Before I say anything, I'm just so delighted to be talking to you. In amongst all of this, what have you been reflecting on? And what have you been seeing as this all unfolds with regards to, I guess, this whole idea of being still? And I wanted to start by asking, I guess, opening it up Pico. So it's an exceptionally rare opportunity for stillness. There's this shared sense of going nowhere, going nowhereness, which is another phrase that Pico, you have used. And as we're even more confined in spaces and places like New Zealand, and Australia and New York, where we are under whatever you call it, lockdown, or sheltering place, or however people are describing it. I thought that in these crazy times were, in a sense, you know, our cities are still our homes are at times still, our economies are still, our minds and our hearts though or anything, but, for the most part, still. His reflections are on what he calls our inner world. His four TED talks have been watched more than 10 million times.

He's the author of The Art of Stillness, and is revered by the New Yorker, as a spiritual and intellectual adventurer.

In this episode, I talk with Pico Iyer from his Kyoto home. This lyrical and inspiring book expands on a new idea, offering a way forward for all those feeling affected by the frenetic pace of our modern world.In these overwhelming times, it's urgent to slow down and relish in being still. In 2013, Pico Iyer gave a blockbuster TED Talk. Ultimately, Iyer shows that, in this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many-from Marcel Proust to Mahatma Gandhi to Emily Dickinson-have found richness in stillness. Growing trends like observing an вЂњInternet SabbathвЂќ-turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning-highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people-even those with no religious commitment-seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. In The Art of Stillness-a TED Books release-Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. ThereвЂ™s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still. Why might a lifelong traveler like Pico Iyer, who has journeyed from Easter Island to Ethiopia, Cuba to Kathmandu, think that sitting quietly in a room might be the ultimate adventure? Because in our madly accelerating world, our lives are crowded, chaotic and noisy. A follow up to Pico IyerвЂ™s essay вЂњThe Joy of Quiet,вЂќ The Art of Stillness considers the unexpected adventure of staying put and reveals a counterintuitive truth: The more ways we have to connect, the more we seem desperate to unplug.

The art of stillness by pico iyer