Silence
The other morning, I left my house in my usual state. I had had coffee, done a laundry load or 2, answered emails, made appointments and even taken a moment, albeit a brief one, to say thank you for my life. I had music ready to turn on, cell phone handy, got down to the main road and all that was coming was a bicyclist. My car engine made a little noise, but so little I could hear the hum of his tires as he rode by, and in that moment I became still. He rode in silence. No engine noises, just the whirr of his tires, the birds, the stillness and the blue sky.
How long since you have sat in silence? 100 years ago there were still plenty of places on the globe that were quiet. Electricity was rare, telephones were too. People generally rose with the sun and went to bed with the darkness, as we had done for thousands of years. There were no ipods, or cellphones; no way for anyone in the world to get in touch with us at the drop of a hat. We walked or rode in carriages or wagons or on horses. I imagine the richness of riding a horse for hours across a mountain, the wonders I would see and the fertile ground I would have for my imagination.
What happens when we get noisy is we lose our center. We become focused on what is outside ourselves, and ignore what is going on inside. Most people seem to prefer noise to quiet. Countless homes I have been in have TV’s going all day long. People sit for hours watching news channels tell them the same things over and over. We have become hypnotized by the noise, by the “news” and by other people’s opinions. There are even laugh tracks on TV sitcoms to tell us when we should laugh!
Some forms of sound, like music, are a blessing for us to hear. A German scientist experimented with different forms of music and found that Sanscrit and Gregorian chanting actually repair DNA. I choose to believe that also applies to all sacred music, and music sung with love. 200 years ago the only way most people heard music was in a concert, or by luck and chance, walking down the street and hearing someone playing. We are so fortunate to be able to play any kind of music we choose, and even more so when we choose music that feeds our souls.
In our modern noisy and distracted world, how do we create silence? We can set aside a quiet time where we turn off the phones and TVs. By doing this on a consistent basis, we become aware of the stillness inside us, the place of that “still small voice” that guides us from within. We can drive in silence and just watch where our minds go. We can meditate and do yoga, or get a massage, soak in a hot tub, or take a walk alone in Nature. We can sit on our front porch, or garden. The important thing is to take ourselves away from the world of distractions, from the TV, the computer and the phones every day, for at least 30 minutes but more if we can, to allow ourselves the healing relaxation that only silence brings.
Sukoshi Rice is a traditional Reiki Master and Licensed Massage Therapist offering sessions and classes in Blairsville since 1985. She can be reached at 706 745 2648 or [email protected].
The other morning, I left my house in my usual state. I had had coffee, done a laundry load or 2, answered emails, made appointments and even taken a moment, albeit a brief one, to say thank you for my life. I had music ready to turn on, cell phone handy, got down to the main road and all that was coming was a bicyclist. My car engine made a little noise, but so little I could hear the hum of his tires as he rode by, and in that moment I became still. He rode in silence. No engine noises, just the whirr of his tires, the birds, the stillness and the blue sky.
How long since you have sat in silence? 100 years ago there were still plenty of places on the globe that were quiet. Electricity was rare, telephones were too. People generally rose with the sun and went to bed with the darkness, as we had done for thousands of years. There were no ipods, or cellphones; no way for anyone in the world to get in touch with us at the drop of a hat. We walked or rode in carriages or wagons or on horses. I imagine the richness of riding a horse for hours across a mountain, the wonders I would see and the fertile ground I would have for my imagination.
What happens when we get noisy is we lose our center. We become focused on what is outside ourselves, and ignore what is going on inside. Most people seem to prefer noise to quiet. Countless homes I have been in have TV’s going all day long. People sit for hours watching news channels tell them the same things over and over. We have become hypnotized by the noise, by the “news” and by other people’s opinions. There are even laugh tracks on TV sitcoms to tell us when we should laugh!
Some forms of sound, like music, are a blessing for us to hear. A German scientist experimented with different forms of music and found that Sanscrit and Gregorian chanting actually repair DNA. I choose to believe that also applies to all sacred music, and music sung with love. 200 years ago the only way most people heard music was in a concert, or by luck and chance, walking down the street and hearing someone playing. We are so fortunate to be able to play any kind of music we choose, and even more so when we choose music that feeds our souls.
In our modern noisy and distracted world, how do we create silence? We can set aside a quiet time where we turn off the phones and TVs. By doing this on a consistent basis, we become aware of the stillness inside us, the place of that “still small voice” that guides us from within. We can drive in silence and just watch where our minds go. We can meditate and do yoga, or get a massage, soak in a hot tub, or take a walk alone in Nature. We can sit on our front porch, or garden. The important thing is to take ourselves away from the world of distractions, from the TV, the computer and the phones every day, for at least 30 minutes but more if we can, to allow ourselves the healing relaxation that only silence brings.
Sukoshi Rice is a traditional Reiki Master and Licensed Massage Therapist offering sessions and classes in Blairsville since 1985. She can be reached at 706 745 2648 or [email protected].
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