This post first appeared on Medium. Read the original here.

There are big solar flare energies coming in this weekend. Enough that it’s very likely you’ll feel tired or headachy or generally unwell as your body tries to process them. And as I was journaling, I realized that there’s a growing yearning for something to let me stop and be still.

Getting stuck in the “doingness” of life

Do you laugh when I ask if you’re busy? Or maybe wince when you think about your to-do list. Possibly cry when you think of the overwhelming number of things you have piled up to that you’ve been meaning to get to but just haven’t found the time?

Yeah, me, too.

There’s a deep longing in me to burn the lists and ignore the piles, to go somewhere where there are no responsibilities and no requests. Nobody needing one more thing and nothing clamoring for my attention.

But life is always there waiting with one. more. thing.

And that’s not bad. Don’t get me wrong. We have to do what we have to do to pay the bills and keep our kids fed. We have responsibilities.

But it’s so easy to get stuck in DOING. In being busy.

And therein lies the challenge.

Busy-ness is a distraction

Often, and maybe it’s just me, being busy keeps us so preoccupied that we’re really not thinking. We’re not paying attention to the things around us, and we’re certainly not paying attention to the things inside us. Busyness and doing have become a way for us to hide from places where we feel inadequate or uncertain. It keeps us from facing the shadows that whisper to us sometimes that we’re not good enough or not worthy enough. And so we keep going. Doing. Doing. Doing. Always doing something.

This distraction makes us feel good. Like we’re being productive and helping others. For me, it makes me feel like I”m a good mom and a good wife. Like I’m a good team member and a good employee. Like I’m responsible and grown up and playing the game and getting ahead.

But am I really? Are you really?

Stillness is a necessity

Pause for just a moment and just breathe. Don’t think about the next thing or the to-do list. Just for a minute. Just BE.

Stop the DOING.

Just for a minute.

It’s scary, right?

Suddenly you feel like maybe you’re not doing enough (see the irony?) or you’re being lazy. Suddenly you’re almost afraid that someone might catch you doing nothing.

It’s kind of sad. And a little horrifying.

We’ve tied so much of who we are into what we DO. Not who we BE.

And today as I was journaling, I was reminded that stillness is where we grow. It’s where we raise our consciousness to higher levels. It’s where we process the energies that come at us from every side (especially when big solar flares arrive).

It’s in stillness that our natural resonance, our vibration, is able to tune up and go higher.

It’s how we ascend.

By BEING.

Not by doing.

Learning to do nothing

It’s almost anxiety-inducing to stop doing. You suddenly realize how much of yourself is tied to being busy and getting stuff done. You almost don’t know what to do with yourself when you’re not doing anything at all. Which sounds really weird, when you think about it.

We have got to uncouple ourselves from this need to prove ourselves by the number of tasks we accomplish or how full our calendars are.

Here are some ways to find stillness:

Obviously meditation is a great way to do this. One of my favorites (and the one that actually got me meditating regularly) is Ziva Meditation. It’s a 15-minute meditation technique that really helps you find stillness. Without taking hours of time. Here’s a short intro the the technique:

Or you can do a guided meditation, like this 10 minute place of stillness meditation:

Or, you could just sit outside, or on your porch, or anywhere for a few minutes and just be (a.k.a. do nothing).

You can go for a walk without your phone (or if you must count your steps, try walking without music or an audiobook or a video playing). Be in the stillness of your own self as you move your body. Notice the buildings or the trees or the grass or the sidewalk or whatever it is that you walk by. Consider how your body feels as it moves — do your fingers tingle as you swing your arms or does your hair get in your eyes as the wind blows?

If you’re up for a big challenge, maybe you just need a nap. I find that it’s sooo hard to take the time to lay down and allow my body to rest. But, wow, it feels so good when I do.

So, as the solar flare energies continue to come, try taking the challenge of stillness. If you feel tired, give yourself permission to rest. To stop doing and just be.

Because you’re already good enough.

You’re already worthy.

You’re already loved.

Blessing and peace!

Want more content like this delivered to your inbox? You can subscribe to The Sacred Reset here.