A few calm minutes, whenever you like
The Pause is a quiet page inside Niravah. Little stars follow your finger, and there are a few small things to try, or nothing at all. It asks for nothing, and it is there whenever you want to step back for a minute.
A page that follows your finger
Open the Pause from the button at the bottom left of the home screen. Touch the screen and little stars follow you. There is no timer, no goal and no right way to use it. You can stay ten seconds, or ten minutes.
Five small things to try
Revisit your photos: one photo you kept at least two weeks ago, with its caption and its date. Feel your words: write a few words and slide your finger over them, big and raised, so you can feel each letter. Notice something: a strip of paper unrolls and stops on one line. Take a photo: it lands on today's page while you stay in the Pause. Write a few words: today's journal page, open and waiting.
Where Feel your words comes from
About twenty years ago, I had the back of my music player engraved with seven words: "live your dream, the world is yours." I used to sit at the beach, music in my ears, tracing the letters with my fingers. It helped me step back, imagine what I wanted, and write down the things I hoped to live someday. Feel your words comes from that beach. Your own words, big enough to touch.
Lines to notice, never to answer
The paper strip holds a hundred or so short lines. Most are small invitations: "Look at where the light lands." "Listen for the closest sound." A few are questions, such as "What is the softest thing near you right now?", and they are meant to be answered in your head or not at all. Some lines say "this line needs no answer", and another says you can skip one that does not fit, because another is one turn away.
Your own photos, when you want them
The photo you see in the Pause comes from your own notebook, never from your whole camera roll. Swipe for another one, open its day, or choose "Don't show it again" to hide it from the Pause. It is hidden from the Pause only. Nothing is deleted, and you can show it again from "Hidden photos".
A gentle reminder, if you want one
There is an optional reminder to pause. It is off by default, you choose the days and up to three times a day, and the notes are as quiet as the page: "A quiet minute, if you'd like one." You can ignore it without consequence and turn it off whenever you like.
What is free, what is Premium
The Pause is part of the free app. Starting a new notebook is Premium (from €6.99 a month, €54.99 a year or €129.99 once), and your first notebook is free. The free version shows a few ads, never on your day's page or where you write. Your pages stay on your phone by default, and an optional backup is encrypted before it leaves your phone and hosted in Europe.
Questions
- What is the Pause in Niravah?
- The Pause is a quiet page in the app with little stars that follow your finger and a few small things to try, or nothing at all. It is a place to stop for a few minutes, on your own terms.
- Do I have to do anything on it?
- No. You can just touch the screen and watch the stars. The small things on the page are offers, and none of them is required.
- Are the lines on the paper strip questions?
- Mostly they are gentle invitations, such as "Look at where the light lands". A few are questions, and none needs a written answer.
- Will it send me reminders?
- Only if you turn them on. The Pause reminder is off by default, and you pick the days and up to three times a day.
One quiet minute is enough. Get Niravah, free on iOS and Android.