Silence

There is so much of noise every where and we are in the middle of this circus which we have created. 

Ever wondered what does silence sound like? Yes no typo error, what is the sound of silence? 

I got a first hand experience of this recently. Sitting at the Indian ocean shore, with no wifi or connectivity, all i could do was look at the serene ocean. The silence was a music, of the waves lapping on the tide and coming to meet me on the shore. The tune of my heartbeat and breathing were creating a melody with these waves, and the energy was exuberant  far more musical than all the noise which i have heard all my life.

The absolute disconnect with the world was more magical and mystical in nature than i could have imagined. As i did not have an option to get on my smart phone for anything other than listen to music or take pictures, therefore the complete disconnect to me was a blessing in disguise. Many a times i have tried to discipline myself to not check my messages, or  notifications but still some where i have always cheated and managed a peak into the outside world. But on this trip i had no choice, and the effort to check whether i had the signal or data connectivity lost its battle once i experienced the total silence.

I felt as if the world had stopped and i was one with nature and for the first time i felt i was in Now. There was no thought which crossed my mind and i was in a meditative state without making any effort to meditate. This is when i realised the true sound of silence. 

Nothing creates everything and in this nothing is what everything is. 

The sound of Silence is more intoxicating than any sound we will ever hear in our lives. My inner journey took a different turn with this, i experienced bliss as it is said in books and by many spiritual people. When there are no thoughts, no fear, no past, no future but just you and this moment. In my meditation i have come across this feeling many times, but to experience this state without any effort was the first for me.

We have heard "Silence is golden" in the context of speaking less and let the other person talk in a conversation. or not making a fool of oneself by speaking too much. To me Silence is Music and this is what i will like to rephrase as when we find ourselves, we don't need to challenge ourselves to listen to people who we have no interest in. Yes we learn from people, but then what is it that i want to learn from someone is the most important question. With so many people making their voices heard and numerous discussions which we all do on daily basis, yet no one understanding each other. This is the price we are paying by creating so many noises, who is actually listening?

I was once very angry at an incident and wanted to write a stinker mail to the concerned person, but was advised by my colleague to not write a mail but talk it out. Reason, once its written there will be a ripple effect but if spoken, people forget. Strange is this not? If i want to say things to you then its better to say them than write them. But i wanted to give a warning to the person for not doing the job as expected and wanted no repetition of the same mistake again. So my question, we create so much noise every minute of our lives, who really listens to us?

There is a meditation i teach, 'still your mind', and in this meditation the only effect i ask the person to remove is the noise and thoughts. Let the clutter go away for the mind to be still. Once we achieve this still state its easy for us to be objective and logical in our thinking. A fresh mind thinks faster than an overloaded mind.

To maintain even an hour of silence, disconnecting from the world for 60 minutes everyday, one will see how the brain wiring will change over time. Many people cannot meditate, they have a mind block or are hyper active and its a belief for many therefore instead of forcing them to meditate i usually ask them to disconnect themselves from the world for 60 minutes. What is it one going to do, read a book? think about their work strategy? think of a new technology? what is the question many ask and all i tell them is Nothing ! do nothing.

Imagine to do nothing for 60 minutes. No work, no computer , no phone, no music, no thoughts ..... simple plain nothing. How many can actually attain this 60 minutes of bliss? 

Think about it, Silence calls us and we don't hear it in this clutter.