13 April 2012

Ommm...Embracing the Silence

Secret #4: Embrace Silence.

I'm not going to try to be noble here...this secret may indubitably be the most difficult to implement.

To shut out not only all the external noise, but the internal noise as well?  Seems insurmountable.  I can't stop the birds or the bulldozer guys' construction or the neighbor's lawn-mowing...but even more tricky, stopping the noise within myself.  Stop the thoughts that come a mile a minute?  Stop the mental to-do list in my head? 

We are a culture of noisy distractions.  Silence makes us uncomfortable, Dyer states, and that's why we fidget, we insert inane conversation, or we turn the radio on.  But, he goes on to say, we can find gaps of peaceful silence here and there...in between the pandemonium of our everyday lives.  It does require deliberate, mindful practice.  That's the hard part, really.  Other insights of this secret include:

1. Become aware of the gaps in your thoughts, and try to revel in the silence.

2. Consider a daily practice of meditation or other similar engaging with quietness.

3. Nature can provide a healing form of silence, try to get out in it as often as possible.

While we certainly understand the importance of embracing the silence, this is something we will just have to do the best we can as we go.

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