WK 23 – MKMMA

During our Tribe Zoom this past Wednesday we shared our experiences of silence. I love hearing about other’s silence experiences, it reminds me of things I experienced and perhaps didn’t pay attention to, and I also uncover great tips or ideas!

In a blog post I read before starting my silence, the person mentioned wearing ear plugs, so I did that during my almost two days of silence and it really enhanced the experience, especially since I enjoyed my silence at home. I’m not often quiet enough to hear my own heartbeat, or the sound of my spine moving inside my body when I stretch, both these experiences were amazing to me!

A fellow Tribe member, Val, shared on her blog, that she “was in the slow lane, the savor zone”, while doing many of her daily activities. I hadn’t consciously noted that myself, and very much appreciated her sharing her silence experience with us, so that I could become aware of that aspect of my own silence as well.

I didn’t do much research about silence before my first personal experience with deliberate silence last week, and reading and hearing about other member’s experiences made me interested in doing a little more research on the topic of ‘nourishing silence’ because that seems like the best description for it!

I came across a website titled ‘Silence is Golden‘ and read an interesting article & video summarizing the book: In Silence:

One of the world’s great spiritual teachers, Thich Nhat Hanh has spent his life guiding people on the path to mindfulness. In Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise, he shares simple practices for quieting our minds so we can experience more joy and peace.

Brian Johnson

Thich Nhat Hanh’s insights on ‘sensory clutter’ really resonated with me–‘sensory junk food’ can be as harmful to our health as actual junk food. I think that’s why I found having a break from my smart phone, television, and yes, even conversations was refreshing, relaxing and rejuvenating. I don’t want to repeat what Brian summarized so beautifully in his video summary, so if you have ten minutes to watch the video at the end of his web page, I highly recommend doing so–it made me appreciate my time in silence even more!

Another very interesting article I found went over the scientific benefits of silence (which ties in nicely with how it’s shared in the MKE how the science behind the things we are learning backs up what we are doing!). After reading this article, I was no longer as surprised by how relaxed and refreshed I felt after being in silence for over a day. And I was extremely grateful that part of our MKE curriculum is to sit in silence at least fifteen minutes everyday! I look forward to doing a more formal silence later this year, and would like to make it a part of my life as a formal retreat for my health and my spirit, ideally every 3 months or so!

I’m going to wrap up this up with one of my favorite quotes:

I think 99 times and find nothing. I stop thinking, swim in silence, and the truth comes to me.

Albert Einstein

Happy Silence!

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