In this podcast we talk all about what it takes to achieve the blissful state of stillness within the mind, body, and soul. The episode draws heavily from the book, Stillness is the Key, by Ryan Holiday. I highly recommend it as I do with all his other books. Topics include:

• We start with a little experiment to test your ability to achieve stillness. Most of us will fail this experiment in short order.
• And I use that experiment to introduce the topic of stillness. I define stillness as it relates to your life.
• Then I talk about why it's so hard to come by in our modern world of receiving data and reacting to data nonstop. There's just too much input and noise to ever find stillness.
• This is also the reason that most of us don't really even know ourselves. How could we? We spend almost no time truly alone in solitude with our own thoughts. And when we do, we panic and look for any distraction.
• I also highlight that our modern way of living is completely external and outward facing. There's no real value placed on reflection and independent thought. This is a shame because it steals from us what we have to offer the world that is unique to us.
• In our external world we value and chase things that aren't of real importance and won't fill the hole inside of us like we think they will. Things like money, fame, prestige, things, and objects. We also like to take no responsibility for our lives and blame everything on some external factor and compete to see who's the biggest victim. 
• All of this creates chaos internally, chaos that we never address because we never take the time to just sit quietly with our own thoughts and address whatever rises to the surface. 
• And to achieve stillness we need to address this. We need to know ourselves. So I give us a way to do that effectively. 
• Then I give us a way to create a little more headspace. Our complete freedom is actually a curse if we don't apply discipline to it. Otherwise every single decision in your day is some massive deliberation that takes away from your mental resources.
• And lastly we need to disconnect. Disconnect from the external world, but also disconnect from our normal thought patterns. I'm not talking about going on a vacation or to a bar where our same thought patterns persist. I'm talking about pursuing hobbies for the sake of your enjoyment alone. Pursue something that fully engages your mind in a different way, that you enjoy doing, and that you have no attachment to the outcome. This is where the mind finds peace, rest, and solace. This is where you create stillness. You're not resting just because you're lying down, and you're not relaxing just because you're doing mindless activities like watching TV and scrolling social media. You need to put your mind at rest and hobbies are a great way to do that. 
• In this week's Call-to-Action I give you a path to experience stillness. The way to getting it under your command is long and arduous, but that doesn't mean you can't experience it. And my prescription for that is to get out in nature, by yourself, with no electronics, and just walk. Walk for as long as it takes for all those nagging thoughts to quiet or disappear. Walk until you can maintain one continuous thought effortlessly. Walk until you start noticing things you never noticed, hearing sounds you've never heard, but were always there. At this point you've found yourself a piece of stillness, a peace of mind that permeates your whole being. Find this feeling, experience it, and after you see what it has to offer, then go through the process of having stillness at your beck and call. 
• Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and leave a review and share it with someone who could benefit from this information. And be sure to follow me on Instagram @ThinkersApprentice