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Here we are again, on the edge of another year.

As I wrote in my last blog, “staying well,” “maintaining” or “hanging in there” are all utterly unnatural states of being. As I look around the Earth, things are either growing or dying; days are getting longer or shorter, warmer or colder. New rocks are being formed and ejected from volcanos while others are slowly being ground down into dust by the elements. The sun starts out low and slow, triumphs at midday, and dies, every day, day after day. Life moves by cycles and circles, not straight lines and action steps.

Think about the number of things in life that move the way a pendulum moves. We start out, we pick up speed, we “hit our stride” and enjoy a juicy middle-of-the-swing, then things start to turn, undetectably at first, but before we know it, we’re heading uphill, and we lose speed, stop for a moment, and then head the other way.

How many things does that apply to in my life? My workout, my diet, my prayer life, my marriage, my relationship with my boss, my satisfaction with my work, how my joints feel on any particular day–the list goes on. Even things like which books I’m interested in reading or which friends I hang out with the most ebb and flow in a natural, pendulum-like rhythm.

If you observe a pendulum closely, there are two moments, one on each edge of the orbit, where the pendulum actually comes to a complete stop for a split second. There is one sliver of time where the pendulum is no longer moving to the left, but hasn’t yet started to swing right. Motion is suspended; time literally hangs in the air. We’ve stopped going the way we’ve been going but we haven’t yet started out in the new direction.

That moment, that pause, is where all the magic happens, and paradoxically it is also the moment where it appears that absolutely nothing is happening. The moment a seed changes from dormant to sprouting, the moment night starts to become day, the moment we make an intentional turn in our heart to head in a different direction? Invisible to the naked eye. Powerful beyond imagination.

It is because of this moment of motionlessness, moving neither one way nor the other, that we celebrate the solstices (the pause between seasons,) attribute magic to midnight (the pause between days,) or intuitively know the power of the edge where the water meets the sand. The ability to sit motionless between two opposite states of being, a condition some describe as liminal space, is at the heart of spiritual practice.

The pendulum’s ability to change it’s direction, like our own, comes from the power of the pause. Not effort. Not might. Not trying harder or being more determined, but from the ability to pause in the midst of two opposing forces. Just a pause. It’s in that moment of pausing that we are transformed.

I’ve written about the power of the pause during Touch Practice. Many of the most powerful moments in body work come from these deeply yin moments of sitting very, very still with my arms around someone, not moving except for the shared breath, and just sitting, waiting, resting, pausing. Some of the biggest breakthrough moments for touch partners have come when they allow themselves to become relaxed enough to just stop, and in that act of pausing, they completely change direction once they begin again.

If  you’re interested in a new direction for 2012, beyond the traditional “resolutions,” and the valid tools of intention and effort and willpower, don’t forget about the powerful tool of the pause. If you’d like some practical suggestions for inviting the power of the pause into your life, here are seven of my favorite practices:

1. Meditation, my number one recommendation on the pause-power list. There are dozens of different kinds of meditation, but if you need a simple place to start, I’d recommend investigating breath-based, seated meditation such as vipassana, also called insight meditation. While a meditation practice ultimately becomes a personal and individual thing, I found it easier to learn in a group; perhaps you will too. Meditation is a great way to say to the mind, “pause for a moment.”
2. Yoga (especially yin yoga) is a great way to teach the body to pause. I particularly like yin yoga because it spends more time in the pause phase and less in the activity phase (although if you’ve never thought of pausing as challenging, let me tell you, yin yoga will change your perception of that dramatically.)
3. Forgiveness. When we are holding a grudge or grievance against someone, there’s a kind of subtle, quiet battle going on. Even without overt activity, we are quietly readying the artillery and watching the radar for any signs of incoming. The next strike is constantly being contemplated. Forgiveness is a way of declaring a truce in the war (not surrender, mind you, but simply saying “I’m going to walk away from this war. I’m not interested in spending my time fighting here.”) Forgiveness can be a powerful form of pause which allows things to change direction.
4. A gratitude practice. You’ve heard the phrase, “take time to stop and smell the roses?” Notice that the first part of that phrase involves stopping–there’s that pause again. Stepping back from our to-do lists, our desires, our long lists of what we want and need to happen next, and simply counting blessings, acknowledging what we have and all we’ve been given, is powerful expression of the pause.
5. Fasting, a very powerful form of pause related to food and eating. Pausing even for a day or two can provide rest for the digestive system, allow us to soften emotional attachments to eating, begin to disengage any food allergies or addictions, and change direction. There are many different forms of fasting, some relatively mild such as juice fasts and others rather extreme. Fasting can be dangerous for people with certain medical conditions, so do some research or check with your health care provider if you intend to pursue anything rigorous.
6. Abstinence from addictive substances or behaviors. One of the first steps in any recovery program, whether from chemical or behavioral addictions, is, literally, to pause, to abstain. Abstinence, while not enough in and of itself to sustain recovery, is a powerful first step for many people. It can be that moment when the pendulum moves no further in one direction and begins to turn around.
7. Prayer. If what you learned about prayer growing up doesn’t work for you, then you know what? Forget everything you ever learned about prayer. Begin again! Call out. Make an inquiry. Is there something out there beyond you that answers back, perhaps a Being, or perhaps a Force, or perhaps a Higher Power? If none of those, perhaps a Best and Highest Self, some part of you capable of responding when you call out, a power outside your own ego. I can’t answer that question for you, but that isn’t going to stop me from asking it. Prayer can be a powerful way of pausing.

My prayer for you if you are reading this: May you be happy, healthy and comfortable in your body, your emotions, and your mind this year.  May you be free from pain and suffering. May you find kindness in others and be a source of it in return. May you have teachers you honor, and may you care well for those who come after you; help them. May you receive and give freely, taking what is given to you with gratitude and being of service to others as you are willing and able. May you carry your victories humbly and your struggles gracefully, in good natural rhythm, as you pass through your winters and springs, knowing that the pendulum always, always swings back again. I wish you a spirit-filled 2012.

Have thoughts you’d like to share?

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