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Telephones, Beepers, and Clocks

The most frequent challenge I hear from busy people who want to find peace in their daily lives is that they have goodwill, but they just plain forget to take a few moments for a Stillpoint. At the end of the day they realize they only did one or two, or even none.

What helps me, and many of the people I speak with, is finding triggers. Look for the triggers in your day—moments, people, situations, times, places, events, goings, comings—that have these traits in common: (i) They are frequent. (2) They are automatic. (3) They are consistent.

Here is an example: telephones, beepers, and clocks, or—putting a spin on John Donne's words—bells that sound in your environment. When you hear them, you can Stop, take a breath, and remember who you are—every time you hear the phone, the clock, the doorbell, or a beeper.

Here's one I do. Every time I hear the microwave beeper—a sound I find annoying—I call myself to a momentary breath of relaxation and a recollection of how I'll enjoy whatever is being warmed.

Here are a few helps to establish an event or a sound as a trigger. Place sticky notes or other signs on things; put things “out of place” to remind you; take a few moments at the beginning of the day and put your Stillpoints in your imagination: When I take a bathroom break, I will stay there for one minute longer, dose my eyes and notice what I am feeling physically in my body or emotionally.