ARE YOU READY FOR SILENCE, THE RIGHT KIND OF SILENCE

 

ARE YOU READY FOR SILENCE?

Spiritual silence is a precious gift.

There are two kinds of silence.  The silence that accompanies complicity, the silence of not speaking up when we should.  It is one of the worst kinds of silence.  But there is also a spiritual silence.  A silence we should embrace more often because it is a silence of meditation and contemplation.  A silence of introspection, of listening.

I want to share with you my experience with spiritual silence and how it has affected my life and work.

For those of you familiar with my work and sometimes quirky approach to a subject I will try not to disappoint.  But why would I provide you with my thoughts (advice if you will!) on silence when you know that I harbor serious misgivings about motivational speakers and TV evangelists and I do believe in that wonderful phrase: Advice, easily given but rarely taken.  Threading on thin ice?  Well, as with all my articles, you get to decide!

A bit of background is in order to justify this transgression, an appropriate reference as I did spent a few years in a seminary contemplating entry into the priesthood, but left years later as a devout agnostic.  No, it was not the silence.  A doubting Thomas makes for a poor Christian soldier.  What it did leave me with was a sense of structure and order I found rewarding and helpful, and the one thing that stuck with me was silence.

The right kind of silence.

In a world almost bursting with noise and distraction I am an oddity, perhaps at odds with the world would be a better description as I refuse to be a gadget carrying member of society (just one example).  I have also been a lifelong walker and I live a minute walk away from beautiful conservation trails.  A daily routine that I use for contemplation and I absolutely love the silence.  The only noises that intrude are the sounds of nature, varying from a quiet rustling of the leaves to the creaking of the branches in an extreme mid-winter cold.  The permanence of the natural world is inspiring in the face of all the fleeting things that life exposes us to.  There are all kinds of silences.  Silence as in not making any noise.  Silence as in you don’t want to be seen or heard.  Silence as in not making any waves because you’re afraid.  Using silence as a statement.  Silence that intimidates.  So, is there something like an objective state of silence?  A meditative, contemplative state?

A spiritual silence.

How useful is it?

Honesty is important.

If hope is the one thing that you desire the most, there is no doubt in my mind that you will find it.  According to some of my fellow humanitarians hope is a four letter word that we should avoid at all costs because you’ve already admitted defeat.  If you seek answers that satisfy your expectations you can do what some of the worst thesis writers do; only use the variables that suit your narrative.  You will prove your point without a doubt.

Honesty and objectivity walk hand in hand and are the only two things that will withstand the true test of time because it is not based on hope or answers anticipated.  In science an experiment is deemed successful if it produces the same result each and every time.  Objectivity and honesty have to answer to the same scrutiny and expectations.  Therefore you can look upon humanity with hope and optimism fueled by bias, or with objectivity and honesty.  Bad science produces results hoped for, whereas good science is based on fact, on objectivity, and on results that are proven to be correct.  And that is where an objective silence plays an important part.  The right kind of silence if you will.

The screamers in our society fear silence and would ban it if they could.

Our species has a tendency to whitewash our most deplorable intentions, aspirations and activities.  We like to paint ourselves in a positive picture and use that wonderful broom of denial to sweep a lot of ugliness under the carpet.  What remains on the table is what we want to see and hear.

There is no right kind of spiritual silence and it’s the one you prefer that counts.

I have written about the power of silence in previous articles and how powerful silence can be.  In silence we can contemplate our inner most thoughts and we can concentrate on the answers we seek in quiet contemplation.  A lot of people fear silence and act uncomfortably when exposed to it.  On my walks I encounter quite a few people hooked up to their favorite devices, either talking; something that absolutely amazes me as a few decades ago you would have been locked up talking while walking; or listening to music or otherwise engaged in conversation with fellow walkers.  Few are like me and walk in silence.  I prefer to walk alone and in silence.  I try to avoid talkative fellow walkers.  They actually annoy me. 

If you love noise and distraction now is the time to disengage from this article and seek something with lots of pictures and sounds.

Practice makes perfect.

Embracing silence and appreciating its power takes discipline and practice.  In my humble opinion the right kind of silence is missing in our lives.

Silence allows us to appreciate the world around us in all its splendor and nuances because it shuts out all the unnecessary noises and distractions.  Silence brings everything into focus with much greater detail and clarity.  In our daily lives we’re constantly surrounded by noise and images, an endless assault on our senses that only distracts and confuses.

The following may not be for you.  It wasn’t for me either.

There are several monastic orders that incorporate total or partial silence into their orders: the Carthusians, Cistercians and Trappist all take a complete vow of silence and the Benedictines incorporate structured silence for prayer and contemplation.  Most faiths use periods of silence in their services.  Prayer often takes place in silence.  Although I am a devout agnostic there is power in prayer and meditation.  We all use different techniques to put us in the right frame of mind and a lot of faiths use kneeling, prostrating, silence, eyes closed or hands folded, to induce the right kind of atmosphere.  It is not about submission, but about an acknowledgement that we’re surrounded by powers greater than ourselves.  The loudest souls around us are people who’re full of themselves and love to hear the sound of their own voice.  You know who they are.

Put it into practice.

A constructive and objective silence is something you acquire by incorporating its techniques through determined effort.  It takes practice.  It is no different than developing a regimen for a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise.  I have never been a fan of total silence because I enjoy a good conversation.  However, incorporating silence into you daily routine can be extremely rewarding.  It allows you to open up your mind to the daily challenges we all face, to improve your outlook on life and to obtain a better understanding of others and the world around you.  Silence is golden!

Talkers lie a lot, especially screamers.

There is a reflective honesty in silence that is lacking in conversation.  When we speak we lie a lot.  A good listener, listens in silence because it allows you to pick up on all the nuances in speech, body language and facial expressions.  Reflection is an integral part of silence.  If the path through life appears rocky and strewn with boulders and potholes, we tend to ignore that a lot of those rocks and potholes are of our own construction.  A lot of life’s barriers are self-inflicted.

As a writer, a student of philosophy, history and the humanities I wanted to share my experience of what silence means to me.  Although I live a simple monkish life, total silence has never suited me.  What are your thoughts on silence?  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if in parliament, rather than politicians constantly yelling and berating each other, if a question put to the floor would require five minutes of total silence and contemplation?  Wouldn’t that be refreshing?

Spiritual silence is only effective if you use it wisely and with the right intent.  Turn it into a phony circus and you only delude yourself.

What are your thoughts on silence?

Did you find this useful or will you chuck it on your discard pile with a condescending shrug?  I can imagine the comments.  Bes, is this end-of-life moralizing?  What a pill to get through!  We’re used to you contemplating all the gut wrenching ways with which humanity will extract itself from the planet.  Is this supposed to make up for some of the depressing stuff you write? (Apparently shit is bad word, so my granddaughter tells me).  You actually have one attribute that doesn’t offend and you wanted us to know about it?

Feel free to comment or share.

As far as the usual: purchase Energy & Origin from KDP Amazon.ca

And you can read it in silence in the privacy of your home.