Hi y’all,
During my first year as a nun, I lived in a convent with seven other sisters from various ages, backgrounds, and experiences.
Now, contrary to popular belief, nuns are busy.
Calendar management in community life was sometimes a struggle. Connecting and coordinating schedules may be a challenge for you.
For us nuns, Sunday evenings were the times we gathered to coordinate our schedules for the coming week and month. For our convent, the optimal time for us to pray together during the week was 5 am.
The prayer ritual was simple - 20 minutes of silence together each weekday. We took turns leading the prayer for the week.
The leader would begin the silent prayer by ringing a Tibetan standing bell. Then, she read a brief passage from sacred writing (e.g., the Bible, reflection questions, etc.) to help us center our prayer. During the silence, the leader would be the timekeeper and then ring the bell again to end the ritual.
Twenty minutes of mindful silence sounds easy, right?
I entered the convent having never done this practice for twenty minutes, and the first couple of times felt like an eternity. I often wavered between staying awake, being not quite alert, being fully present, or trying to quiet a racing mind.
Plus, I am not a morning person. Yet, I gradually learned to be awake and remain awake during the early morning communal prayer.
During our quiet time together, I began to feel a deep bond with the sisters. While praying for one another and the world, I connected with a community of women who do extraordinary work with great love.
The basement chapel room in the convent became a fueling station for resiliency in our work.
Sometimes, we need to slow down long enough to let the quiet catch up with our being, to calm our mind, and give us the courage to face the day.
Mindful stillness can help you do that.
Stress piles up fast in today’s culture.
Your mind races, your body tenses, and before you know it, the day feels like it’s controlling you instead of the other way around.
You need a simple reset that doesn’t take extra time or effort.
Here is one micro-mindfulness practice to help: the stillness pause.
This 30-second practice can pull you out of the chaos and into the present moment. Here's how.
#1. Stop for Just 30 Seconds
Stillness can be as quick as a breath. Set a timer for 30 seconds. Close your eyes if you can. Let everything be still. The world won’t fall apart while you pause.
#2. Anchor Yourself with a Touchpoint
Focus on a single point—your breath, the warmth of your hands, or the feeling of your feet on the floor. A tangible anchor keeps your mind from spinning.
#3. Pair It with a Trigger
Attach a habit to something you already do. Before opening emails, before stepping out of your car, or while waiting for tea to brew, stack your stillness pause onto an existing routine.
#4. Feel the Shift
Over time, this micro-moment of stillness creates space - a deep breath before the next demand, a pause before the next decision, more calm, less rush.
That's it.
Here’s what we covered: A micro-mindfulness practice to try this week:
Take a 30-second stillness pause - stop everything for 30 seconds.
Focus on a single touchpoint: your breath, the warmth of your hands, or the sensation of your feet on the ground.
Pair this pause with a trigger, like before opening emails, stepping out of your car, or waiting for tea or coffee to brew.
Notice how this small act of stillness helps shift your mind, bringing calm and space into your day.
Remember, take what you like and leave the rest.
Thanks for listening. I appreciate you being part of the journey.
Have a mindful week, and we’ll see you next time. Thanks.
Denise
I'm a former nun who, at midlife, pivoted to corporate life with zero business experience and became an award-winning program manager. I want to help you find stillness in the ball pit bouncy house of life.
Mindfulness begins with tiny steps toward being present. You can start micro-mindfulness right now without adding one more thing to your calendar. Join my newsletter, and I will share simple micro-mindfulness tips every week that you can start today.
In my book Burn Without Burning Out: 7 Micro-Mindfulness Habits for Clear Thinking, Decisive Action, and Recovery from Burnout, I share other skills I learned as a nun. Grab your copy today.
Let me know what you thought of today’s podcast:
❤️Good. Drop a🙌below.
🥱Not so much. Manage your subscription here.
📣I want more. Check out our reader favorites here (and all our free & paid products here).
Did you find the techniques easy to try out? Which one resonated with you the most?
Hit reply and share your thoughts.
PS...If you enjoy this podcast, please consider sharing it with a friend. Help them discover simple ways to find clarity and calm. Thanks.
Share this post