The Wealth That Silence Holds

We live in a world where only each one matters, individualism is present in every step we take, unfortunately. However, it is very strange to hear someone say that they take a few minutes out of the day to really think about themselves as best they can.  Like? Through silence.

It’s just that silence is an excellent tool for many things, from enriching our inner life to “ending several revolutions” when we are anxious, nervous or stressed. It is necessary to stop talking for a moment, stop listening to TV and people  (from the partner, to friends, through politicians and journalists) and start to connect more with silence.

The stimuli that surround us (advertising, television, radio, computer, noise, conversations, horns, etc) make our brain always on “alert”. We are continually aware of what happens beyond our bodies, even when we sleep. Without them, we can feel lonely, abandoned, afraid, etc.

But, what can happen if we stay in a real silence, that typical silence that happens only in the countryside, at dawn, in the sea out of season? What can be found in this silence or this lack of irritating sounds? How can you contribute to our awakening as people?

Silence in the Western world is undervalued, as Chilean psychologist Cláudio Araya says in his book “The biggest advance is to stop oneself”. It is believed to be something bad, that we cannot be silent or not listen to anything for a few minutes. Just as we can see or analyze the world today, we seem to be afraid of silence.

According to Spanish writer Raimon Panikkar,  one of the diseases of the modern world is “Sigephobia”, precisely the fear of silence. This is because we live in a society where the most terrifying power at our disposal is sound. Otherwise, silence presents itself as a very expensive luxury. In order not to listen, you have to be very rich. Not only are children afraid of silence, but more and more adults are too. That’s why we even hear music in the elevator (did you ever think about that?). These are Araya’s words.

The intimate space of silence

It is common for a nuisance to arise when there is silence… Why? Because it is an intimate space for each one of us that has not yet been explored in depth. When we are with other people and for some reason we stop talking, we feel uncomfortable, for example. When we listen to a radio program and the announcer takes a few seconds to speak again, we think that something bad has happened and that catches our attention. However, in many cases it  is healthier to be silent than to talk too much.

Being silent helps us in psychic health. Therefore, psychologists recommend having a quiet and peaceful inner life; having moments of silence, especially after a chaotic journey at work, in a city with so many traffic problems and full of noise at all times. It is necessary to stop for a while and sit down to reflect. The only way to achieve this is with the help of silence.  Being alone at home or moving a few kilometers away from the center serves to analyze certain issues: what I want, what I need, what worries me, how to act, how to continue, what to decide, etc.

To be able to find and enjoy the silence of our interior may sound ironic, because inside our mind and body, there is an “endless” of noises and sounds, which are not manifested with words, but which can be deafening much more than anything else. What is contained must come out, because the more we have trouble listening to ourselves, the more we will depend on the outside world to solve our lives.

With the madness of everyday life, routine, obligations, arriving first, filling the schedule of activities, etc.,  we lack inner wealth, we cannot interpret the signals our body gives us,  we are not used to beneficial practices , like meditation or yoga, which bring us closer to ourselves, increasing contact with what really happens to us.

The excuses don’t take long to appear, because in this task the will and the willingness act a lot to be able to work on relaxation and obtaining the so longed for and blessed silence. It is likely that we say that we do not have time to sit down and “listen to nothing”, do a meditation practice (it is not even necessary to go to a specialized center, we can organize a space in our house ourselves, with candles, incense and pillows ), spend five minutes with the TV turned off, etc.

The longer it takes us to find ourselves again, the more moments of silence we will need. Self-knowledge is vital to achieve happiness (which we are looking for so much) and also to be able to solve the problems that afflict us in all areas of life. For this reason, we should not be afraid of the lack of sound, the lack of noise or words. On the contrary, we need to take advantage of these moments that we can give ourselves, that the world “conspires” to offer us. Let’s not miss this opportunity to be in tune with our interior and with what truly happens to us.