In the rapid pace of modern life, it is important to know how to pause, a practice that allows us to experience moments more deeply and find inner balance.

Pausing for Inner Balance: Embracing the Moment

In the rapid pace of modern life, it is important to know how to pause, a practice that allows us to experience moments more deeply and find inner balance. Imagine yourself in a theater, where becoming immersed in what is occurring eliminates the need for conscious thought – your body and mind automatically react to images and emotions, leaving space for pure sensations. The same happens during prayer, when the stream of thoughts quiets, making room for a genuine connection with the spiritual essence. Consciously disengaging the thinking process gives you the opportunity to momentarily stop the flow of time even while engrossed in reading, allowing you to refresh your consciousness and experience a moment of silence filled with inner strength. This approach does not so much eliminate mental activity as it gives the mind a chance to reboot, to feel every detail of what is happening, and to achieve a sense of wholeness. Ultimately, the ability to pause becomes a powerful tool for reaching harmony and for deeply immersing oneself in the essence of the moment—whether that be aesthetic pleasure, spiritual experience, or intellectual self-awareness.

In what situations can a person consciously decide to relinquish active thought?

A person can consciously pause or forgo the active thinking process in several situations, when doing so either helps to delve deeper into what is happening or distracts them from an overwhelming stream of thoughts. For example, when we are completely absorbed in an event, such as watching a theatrical performance, our attention shifts to the images and emotions we perceive, and we stop consciously forming individual thoughts. This is described by the author in the following passage:

"However, such an answer is extremely unsatisfactory and imprecise. For usually, by giving such an answer, one intends to say that our consciousness at that moment is occupied with thoughts about the scene, representations of the actors, judgments following the unfolding drama, etc. In reality, there are no ‘thoughts’, no ‘representations’, no ‘judgments’, no ‘reasonings’, etc. when we are captivated by the dramatic action. We sort of mechanically follow the movements of the actors with our eyes; we unconsciously direct our focus in one direction or another on the stage and perhaps perform several other actions..."
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Another example is related to religious experience. During prayer, a person might let the prayer proceed “of its own accord,” which indicates that the usual clamor of thoughts temporarily “switches off.” The author writes:

"Sometimes prayer proceeds smoothly... and on its own... This is a good sign. It means that it has begun to take root in the heart. Guard your heart against attachments, strive to remember God, not acting in vain before Him in thought or in presence. The mind remains in the head, and intellectual people (scholars) all live in their heads. They live in their heads and suffer from the constant turmoil of thoughts. This turmoil prevents the attention from settling on one thing. The mind cannot settle on a single meditation on God while it remains in the head. Everything keeps slipping away."
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Additionally, a person can consciously choose to halt active thinking by taking a pause even during an engrossing activity, such as reading. This pause allows one to detach from the flow of thoughts and experience a moment of silence. It is described as follows:

"And learn to stop time at that moment when it naturally does not stop, when there is no stagnation at all. To do this, at the moment when you are busy, say: now stop, I am freeing myself from this busyness... For example, I am now reading with great interest. Stop for five minutes. I lean back, sit, remain silent, and dare not think of anything useful or dynamic. I am before God... This is more challenging. When you are studying, it is not so hard to do, because distracting yourself from study is hardly a major loss. But when you are reading an interesting novel, to tell yourself: in the middle of the next page I will stop, right on this sixth line, where there isn’t even a comma in the phrase, to halt time—that is more difficult."
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Thus, consciously refraining from active thought can occur in the following situations:
1. When fully absorbed in the emotional and visual perception of a dramatic event, where the automatic process of perception replaces conscious thought.
2. During prayer, when a person steps back from the constant flow of thoughts, allowing the religious experience to take place on its own.
3. When a person intentionally pauses during an engrossing activity (such as reading) to stop the flow of thoughts and detach from everyday mental activity.

These examples demonstrate that the conscious decision to disengage from active thinking can be a deliberate choice aimed at achieving a state of inner balance or a deep experience of the present moment.