Silence. Don’t we all love some silence every once in a while? It provides us with time to reflect, aids with concentration, and also helps us feel peaceful and at ease. There are several advantages to sitting in silence, including stress reduction, improved attention, and the development of self-awareness. Silence is defined as 'no noise or sound at all.' However, this definition does not do it justice. Are we ever in a place where there's a complete absence of sound or noise? Is our mind ever silent? Silence is in fact never silent. If we are ever sitting with someone in silence, just by looking at them we can feel or hear what they are thinking or trying to say. Perhaps, silence can tell us more than noise ever can.
In terms of religion and spirituality, silence is crucial. It is considered that a spiritual seeker may only absorb greater truths in quiet, which is why Hindus practice ‘Maun Vrath’ and take vows of silence. The majority of religions hold that spiritual development can occur in silence. How does doing or thinking nothing at all count as a spiritual practice? Well, silence is seen as the language of God. A time in silence is the only time that we completely recognise ourselves and understand who we are. Silence of the mind cultivates positivity by giving us mindfulness and letting us appreciate the beauty of the present moment, without worrying about what once happened or what is to happen.
A while ago, I asked a few people about what silence makes them feel. A lot of them said that it made them feel relaxed and at peace, but some of them also answered that silence made them feel scared. When more people were asked if silence scared them, they said yes. There's a famous saying, 'saying nothing sometimes says the most', maybe that's why we're scared of silence. Maybe because it tells us way more than we asked to know.
Silence for me is a place to retreat into my mind and understand myself. It's a place where I can sit and just observe, process, and understand the world around me. Silence tells me more than noise ever can.
We generally perceive silence as something empty, but silence is not empty. If you look carefully, silence is full of answers. “Listen to silence…it has a lot to say.”
תגובות