Silence is magical. It is regarded as one of the highest faculties of wise men, yet in the modern world we seem to be giving silence not enough importance as it deserves.
Photo-Adobe Stock
What does it bring, to remind silent for few minutes a day?
James Allen, one of the pioneers on the field of Self-Development back in the 1800s, says it beautifully in his book As a Man Thinketh: “Calmess of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of rippened experience, and of more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought”.
To become silent requires a strong sense of discipline and will. It requires focused attention in the present moment, and take the time to just really Be.
Make the habit of silence one of your best friends with simple but effective steps:
Spend time walking in nature. The direct contact with nature brings us automatically in harmony with our inner peace as we experience how perfectly all the elements and forces of it interact effortlessy and fluidly. The breeze moving the tree´s leaves, the water flowing in the river, the plants movements and sounds, the clean air and the sound of birds singing… everything seems so perfectly in harmony, and so you feel as being part of the whole experience.
Spend the first 5 minutes of your day in silence. The first minutes of our day determine how the rest of it will unfold. Let those first 5 minutes be magical. As soon as you open your eyes, sit confortably, take a deep breath and just remain silent, listen to the sounds of the morning, the smells, rest your mind and smile. A successful and productive day will follow! Because “As a man thinketh, so is he” said James Allen.
Take a moment of silence during your lunch break. Right before heading to face the second half of the day, go to a quiet place (if its outside, much better) and simply sit, close your eyes, take a deep breath and just relax, clean your thoughts for a few minutes, stay still and smile.
Practice silence during meetings or social conversations. I Love this quote from Francés Jean de la Bruyere: “It is an enormous disgrace not to have the talent to speak well, nor having the enough wisdom to close your mouth and remain silent”.
Socrates, a great philosopher of the acient Greece, established 3 fundamental rules when it comes to speaking. Before having the intention to say something, reflect on the following:
1.Are you speaking well of the other person?
2.Is it truth?
3.Is it valuable?
If one of the answers is “No”, better stay silent. As otherwise, your words will not have any value nor effect to anyone.
The world, as chaothic and loud as it appears to be for our human brain and capacity, is actually a temple of calmness and stillness. Science has recognized that all elements of our nature, everything that forms the Matter, is just energy and vibration in certain degrees of motion. The higher the vibration, the higher is the motion, so the loudness goes to a level that the human ear cannot longer recognize. And at the end, everything lays still.
The benefits of adding a moment of silence in our daily lifes, brings great benefits:
We keep alert and productive in the present moment
It improves our decision-making by having a clear and sharp mind
We improve the ability to control our emotions coming from external factors of the environment
We develop self-awareness and discover quicker our deepest desires
Keep us physically healthy, because the negative stress levels will no longer affect us
To become silent, is to become wiser. As Franz Kafka, the austrian philosopher, perfectly acknowledged: “You need not to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not to even listen, simply wait. You need not just to even wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has not choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet”.
