The wind howls, but the mountains remain still – Japanese Proverb
In the modern world silence is a luxury, though some find it ‘golden’ others will find it frightening, perhaps because of the constant need to fill ‘space’.
There are people today all over the world who have chosen a life of silence from monks to explorers visiting the corners of the earth.
Kamo No Chomei, a 12th Century Japanese recluse said “Even though I make no special attempt to observe the discipline of silence, living alone automatically makes me refrain from the sins of speech.”
With silence comes contemplation and an opportunity to reconnect with your heart and your true self.
To embody silence means to be totally at peace with oneself and in a place of comfort, free from judgment, fear and self-doubting. The side effect is a natural mindfulness that isn’t structured or timed or taking place in a class but is just there.
In day to day life practicing quiet and silence means you have to listen more. Refraining from always talking and interjecting.
It’s an interesting practice.
I had one very special moment of silence and stillness as I swung my car into my drive one late afternoon. A beautiful deer was standing there, he had probably been nibbling at some shrub, and as he began to dart across the garden I was entranced as his white tail bobbed up and down before escaping to the safety of the trees. I was stopped in my tracks and I sat there for a while with a real feeling of peace and gratitude. It was a settling experience after another busy day and in that short space I felt that everything had come back together again.
Why you might want to practice silence –
- Silence is anchoring.
- It brings self awareness and discipline.
- It encourages the practice of true listening and non judgment.
- Silence allows you to become more of a human being than a human doing.
- Silence and peace helps lowers cortisol and adrenal levels, reducing the negative effects of stress.
No utterance at all, no speech no sound that anyone can hear
Yet their voice goes out through all the earth
And their message to the ends of the world
—The Jerusalem Bible, Psalm 19: verse 2
