If you are a student of history, you will have read numerous times about religious devotees of various faiths who have taken vows of silence. You may wonder why, what is so important about silence? The answer is not in the importance of silence itself: it is what happens when you still yourself and allow God to manifest Himself to you. Think about how in a noisy, crowded room it’s hard to pick out one particular person’s voice. It is frazzling and basically impossible. This is why silence can be so crucial, because it allows you to hear things you may not hear in the roar and bustle of a noisy life.
Meditation is an excellent way to achieve silence of the mind and body. By putting yourself into a physical, mental and spiritual position of isolation and concentrating on the divine, you make it possible to hear that still, small voice in your heart. It is possible to understand the will of God better. It makes it easier to make decisions and interpret things that have happened. Why? Because the silence takes all the background disturbance away.
Silence is actually a form of energy. It allows people to think more clearly, act more definitively. It slows the brain down, making it calmer and the thought processes clearer. Silence, when coupled with prayer and meditation, can be a doorway to a secret garden in your life, a garden where God can speak to you, and you can actually listen, instead of shrugging off His suggestions and directions due to the hustle and bustle of a noisy, crowded thought process.
Many people are afraid of silence. How many of us, such as when we are out on a date, encounter that “awkward silence” and feel the compulsive need to fill that silence with needless and inane chatter? We are subconsciously almost frightened of silence, because it means subjecting our active, rebellious minds and bodies to discipline. It means tuning out the world, suppressing your urges to babble, and focusing on something else, the other.
When we turn our thoughts and mental focus inward, we gain power to refuel our brains. The ego is temporarily turned off, or it is at least made to be still and quiet for a while. In this setting, we will begin to see the world as it really is, and how it should actually be. Our own thoughts disrupt our reality sometimes, so that we don’t see the beauty and goodness of the world around us. In silence, there is the chance to become introspective, to examine our hearts, our thoughts, our intentions, and to get an honest perspective on them. Being silent allows your inner self to speak, not the rebellious and temperamental conscious mind, but the real inner you, the one made in God’s image,
But meditation and prayer isn’t the only time to be silent. Silence is also appropriate at certain times. When you feel your emotions spiraling out of control, such as during an argument, stop talking. If you are tempted to gossip or backbite, be silent. If someone else is speaking, shut up. Being silent in these situations allows you to derail the emotional freight train and concentrate on what is really important, seeing into the heart of things, and extending courtesy to others.
Speak Your Mind