Silence:
External & Internal
by
Tobin Blake The real in us is silent; the acquired is talkative. — Kahlil Gibran From
TV sets and radios to sirens, jet aircraft, horns, and the constant yammer of too many people with too
much to say, our world is filled with noise. When we are not engaged in
listening to something or someone, we are usually yapping away ourselves,
either externally or at least in our own heads. As a result very few people
have experienced true quiet. Imagine a silence that is so rich and reaches so
deeply within your mind that it then expands to envelop the sights and sounds
and people around you. This is a silence altogether alien to the workaday world
and our lives in it. Yet this silence is something we can learn to experience
and appreciate. It is true that we can't make the world shut up, as much as
we would sometimes like to slap a strip of duct tape across its magnificent
mouth. This is one of the reasons I like to express my ideas via the written
word; if you do not like what I am saying, you can always shut me up —
just close the book. But even though we can't shut off the noise, we can learn
to hear it differently. By developing internal silence we are building a sheltered
cove within ourselves, a place of stability from all the busyness that takes
place around us. It is possible to see the world at peace when we are watching
it through our own silent mind. This is the power of silence: the power to
paint the entire world into a quiet place through the peace in our own mind.
Remember, over our own minds we do have control. We cannot make the world shut
up, but we can learn to be quiet and in turn to see that the world reflects our
own hushed state of mind. Right now it may seem impossible that you could ever
experience this type of silence. But I ask you to consider that the nature of
the mind is naturally one of
silence. It takes energy to constantly think. Thinking is an action, something
we do. Silence, on the other
hand, is the state of the mind at rest, the mind unoccupied. So try thinking of
it this way: silence is like sitting quietly, and thinking is like standing up
and walking — only mentally. If you were on your feet all day, pacing the
floor like a nervous father-to-be, wouldn't you be physically exhausted? Yet
this is what we do in our minds all day, every day. Practicing external silence is one way to broaden your
understanding of silence and begin to see just how profound the amount of noise
inside the mind really is. Sometime in the coming week, consider devoting a
day, or at least a few hours, to silence. Go about your day as you normally
would, except without talking. Observe the people around you without entering
into the conversations. Watch your own mind, too, your own impulse to speak,
and note any discomfort you feel with silence. In short, watch your thoughts.
Are there any moments of quiet in your mind? If not, what would it be like if
there were? Ask yourself what the great need to constantly think and talk is
really about. Question the need. This should be a day of contemplation, which always entails
observation. Watch and listen, but don't engage. As a practical matter, you may
want to carry a pen and pad with you for those moments when communication is
necessary. Otherwise, simply pay attention to why and how people use talk to
fill up their time. Many people have devoted much of their lives to the practice
of silence. Others regularly set aside a day for silence. I have heard that
Gandhi, for instance, practiced a silent day once a week during his later
years. For now, though, I am recommending that you give it a try just once.
While it won't be the ultimate experience of silence — because, as you
will notice, your mind won't stop just because your mouth has — the
practice can be quite revealing, if not outright startling. It can help you to
understand the incessant nature of your thoughts and see how they hamper your
meditations. After all is said and done, to be silent is to be at peace; a
silent mind at peace is also a still mind, which is what meditation is all
about. All we need to do in order to open up to spiritual awareness is be quiet
and still for a little while. All we need is to stop talking and to be still in
body and in mind, for which we really don't need to do anything at all. In
fact, in order to experience deeper meditative states, we must do nothing at
all. For just an instant we stop; there is no effort, there is no exercise,
there is no meditation, there is no theology, there are no actions, there are
no words. Through perfect silence and stillness, we experience an awareness of
union beyond the body and the thoughts. This is the final and deepest
meditation. Stop
and Practice
Practice "just listening" to the small spaces of
silence in between your thoughts, making these silences the focus of today's
fifteen-minute meditation. If it helps you, imagine that the silence beyond
your thoughts is a powerful, living force that is trying to communicate with
you. Let go of all fears, doubts, and restlessness today, and invite the
silence to envelop you completely. Just be quiet and listen carefully www.gaybombay.info Group Site: http://www.gaybombay.info ========================== NEW CLASSIFIEDS SECTION SEEKING FRIENDS? VISIT www.gaybombay.info click on classified section and type your message in the post section once the link opens This message was posted to the gay_bombay Yahoo! Group. Responses to messages (by clicking "Reply") will also be posted on the eGroup and sent to all members. If you'd like to respond privately to the author of any message then please compose and send a new email message to the author's email address. For Parties and events go to: http://calendar.yahoo.com/YYY,04497/srt,0/gaybombaygroup/?v=42&POS= Post:- gay_bombay@yahoogroups.com Subscribe:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Digest Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] No Mail Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Individual Mail Mode:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Contact Us:- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives are at http://www.mail-archive.com/gay_bombay%40yahoogroups.com/maillist.html Yahoo! Groups Links
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