How often do you find yourself complaining about too much quiet? If you are like me, that doesn’t happen too often. In fact, my world is so filled with noise that I find that I have learned to tune things and people (which means noises) out.
That’s unfortunate (I am learning), because by making “tune things out” my default drive, I am unknowingly also tuning out Silence.
What is Silence? Is Silence just the absence of noise? Is Silence the absence of distraction? Is Silence simply absence?
Robert Sardello, in his (highly recommended) book Silence: The Mystery of Wholeness, says that “when we cultivate the capacity to be alone without feeling lonely, we enter into solitude where we find ourselves anew.” Silence is a quality, but it’s more than that. Silence is a living presence that connects all things that exist. Sound familiar? It might if you are Unitarian-Universalist. Silence is another name for the “interconnected web of all existence.”
Silence is the rich gift of the Universe to each of us. We can find it by drawing ourselves aside, breathing, and asking: where is Silence? A gentle feeling may come into you heart and then move through the body. It is the Presence that connects and under-girds and reveals everything.
It doesn’t matter if this doesn’t make sense. Try an experiment, just for today. As often as you can, in the midst of your day, ask yourself: where is Silence? And then, wait for whatever subtle or not so subtle experience comes to you.
This is a rich harvest, and it belongs to every living being.
Bob Patrick
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