The Power of Silence…

The Power Of Silence…

I haven’t been in touch for a while and it’s because I was out of words! Some of you might and will disagree with this statement, knowing me 😉
I just came back from a 4 days transformation retreat with Julian Walker, those of you on my Facebook page might have seen the posts and the excited comments.

When I received the retreat schedule I was taken aback to see several hours of deep silence (called Nobel Silence in the Buddhist tradition). I was intrigued and a bit apprehensive. No talking? As in complete silence? Well yeah.  It was a whole new experience that I saw people embrace with devotion.

At first I didn’t know “how to” but then it hit me: it’s simple: DON’T TALK! Try to fully exist in this reality, breathe, and maybe, just maybe don’t plan, just be…. Just…be…then let the silence, and this experience shape me, go with it, embrace it.
So I silenced my words and stopped to listen; I listened to the sounds of nature; the birds, the bees, the wind in the trees! I heard to the sound of my steps crunching the dead leaves creating a music of their own. Then I quieted the chatter in my head, and listened below the surface. I listened to my heart beating, my blood flowing, my breath deepening. I sensed my emotions, I let fear speak to me, I stayed there with it, allowing its presence, embracing it. Then I surrendered to all the beauty that surrounded me, I let it touch parts of me that needed healing.

Sometimes silence hurts!
Look deeper, we talk to cover painful emotions. I talk, fast, when I’m shy or intimidated, when I’m scared. We consistently talk to mask the intensity of silence. At times talking in vain is easier than being quiet and looking inward. Inward is scary, it’s intense, it has a lot to say; for me, this is when silence is louder than words.
We all have a lot going on inside, whether we acknowledge it or not… it’s here, present right under our skin… latent, quiet but present.
Then one day, we stop talking and we listen…
Silence…how do you describe it? What does it mean to you?
Share with me your thoughts here or by private email… let me know if you want me to publish your writing on my website and the next newsletter that I send out!