The Author's Corner: Sound of Silence

What is the sound of silence? To understand you first have to experience non silence which is more white noise than anything else unless you are talking to someone. The sounds of the dryer, the TV or radio, other people talking and the list of white noise is endless. The question is what is the sound of silence? Is it sitting in a soundproof room with the door shut? Even when you are outdoors there is the sound of animals, vehicles passing in the distance, as well as the wind passing by your ears. Would we know what it is unless we were deaf? Would someone be able to handle silence?

As we look at silence, it is something that is hard to achieve. If you are single and live on your own there is a better chance of reaching it. The reason for that is because it is you alone at the end of the day and you have the choice of what noise is being made in most cases. The only time that changes is if you live in an apartment or condo building.

Within that silence we find out who we are. Questions come in and some people worry when they are in this state. Silence will be at times louder than when there is noise. I say this because our minds are not use to quiet situations and it tends to run wild.

In meditation, that goal is to quiet the mind and in doing so, we are able to understand silence. The method also teaches us how to control our mind in the way of focusing on our thoughts which stops the wildness of the mind. You can be anywhere when it come to meditation because it can be done in a matter of minutes. You can be at home, work, a park or waiting for an appointment. A simple five minutes a day will help you.

Yet I ask what is the sound of silence? In my own experience it come when I am listening to music. I know that sounds strange, however that music coming from my headphones covers out the other sounds and I am able to quiet my mind. The music is just white noise.

In a world that is busy, taking five minutes out of your day to enjoy a calm break is a blessing. For me, I take those breaks and I am able to continue with my day.

When you practice meditation, you will learn how to breathe, the most important thing that we all take for granted. Then there is the quieting of the mind and then understanding our thoughts that we have. Once those lessons are learned you will be on the road to understanding what the sound of silence is.

Stay safe.