pause: “… No matter where you find yourself, I pray you have the courage to pause sometimes. To rest and look within. To be still and know that you are not lost. You are making your way home …” ~ Octavia Raheem
Octavia’s prayer (above) is a most apropos closing of her book, Pause, Rest Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change, in which, she draws upon …
“… wisdom from yoga philosophy and her many years of teaching experience … {and} offers us the motivation and guidance we need to restore ourselves in the midst of all types of change. She gives us three simple restorative yoga poses (savasana, side lying pose, and child’s pose), and offers short teachings, reflections, and practices to see us through times of ending, beginning, and liminal/transitional space. She shows us how slowing down, stillness, and deeper connection to our own transitions empower us to move through collective shifts with more grace—and what it means to navigate shifts and change with presence and courage …”
Of course, resting and looking within … is the quintessential message of Stillness Speaks … and all of our content ultimately … encourages … invites … being still … and going within …
In that spirit, we take a mini dive into Octavia’s book that provides “Stillness Practices” to navigate life in a new way …
We begin the exploration with Octavia’s last chapter: A Prayer for All of Our Beginnings …
Why? because the very act of quietly reciting this prayer is … a cultivation of … resting and going within …
This prayer is just a peek into Octavia’s work … which we’ll explore in more depth in part 2 of this 2-part series.
This series is part of our ongoing Shambhala Publications series that offers substantive previews of selections from Shambhala Publications new and classic titles …
All italicized text here is adapted from Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change, © 2022 by Octavia F. Raheem. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. Shambhala Publications has also generously offered a free downloadable PDF of the Table of Contents (link is at the bottom of the post).
You can purchase the book at Shambhala Publications or Amazon.
Pause : A Prayer for All of Our Beginnings
Great Spirit of beginnings,
Thank you for meeting us here.
We ask you to bless our beginnings and fill the way ahead with grace, ease, and space to rest for a spell of time. We’ve come a mighty long way to start. We promise to remember who and what came before us. To honor the lessons from the roads we’ve traveled. Teach us to not despise our beginnings even if they are humble as dirt, because all good and worthy things rise up from the ground. Every blossom was once a tiny little thing in need of sunlight and water, just like us.
We pour libations from the back of our eyes onto the altar of this beginning. We create a stream that stretches through the world and doesn’t let us forget that every minute someone exhales for the last time as someone inhales for the first time.
From the pulpit of our hearts, we lift our voices toward The Divine sanctuary of your ear.
We dig down into our souls to offer up this old hymn as we face something brand new:
Take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand
Lead me home.
~ Octavia Raheem
All italicized text here is adapted from Pause, Rest, Be: Stillness Practices for Courage in Times of Change, © 2022 by Octavia F. Raheem. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.
You can purchase the book at Shambhala Publications or Amazon.
And, click here for the free, downloadable PDF of the Table of Contents.
And, may you discover … your true home … as you navigate your everyday life … and …
May you remain safe and healthy.