Silence: External & Internal
by Tobin Blake (Author - Power of Stillness)
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.
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