Whether you are beginning a spiritual path or whether you have been on a spiritual path for many years, the power of silence is paramount for the seeker.
In its truest form, silence is communication. While we are conditioned to believe that communication can only come in the forms of our five senses, we are never taught to just to sit with ourselves, to embrace the silence of our being.
The first time I started to consciously meditate in silence, I was overcome with the roving thoughts of my mind. As I sat with my eyes closed in front of the homemade altar in the living room of my apartment, I started to experience myself in ways that I never had before. While I was sitting with an intention to meditate, I started to see the many ways in which my mind moved. As soon as I sat down to consecrate my meditation, the first fifteen minutes were always quite difficult and as I became accustomed to my meditations the difficulties gradually subsided.
As my apartment was on the street side of a main thoroughfare in town, there was always the ambient noise of people and the constant sound from cars passing by. Although I wasn’t sitting in a cave in the silence of the Himalayas, I learned to appreciate these background sounds, and eventually they disappeared as I went through many layers, deeper and deeper within myself. As I had never before taken the time nor effort to sit with myself in silent meditation, I was surprised to find that it was as an easy intention to set and accomplish. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed this special time of the day, whether I would meditate straight out of bed in the morning or whether I sat in the evening, as I continued on my path with the intention to be liberated I made silent meditation a daily ritual in my life.
The profound discoveries I had found in my silent meditations made me question myself as to why I had to wait so long into my life to participate in this beautiful experience. From my earliest memories of being raised in a Western Christian background I remembered that I was told that meditation was an action of the devil, that it was somehow bad but there was never a greater explanation as to why. As I came to start a spiritual path I gave myself the freedom to let go of my past beliefs, this was a challenge but if I was to achieve liberation as I intended to, this was the only way.
Now as I see everything as total unity, before I could only see fragments, a projection of what the picture is but not the picture in its entirety. Silence was an invitation to see beyond my interpretation of what I thought I was and with it I could observe myself and my surroundings without judgement, perceiving life through an unblemished mirror. As my spiritual path took many twists and turns, I made a sacred vow to always abide in this immovable state, the silence within and to let this impenetrable silence permeate the totality of my being, in all actions and non-actions.
“To those who listen from the mind, I speak in words.
To those who listen from the heart, I speak in presence.
To those who listen from the soul, I speak in silence.”
Once I was posed with the question, “Why are we not teaching our children and teenagers the fundamentals of how to be silent, how to meditate so that when they grow up they can enhance the relationship that they have with themself and thus affect the quality of their life and the lives of all those around them?” This is an important question and after investigating I found the answer although it was difficult to accept. Our existing societies do not want liberated beings, it would disrupt the Status Quo and defeat the purpose of perpetuating a system that is designed to use everyone of as a commodity. Ask yourself, “When was the last time I sat with myself in silence?”
Entertained by the constant exposure of external stimuli, we live in world where the experience of silence is no longer valued or appreciated but it is often seen as boring or uncomfortable. Perhaps if we were living in a society based upon collective intention, compassion and cooperation rather than competition, ignorance and greed, the advantages of silence would be shared individually and in groups thus enabling the potentials for conscious and liberated beings which would become a synergistic benefit for all humanity, wildlife and Nature.
As I have traveled extensively around the world, I have enjoyed the experience of learning many languages but despite my greatest attempts to speak the tongue of every country I have visited, I have found that the simplest and most effective way that everyone can communicate is through the heart, through the silence of being. In the power of silence you can truly meet, beyond the distortions of the mind, into the source of who we truly are. If you possess the attribute to truly listen, if you can allow yourself to feel intuitively, you can hear everything that cannot be said in the limitation of sounds and speech.
I have heard that there was a remote monastery secluded deep in the woods where all of the monks followed a devoted vow of silence. This vow of silence could only be broken once a year on Christmas, only one monk could speak and the monk who spoke was only allowed to speak one sentence. One Christmas, Brother John had his turn to speak and said, “I love the delightful mashed potatoes we have every year with the Christmas roast!” Then he sat down. Silence in the monastery ensued for another 365 days. The next Christmas, Brother Jacob got his turn, and said, “I think the mashed potatoes are lumpy and I truly despise them!” Once again, silence in the monastery ensued for another 365 days. The following Christmas, Brother Paul rose and said, “I am fed up with this constant bickering!”
As words can hold innumerable meanings and definitions according to context and interpretation, in silence there is a beauty and power where there are no misunderstandings. No matter where you go, where you are coming from or what you are doing, the silence within me is the always same as the silence within yourself. The power of silence is entirely independent of any differences that we may perceive ourselves to be, for it is in this foundation of true recognition, of timeless reflection that we can build and grow within ourselves and with each other. ~ ༺ 𝓖 ༻