Listening to the silence Part 1: Why is it important to take time for yourself?

It often happens that a pause occurs in the conversation and then somehow it becomes awkward as if the formed silence suddenly filled the whole space around. And so often it happens that from nowhere there is a desire to quickly fill it up with something.

Many of us, as usual, get out the phone or begin to aimlessly examine the interior and people around, rarely lingering on the very state of boundless empty silence. Or they just find a new interlocutor or something that needs to be "urgently done", but in reality, it's more often just trying to fill the niche that has been formed.

We so often run away from this state that we usually miss the important awareness that it can bring to us. So today, I would like to pause for a moment and devote this article to this topic - the contemplation of silence.

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180 degrees turn: far away contemplation of silence is considered as an absolute mastery

It is interesting that in other cultures this state of contemplation of silence is considered necessary for the person’s functioning. India, China, and other Asian countries, like no one else, appreciate the possibility to "stop the thoughts", albeit for a short time. The easiest way for them is prayer or meditation, although there are more sophisticated techniques of immersion into deep states. For them, all this is nothing more than a path to oneself, to a nature that knows, sometimes much better than the human brain which we, Eastern people, consider the source of knowledge.

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Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to the heart, it knows.
Native American Proverb

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Once, a long time ago, faced with my very first practice of contemplation of silence, I was very much surprised by the enormous resistance that it caused in me. My thought seemed to be unstoppable and it took me a while to get to the point of “lack of thought”. A funny picture to illustrate it%)

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It is difficult for us to understand them exactly as they find it difficult to understand us

Europeans, accustomed to that endless carousel of daily cares, it becomes really difficult to understand the foundations of a man from the East. If their lives flow smoothly, we have it skipping such incredible zigzags. We are so busy in our life that we barely have time to stop thinking of things we have to do, tasks we have to finish and the meeting we have to attend. Our “to do list” is often just too big that it is hard to find time for relaxation yet meditation or prayer to calm the running thoughts.

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The answers we are waiting for ...

And meanwhile, many answers to our important questions can only be found there, in this state of contemplation of absolute silence, where there is not so much our usual "running around in a circle" where the infinite cycle of thoughts slows, opening our gaze to new horizons that are strangely coming from depth of one's own consciousness.

This state is difficult to describe, it needs to be lived. Each of us has his own way to him and there are no ready-made recipes. Rather, this process is an alchemic laboratory - you yourself can deduce those recipes that will work for you. And do not be afraid to experiment, because it is from experiments that knowledge comes.

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Lets make an experiment

For those who doubt and are already ready to give up and surrender (we will not even begin to notice) I propose to do an experiment.

Find the time and place when no one will bother you. Turn off the phone. Look at the clock and just lie on the bed, staring at the ceiling and try to keep track of your condition. What is happening to you? What thoughts arise in the head? Can you not think about anything for at least a few seconds? Try to lie down for a while and when you get up first to look at the clock.

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How much time has passed? What was your reaction when you realized how long you had been lying down? Whatever the results, just thank yourself for them. After all, you have already made a small step, but a step nonetheless.

And if you want to continue - start repeating this exercise several times a week and see what happens. You can also remember about it when there is a free moment and literally "catching" yourself on what is happening and gradually you will reach the state of "contemplation", which many Western masters consider the reference one. And believe me, you definitely have a chance to be there, too, all that is required is constancy and desire.

The most important part

Do not be afraid of silence in your life. Learn to trust it, learn to contemplate its magnificence and you will open new horizons - horizons that are difficult to see "from outside", but so easy to learn in silence.

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With love,
@SashaGenji