The Sacred Pause: Why Rest Makes You Wiser, Healthier, and More Creative
How neuroscience and spirituality agree on the power of stepping back
There is a hidden paradox at the heart of our busyness, and sometimes the best way forward is to step back. Take a break and rest. As counterintuitive as it may seem, rest is not a sign of weakness or laziness. When you think you have to keep going, going, going, rest becomes wisdom.
Every now and then, go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. — Leonardo Da Vinci
When deadlines are looming, the temptation is to keep pushing and producing, but what if the opposite is true?
What if your deepest clarity surfaces in stillness?
Artists know this well as they stare at a blank canvas, a blank page, or while holding an instrument wanting to play the first note, but nothing comes. You just can’t. Your mind demands action. Do something, produce something. But the body aches for pause.
This is the sacred struggle between motion and stillness.
What would happen if, like Leonardo Da Vinci suggests, you step away and have a little relaxation? Would the world come to an end? Probably not.
Oh Spirit of life, as you sing through the rivers and whisper in the wind, teach us to honor the rhythm of rest. When our minds are restless, grant us peace. When our hearts are weary, restore us. And when we rise again to work, may our judgment be clear and our spirit be strong. May it be so.
Neuroscience meets spirituality
Neuroscience is the study of how the brain and nervous system shape our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. So, when your mind screams go, go, go, your body and soul know better. And so do science and spirituality because they both affirm the wisdom of rest.
Here’s how neuroscience explains the challenges of the mind and body, and how faith offers a way to meet them with strength and peace.
Sympathetic Nervous System: The fight-or-flight system activates during times of urgency, releasing stress hormones that leave you hyper-alert but drained. This is the ego’s compulsion to control outcomes, but faith invites you to surrender and trust that Providence already holds the world.
Parasympathetic Nervous System: Your body is wired for renewal, a process that occurs when the parasympathetic system takes over, slowing your heart rate, deepening your breath, and restoring calm. Faith traditions refer to this type of sacred rhythm as Sabbath, meditation, or rest. What science calls recovery, the soul calls communion.
Default Mode Network and Insight: As you nestle into stillness, the brain’s default mode network awakens, connecting dots and sparking creativity. Mystics describe this as the small still voice. It is the Spirit’s whisper that surfaces only when you stop rushing.
As you know, faith is not blind. It is trust. Sometimes it feels like blind trust, but somewhere deep within you, you know it isn’t.
When I was in art school, working on a big project, I would hit a point where I was too close to it. In other words, I couldn’t see the reality of what I was doing because I was too focused on completing it. All you artists out there know what I’m talking about. You think it just isn’t right. And that thought can linger for years. You keep dabbing away, thinking that one more little dab of paint will make it better. When I reached that point, I would step away and let it rest. After a night of rest, I would return with fresh eyes.
It was always amazing to me how those fresh eyes helped me see either that there were no flaws and it was ready to be turned in, or I would see one little area that needed to be touched, but nothing more.
It was the pause that revealed clarity.
Our lives operate the same way. Just like overworked soil becomes depleted, when given time to lie fallow, it becomes rich again, ready to nurture new growth. The same is true with the sacred pause, as it renews your mind, body, and soul.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to pause without guilt? What did you do and how did that feel?
What signals does your body or spirit give you when you are nearing exhaustion?
How might wisdom, or joy, be different if you embraced rest as sacred?
Sacred mini-retreats: Take 15 minutes a day to step away and silence your phone. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and let your inner world settle. Try it for two weeks and pay attention to the differences you notice within you.
Nature as your teacher: Take a walk outside without an agenda. Notice the trees, sky, and the rhythm of your steps and breath. Allow creation to remind you of life’s slower pace.
Rest as ritual: Build a rhythm of rest into your week instead of collapsing into it when you have no other choice. Choose activities that help you rest. Ignore how others do it. Instead, ask your heart and soul what feels restful. As the Italians say, practice dolce far niente (the art of doing nothing). Personal example: I dedicate one whole day per week to completely disengage from work. I rest, read, paint, and do things that I enjoy. It is about rejuvenating and restoring my heart, soul, and mind.
Beloved Spirit, thank you for the gift of stillness and the wisdom hidden in every pause. They are beautiful on their own. Teach us to step away in faith rather than fear. Let us trust in the restoration of relaxation and how silence speaks when we give ourselves permission to rest. When we return, let our hearts see more clearly, our minds judge more wisely, and our souls rejoice in a restful rhythm of life. Aho.
May you know that you are loved because you matter.
May your soul be refreshed.