“Silence is a source of great strength.” -- Lao Tzu
The Loss Of Silence
In a world where meaningless chatter seems to be a way of life.., where people are holding conversations while texting or scrolling on their phones (very rude btw)… Others talking over everyone trying to get their point across, yelling past each other.., and forgetting to even listen.. Being silent does mean you have nothing to say.., but rather, when you do speak, your words have meaning.
Silence is not weakness!
Silence in many ways has become strange to us… We live in a time where a million things are going on around us, all at once -- we are connected to numerous devices that beep, ring, glare obnoxiously loud music. Horns honking, cabs screeching, babies crying.., and people talking shit -- we are subconsciously being taught.., that this is just the way it is, NOISE and more NOISE.., deal with it.
Our solitude is being robbed from us.., and we're not even aware of it because there is so much going on -- so much noise… We have to "keep up, " "not miss out." We check our damn smartphones every 6.5 minutes, that's 150 times a day… Im sorry to inform you, but unless you are working on a cure for cancer, or are close to discovering a plan for world peace -- you are wasting a lot of time!
“Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing.”
-- William S. Burroughs
-- William S. Burroughs
Time that could be used for reflection, to just be quiet and listen to what is going on inside.., and not the completely useless noise all around us. Doing nothing can be so much more productive than doing a million things at once -- it can recharge you, feed you, nourish you. Checking out for awhile does not mean you are not being productive.., but much to the contrary -- it means you are smart enough, aware enough to understand a break from all the craziness is the best thing you can do, not just for you but for everyone around you. That the answers you are searching for come from.., being silent and actually reflecting on the important things in your life -- or even nothing at all.
There have been tons of studies done on the importance of silence.., so much so, many companies assign and even design specific areas where people can go meditate, be silent -- just chill out throughout the day… It has been shown to improve not only your productivity.., but your health, too!
Just Shut The F&#k Up!
Intentional silence gets us out of our head -- all those "things" rambling around in your mind like a hamster on a wheel, that never seem to stop.., and in touch with our spirit -- our inner self. The solitude that comes with such an action, will motivate you to actually take action, if you can just shut the heck up for awhile.., and just be…
Not only are loud noises distracting.., they stress us out and create tension within the body. Noise pollution is real and has very real effects on our health -- from high blood pressure to impairing the development in children. Noise pollution has even been referred to as a modern plague.., and all this unwanted noise has even been compared to second-hand smoke. And that's not even mentioning the -- lack of concentration, poor performance, mood swings, nervousness and argumentativeness.
While silence has the ability to release all that tension.., and benefit, not just our health but our spirit as well… It can rejuvenate an overworked mind and body.., while soothing a much to ignored (neglected) spirit. Just by letting the brain idle, we can tap into our inner most thoughts, making meaning all those experiences… Just by giving our minds the time to wander, our creative juices flow, while nourishing our emotional and mental states.
And believe it or not.., 2 hours of silence has been shown to develop new cells in the hippocampus.., I said -- it regenerates brain cells! And the hippocampus has been related to depression, memory and learning, all problems we usually rely on the pharmaceutical companies to address, when it is possible a few hours of silence might do the trick.
In our modern society, we have no doubt, undervalued the importance and benefits of silence… We have confused it with laziness and don't take it's benefits seriously. The effort alone can even effect our spirit in ways we take for granted.., it subconsciously informs it, that yes -- we value and want to give you the necessary tools to flourish…
“Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent.”
― Napoleon Hill
― Napoleon Hill
So many people talk so much, but say so little… Diarrhea of the mouth (excuse the visual), is not only as obnoxious as fuck.., but it robs us of meaning… Silence gives us the opportunity to get in-touch with our thoughts -- give meaning to our thoughts.., and discard, let-go of the ones that aren't serving us…
When you think about all the distraction, all the noise our senses are bombarded with, daily -- all the overstimulation that surrounds us.., surrendering to a few moments (the more the better) of silence can benefit us in ways we are not even aware of… What's funny is.., once you start indulging in these moments of silence.., you start to look forward to them, everyday -- you start to crave them (in a good way).
REFERENCES:
Harmful Effects of Noise
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/07-08/silence.aspx
Importance of Silence
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1860846/
Default Network
http://www.brainfacts.org/brain-basics/neural-network-function/articles/2011/a-brief-introduction-to-the-default-mode-network/