Silence

The practice of mindfulness is very simple.

You stop, you breathe, and you still your mind.

You come home to yourself so that you can

enjoy the here and now in every moment.

What you need, what we all need, is silence.

Stop the noise in your mind in order for the wonderous sounds

of life to be heard.  Then you can begin to live your life authentically and deeply.

-Thich Nhat Hanh

Unless you live alone in the mountains without electricity, chances are you’re absorbing a constant stream of noise and information all day long, without interruption.  Even if no one is speaking to you and you’re not listening to the radio or some other sound system, there are billboards, telephone calls, text messages, social media, computer screens, bills, flyers, and many other ways that words and sounds reach us.  Even in those rare moments when there is no sound, text, or other information coming in from outside, our heads are filled with a constant loop of thoughts.  How many minutes a day if any, do you spend in true quiet? If this question is intriguing, keep a journal for a few days and see.

You may find, in fact, that when you find yourself in silence, it feels quite disturbing. We are so used to filling all our time and space with noise that when we find ourselves in silence, we want to fill it with SOMETHING.

When I host a retreat, one of the workshops I offer is called Noble Silence. This is where we spend time in silence. This may seem obvious, but it includes limiting eye contact, noise, reading and writing. Retreat participants are very uncomfortable at first. We really don’t spend alot of time in silence and it shows.

With silence comes a deep sense of knowing yourself. Becoming comfortable with the thoughts and feelings that constantly come and go in our bodies and our brains. This is something that takes practice. We tend to run from, or repress our feelings rather than fully feel them, especially if they are uncomfortable feelings of sadness, fear, grief, depression, etc. The practice of avoiding our feelings is called buffering. We talk alot about this and how to stop it.

To feel our feelings is to be alive.

Come and feel more alive with me.

With Love and Joy,

Sheila