The Fear of Silence
Daily technology
Turn on the TV!
Login to your computer!
Check your cell phone…again!
Above all, fill the void of silence and “not-doing”. Equating silence and stillness with boredom propels us to fill our days with busyness. This belief blocks our spiritual evolution. Why do we fear silence? Is it because we fear thinking about past mistakes or pain? If we face these thoughts when they appear, soon they will lose their intensity. Stillness provides us with the opportunity to stop thinking. Our focus is on leaving thoughts behind.
By breathing slowly and focusing on the breath, we bypass the thought process. When we reach the space of “not thinking”, we need not fear worrisome thoughts. By allowing ourselves to rest in clarity, we achieve peace.
This process is called meditation. We can do this while walking, swimming, biking, or just sitting quietly. In this world of stress, the spirit craves solitude; the body craves healing. We have a place to go, a space to rest. We only need to decide when we want to escape the tyranny of the brain and retreat into silence. Soon we will be looking for times to recharge our battery. Once we have experienced the peace of quieting our brain, we will want to repeat the experience.
When daily meditation becomes a habit, we will find ourselves feeling calmer and slower to get entangled in everyday disagreements. Any book on meditation will list several benefits for the spirit and the body. We need not fear the silence, the fertile field for spiritual growth.