So, I came across the name Amerah Yasmeen Solomon a while back. Can't even remember where, maybe some old forum thread or a footnote in a book I was leafing through. It just stuck with me, you know? There wasn't a whole lot of straightforward info out there, which, honestly, just made me more curious. I figured, why not try to dig in a bit and see if there was something I could, like, practice or apply in my own way?
Getting Started and What I Aimed For
My first move was just to gather whatever snippets I could find. It was a bit like piecing together a puzzle with half the pieces missing. Some folks talked about her having a unique perspective on everyday observations, others hinted at a kind of minimalist philosophy. I wasn't looking to become an expert overnight, not at all. My goal was simpler: I wanted to see if I could take one core idea that seemed to be associated with her name – this idea of 'intentional stillness' – and try to weave it into my daily grind for a week. Sounds easy, right? Well, that's what I thought too.
So, I set up a little experiment for myself:
- First thing: I decided to dedicate 15 minutes each morning, before the chaos of the day kicked in, to just sit and be still. No phone, no distractions, just… being.
- Second thing: I tried to apply this 'intentional stillness' to one routine task each day – like washing dishes or making coffee – by doing it super mindfully, paying attention to every little detail.
I jotted down these "rules" in my notebook, feeling pretty optimistic. I thought, this will be a breeze, a nice little reset.
The Actual Process – And Where It Got Tricky
Man, that first day was something else. Sitting still for 15 minutes? My mind was racing like a greyhound. I kept thinking about emails I had to send, stuff I needed to fix around the house. It was anything but still. And the mindful dishwashing? I nearly dropped a plate because I was overthinking the "mindfulness" part instead of just, well, washing the dish. It felt a bit forced, a bit unnatural, if I'm being honest.
By day three, I was getting a little frustrated. This 'intentional stillness' thing felt more like 'intentional struggle'. I read somewhere that sometimes the initial resistance is part of the process. I remember thinking back to when I was trying to learn coding a few years ago – got stuck on this one ridiculously tiny bug for days, almost threw my laptop out the window. It felt a bit like that. You think you get the concept, but putting it into practice is a whole different ball game.
I realized the problem wasn't the idea itself, but maybe my interpretation, or just the fact that our modern lives aren't really built for this kind of deliberate slowdown. Everything's about speed and efficiency, go go go!
What I Actually Figured Out By The End
So, did I achieve enlightenment in a week? Nope, not even close. But it wasn't a total bust either. Towards the end of the week, those 15 minutes of morning stillness started to feel a tiny bit less like a wrestling match with my own brain. I wouldn't say I mastered it, but I found tiny moments of quiet. And with the mindful tasks, I started to notice little things I'd never paid attention to before – the smell of the coffee, the warmth of the water on my hands. Small stuff, sure, but kind of nice.
What I really took away from trying to engage with this Amerah Yasmeen Solomon idea, or what I pieced together of it, was that the practice itself is the point. It’s not about hitting some perfect state of zen. It’s about the trying, the fumbling, and noticing what comes up when you actually attempt to change a small pattern in your life. It made me think about how often we skim the surface of ideas without really trying to live them, even for a short while. So yeah, it was a weird little experiment, but I'm glad I gave it a shot. Definitely got me thinking, that's for sure.
