PATHWAYS TO STILLNESS
Reflect, Release, Renew
by Gary Irwin-Kenyon

This book is about stillness: What it is. How you can find it. Where it hides itself. Why it is necessary to your life. It is a beginner’s guide, because with stillness, no experience is necessary. Besides, you are always a beginner in any case, because when it is present, there truly is nothing to do and nowhere to go. This book is also about learning to appreciate wandering or meandering along life’s pathways. It does not contain “Six easy steps to wisdom and immortality”. Rather, it offers a way to approach your journey, which you then create and discover on your own, with help! You are invited to find a Pathway to Stillness that fits “your” life. On this pathway, you often cannot see what is around the next bend. However, you need only show up for it to become a journey of curiosity, wonder, and more life. You may come to agree with the phrase, “All who wander are not lost”. Although this is a book about slowing down to stillness, it is a “pickup-and-go” book that can be read in short segments within a busy life. The stillness stories and the easy to learn relax-into-stillness movements can be enjoyed in any order that suits you. You can linger with those that speak to you the most. With this book, you can practise stillness while waiting for an appointment, before going to sleep, or whenever you can steal some time for yourself.
REVIEWS
​"....It is an inspired and beautiful book that I will keep at hand. Please do more of this."
Thomas Moore, New York Times bestseller, Care of the Soul
"Reading this book is like having a kind and wise companion at my side,
 offering calming and gentle advice. I bought an extra copy to keep on my e-reader."
 Amazon Customer on March 28, 2017. 
“Right from the start the reader will notice that this is gripping, experiential and wise stuff.
Like all great books, it does not impose a new expert view on wisdom or personal growth,
but inspires the reader to find their own wisdom and joy”.
-Dr. Ernst Bohlmeijer, Professor, Mental Health Promotion, Twente University, The Netherlands
​and co-author with Monique Hulsbergen of A Beginner’s Guide to Mindfulness.
"This book is full of words of wisdom for the life journey that is aging.
​Highly recommended as a powerful antidote to the present frenetic lifestyle that glorifies
​doing instead of being as we get older."
-Phillip G. Clark, ScD, Professor and Director- Program in Gerontology and Rhode Island
Geriatric Education Center, ​University of Rhode Island
"Gary Irwin- Kenyon approaches the spiritual quest not as a panacea but as a way of finding contentment and solace within the messiness of the story of one’s life. He is a Tai Chi instructor (and a gerontologist) and his approach is based in large part on the basic Tai Chi principle of yielding. “In partner training in Tai Chi, if you apply brute strength or muscle power with a partner who has learned to yield, you will, in most cases, lose.”

Buddhism teaches of Upayas – skillful means by which insight/wisdom (prajna) are attained and then blossom into compassion and empathy (karuna). Gary’s book is a introduction to a range of these “skillful means” presented with gentleness, modesty, and genuine concern. I am happy to recommend it."
​-Richard Bryan McDaniel
author of Zen Masters of China and Cypress Trees in the Garden
"Don’t let the title of the book, Pathways to Stillness throw you off. It is not a step-by-step guide that teaches you how to be still and meditate. Rather it is a book about how to really ‘live’…to live fully, freely, fiercely in the moment. Gary Kenyon draws on his own personal experiences and relationships with others to show ways to open ourselves to the present moment, since that’s all we really have. However we allow thought to guide us and box us in and we are always living in the past or planning for the future. Once you’ve tasted ‘present-ness’ or ‘Being-ness’ you will know the joy of living fully. Ram Dass tells us to Be Here Now, and Pathways to Stillness is the perfect guide for the journey."
 -Dr. Cheryl Svensson, Birren Center for Autobiographical Studies. 
​www.guidedautobiography.com

​"Pathways to Stillness is an inspired and inspiring read. The book draws on the author's extensive career as a gerontologist, Tai Chi student, and spiritual seeker. The 38 short, accessible chapters thoughtfully consider themes related to self-help, care, and meaningful aging—making for a  truly unique reading experience. Through a number of examples, including his own lived experiences, Kenyon effectively challenges negative assumptions and stereotypes about what it means to 'grow old' in present-day life. I particularly enjoyed Kenyon's narrative writing style and the real-life, honest examples he incorporated to demonstrate how he applies 'stillness' principles to work through his own life challenges. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in gerontology or generally looking for inspiration to incorporate more 'stillness' into their everyday life."
-Dr. Victoria Burns, BA, BSW, MSW, PhD,  
​Postdoctoral researcher, National Institute of Scientific Research, Montreal, Canada