'Cultivating stillness' is misleading as a term, because it implies an effort or conditions to recognize stillness, when truly stillness is the underlying nature of the mind.

Stillness is who we are if we do not identify with the efforting and struggling of our minds, and if we can train our mind to settle into the deeper levels within.

This natural settling can be optimized and so we can speak about cultivating stillness, in terms of orienting ourselves towards it, in opposition to striving or trying to get to a specific state or trying to still the mind, which is impossible to do.

Anytime we try to still our mind or calm our thoughts, we are really moving away from being, at the same time, paying attention to what is happening, being aware, and mindful, will help the mind to settle naturally.

Perhaps not in the beginning, but over time the tendencies of your habitual moving away from the present, will tend to become less fixated and less pronounced, so it allows for the doorway into greater essential clarity and presence.

So the best way to say it is cultivating stillness without intention, so to remind us that stillness arrives when we cease activity, not add to what we already are doing to ourselves in an effort to change what is arising in each moment.

1. Keep it simple. For example, clean up your desk, and create a minimalist desk so you are less distracted and have more focus on what needs to be completed.

2. Breathe. Take moments throughout the day to breathe consciously. Consciously breathing, and taking a few moments can help you to settle more and stay more centered. It helps alleviate stress, and puts things in perspective.

3. Let yourself be, do not interfere with your experience. Allow yourself to simply be. Do not try to push away your experience of the moment, and allow yourself to rest without changing or interfering with what is arising.

4. Work with your inner critic. It is important to learn to work with your inner critic, and recognize its messages and effects on your life. It supports your capacity to disengage from the constant chatter in your mind.

5. Meditate regularly. A regular meditation practice supports freedom and greater clarity and insight into your own mind and its habitual tendencies.

6. Neutrality. Learn to witness your experience with openness and without being reactive. This will help you disidentify from your sensations, thoughts and feelings, and to be less pulled by unconscious patterns.

7. Don't attach to the outcome. The less outcome focused you are, the easier it is to settle into quieter levels of your own mind. Focus on the present, and let go of expectations of how things have to turn out.

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