Silence

Silence is an approach to living that allows our inner capacities and deep wisdom to emerge. It is an approach and manner that is needed more than ever. Our modern life is not a simple life. We have busy, complex lives. We are constantly bombarded with information and stimuli and we need to have a quiet mind to be able to function successfully. This is more than meditation and is not about retiring away from life or even not speaking. We all face challenges, have goals or responsibilities, and we need a way to deal with these. We can not be unresponsive to life and so we must find a way to bring peace from our practice to our challenges, goals and responsibilities. Meditation is good but often not enough. As you may have found, even some who meditate find it is difficult to keep their peace in the world; at work, in meetings or with loved ones. This is often because they practice silence away from the noise of the world and not in it. This is not to say that taking time to be with one’s self does not have benefits. Meditation is not only a means to quieten the mind and provide restoration, it can also give space from the pressures of life. Understandably, with the many challenges in life, work and relationships some may seek to use meditation as a way of avoiding or dealing with something unpleasant. But, you go to the meditation mat with a noisy and disrupted mind, you can not get quality answers. And, if nothing in you has transformed as you sat, you return to the noise and challenges you sought to escape, and nothing in your life will have changed. We need to learn to have a quiet attitude, so we can ‘Be’ and ‘Do’ in life successfully. Whether or not you do Yoga, listen to guided meditations, or use any other strategy or practice to bring yourself peace, it is to no avail if you cannot be this way in the world. Furthermore, you can not be at peace in the world if you do not practise in the world. Hence, to function well with day to day challenges, more than sitting alone is required; a quiet mind is essential. This is also about developing a quiet attitude and stillness in body, so you are able to keep yourself composed and succeed, whilst engaged in the cacophony of noise in work, family and life. The second section of the book has science based evidence for the ideas presented here and section three has practices for you to try. However, this is NOT an instructional or educational book. It is not the aim to explain concepts so the reader can learn. It is written in a sagacious voice, much like Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching”. ‘When the student is ready the teacher appears.’ Lao Tzu That you have reached for this book is a good indication that you are ready. Whatever your current understanding or level of readiness, if you will read with a quiet mind and open heart, you will gain much insight.