Stillness · “Stillness Reveals”
Inner Stillness
To come to a quiet, thought-free inner state — letting the chronic inner noise of thoughts subside — so that clear seeing and right action arise from the still ‘Supermind’ rather than from agitation.
Howard’s inner stillness in 4 lines: Beneath the noise is a quiet, knowing “Supermind” — but your inner chatter jams the signal, like talking nonstop on a phone and missing the incoming call. Watch the breath go in and out without commentary, then let each thought pass like an exhale. Don’t fight thoughts; stop feeding them. Rest in the quiet and let clear action arise.
What it is
Vernon Howard taught that beneath the noisy, reactive surface mind there is a quiet, intelligent depth he called the “Supermind” — “the silent mind,” which he likened to what the New Testament calls “the Kingdom of Heaven within.” This still part of you, he said, has no fear, no painful cravings, no doubts, and “knows everything needed to be known for a successful and happy life.” The problem is that we cannot hear it because of our own inner racket.
Howard’s image: helpful “waves of power from the Supermind try to reach us constantly… just as a person chattering endlessly on his telephone cuts himself off from incoming calls” — “our inner noisiness blocks their beneficial influence.” The practice, therefore, is to come to inner stillness: to let the compulsive stream of thought subside so the quiet mind can be heard and clear action can arise from it rather than from agitation.
It operationalises stillness (The Inner Creates the Outer), the witnessing stance (Life Is a Dream), and recollected attention (The Inner Creates the Outer).
The Method
Drawn from Howard’s books and New Life Foundation exercises:
- Notice the inner noise — and that it is optional. The first step is simply to hear your own mental chatter and recognize it as the static blocking the signal. Awareness of the noise already begins to quiet it.
- Let a single thought go, like a breath out. Howard’s breath-based exercise: first observe the breath without thinking — “You simply know that the breath is going in. You know that the breath is going out.” Then do the same with thoughts — isolate a single thought out of the thousands and let it pass naturally, like an exhale, not grasping the next one.
- Don’t fight the thoughts; stop feeding them. Stillness is not forced blankness. As thoughts arise, you neither chase nor wrestle them; you let each go, and the stream thins.
- Relax the body’s signals of noise. Catch and release physical tension — “be aware that you have facial muscles,” notice strained expressions and let them soften. Bodily quiet supports mental quiet.
- Rest in the quiet and listen. Having let the noise settle, simply be still and receptive — let the “incoming call” of the Supermind be heard. Clear seeing and right action, Howard taught, surface naturally from this stillness; you don’t manufacture them.
- Carry brief stillness into the day. A few moments of dropping the chatter, repeatedly, keeps the line open rather than chronically busy. (Sourcing note: “the silent mind,” “waves of power from the Supermind try to reach us constantly… cuts himself off from incoming calls,” “our inner noisiness blocks their beneficial influence,” and “You simply know that the breath is going in… going out” are Howard’s published teaching, attributed; faithfully described, not reproduced.)
Source & Lineage
The teaching is Vernon Howard’s (1918–1992), founder of the New Life Foundation, most fully in The Power of Your Supermind (1964).
The “Supermind / silent mind” is Howard’s synthesis: nonduality and contemplative Christianity (“the Kingdom of Heaven within”), New Thought (“the power within”), and the Fourth Way emphasis on quiet, awake presence.
The “Supermind” as a constantly-broadcasting inner intelligence is Howard’s framework, offered here as his teaching, not as an established model of mind. → (Vernon Howard).
Common refinements
Forcing blankness. Trying to stop thoughts by willpower creates more noise. Howard’s way is to let go, not clamp down.
- Chasing the “incoming call.” Straining to receive guidance is itself noise. Be still and receptive; don’t grab.
- Treating it as escape. Stillness is to clarify action, not to avoid life — Howard wanted clear action to arise from the quiet.
- Refinement: Use the breath as the on-ramp — a minute of “in… out…” without commentary, then extend the same letting-go to thoughts.