highway to true peace. Cultivate acceptance, relinquish your sense of identity, exercise forgiveness, and rest in the 'now'. Make none of these as a ritual today, but acknowledge their effortless nature. They are effortless because they are who you essentially are.

Rest within your innermost self. Rest within your Self and caress the peaceful nature of the present moment. Breathe with the great silence of just being. Try not to achieve anything. Try not to become anyone. There will be a place and time for such actions also, but not today. Step into the room of your own presence. Your identity will wait outside if later you wish to return to it. Invite yourself to rest both physically and mentally. Make space just to be. There's no workbook today for this cause.

your guidance today

Refuse from all doing.

Say 'no' to things you would normally say 'yes' to. Do so with a loving and compassionate attitude. This is not a negative refusal but a statement of being instead of doing. If you must do something today to avoid causing suffering to yourself or others, then do it just as lovingly and compassionately.

Don't get lost in the doing.

If something is highly crucial to do, for example, something you truly love doing, do it while maintaining awareness of being. Don't let your thoughts drown you in time and doing.

Remind yourself there's nothing you must do.

Forget about the existence of calendars. Forget about tasks and meetings. Don't answer calls and let social media live its own life without you. This might be difficult to heed. Your mind will most likely create a massive storm around this idea of refusal. This storm reveals your false identity in a clear light. Give relentless attention to the sense of the 'I' within whenever thoughts try to lure you into doing.

Remind yourself there's anything you can do.

Do only things that are driven by your internal motivation, not by external pressure. Exercise scrutiny on your internal motivation because most of the time, it is only external pressure in disguise. The world around you holds the potential for doing what you love if you but choose to perceive so. Don't chain yourself in the ideas of external pressure or your false identity.

Forget about the 7 Days of Presence.

Forget about attaining something, and forget about becoming someone. Drop all efforts to find inner peace. Do not give yourself time—rest wholeheartedly in the present moment. Forget about all the guidance you've had during these 7 days. Rest assured that the guidance has already done its job since you're reading these last words. Let your Self shine its peaceful radiance upon your world.

Stay in presence.

Be.

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