Shhhhhhhhhh.....

I’ve received a few emails from people about my previous post on silence (y’all can comment on the blog if you like).  Anyway, it occurs to me that not everyone is drawn to take a few days and spend them in silence and if even if that appeals to you, you may find it challenging to integrate your experience of silence into your daily life.

To that end, here are a few tips about silence you can play with.

With the absence of outer distractions like radio, tv, music, podcasts…you may notice how the mind wanders and creates a jumble of internal noise.  You can play with gently focusing your attention on the breath and when your mind wanders (which it will do) congratulate yourself for that moment of awareness when you noticed the mind wandering and bring it back to the breath.  Or you could lovingly say to yourself over and over and over…shhhhhhh.  shhhhhhh.  shhhhhh.

Alternatively, you could practice being in the verb you’re in.  This is one way that actors practice and prepare – being in the verb you are in focuses your attention on the present moment and can open you to the cathedral of inner silence.

Turn off the radio in the car and just breathe with present directed awareness – not meditation – just breathing and driving.   Driving the speed limit may also help with being more present.

When you are preparing your meals, or eating, turn off the radio or tv.  Set aside the newspaper and magazines and just be with the food you are with.  Anyone hearing strains of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young — “Love the One You’re With”?

Of course, meditate.  If you don’t have a daily meditation practice, start.  Start slow with just a few minutes a day.  But start.  No kidding, over time, you will be so glad you started.  Check out the free stuff page if you need some guidance.  I upload new stuff periodically.  There are also numerous other sites.  I like audio dharma.  And here’s a cool site with meditation timers you can download for your computer or iphone.

One of my clients mentioned that she didn’t think that people enjoyed practicing silence because they may be afraid of what they’ll discover in the silence.  Perhaps for some of you there’s truth in that.  Silence can introduce you to parts of yourself that perhaps you’ve been neglecting or would rather ignore.  If that’s the case, maybe the silence can re-introduce you to yourself and help you re-discover ways of living that feel ALIVE and real.  Even if there’s pain, there’s also joy.  Even if there’s sorrow, there’s also hope.  I don’t think any of us can cut ourselves off from one aspect of life without also squeezing out the other, more appealing parts of life as well.

To that end, I think it’s valuable to cultivate resources that help you cope, heal, and reclaim the gift of life.

Another way to practice silence is to first do a mind dump.  One of my favorites is using Julia Cameron’s notion of morning pages.  The idea here is that each morning you write for 3 pages without stopping.  You can read more about that here. After writing, just sit and breathe.  Practice being in silence.

Hmmm…this started out as a way to offer just a few tips on silence and now I’m on to resources.  I suppose the truth here is that I find silence to be a resource and meditation is one of the best ways I practice silence.  AND, I enjoy integrating moments of silence into my daily life.  It restores my awareness of the peace available to me in this moment.

What about you?  What your your silence tips?  Post here so we all can benefit.