In the last days we were talking about silence. Especially in western countries I have seen that people get afraid of silence. They need to talk. Talking is necessary and silence can sometimes even be impolite, not good manners.
The main thing is that people grow up like this. They don’t learn to be silent, never make the experience how nice it can be to be in silence. And talking is for them a way of healing. Many therapists earn money by talking. One of my very close friends is also a talking therapist. For his profession he has to talk. But when I am there, he loves to sit with me in silence together with his patients. And without my talking, saying anything or doing anything his patients also feel good and they start feeling better.
You can communicate in silence, looking into each other’s eyes and just feeling the energy. This also works as healing, it is silence therapy. Silence can also cure and if you don’t believe me, just try it. Let your thoughts flow through your head, come and go. Don’t keep them and just be in the moment. No noise, no talk, no unnecessary thoughts, it is fine just to be.
Related posts
Giving unpleasant answers can be avoided by not answering at all – 21 Mar 13
Listening to Silence – Being Tired of Noise – 2 Jul 10
Required for Being in Silence: a Calm Mind – 7 Nov 09
Do not Be Disappointed if I prefer being in Silence – 5 Nov 09
Importance of Silence without Sign Language – 4 Nov 09
Avoid Problems with Silence – 3 Nov 09
One Hour of Free Advice? No Thank You! – 8 Oct 09
Importance of Silence – Save your Energy! – 7 Oct 08
Habit of Talking and Difficulties with Silence – 25 Jan 08
Swami Ji your words have been very helpful to me this morning. When speaking there is the word and there is the silence between one word and another. That silence has a great value. If the silence is valued the word will also become more valuable. I like to take a breath between words or phrases to allow my words to form from a creative, formless space.
This brings to my mind 2 different stories that involve silence as therapy:
1) When I was in Ireland with a group of women, we practiced an exercise in which we gazed into each other’s eyes (one at a time) for several minutes without speaking. It was so powerful! Many of us got tears in our eyes from the pure and simple connection through silence. It is said that the eyes are the window to the soul. By gazing into the eyes of another in silence, the souls can communicate in amazing ways!
2) There was a young man whose girlfriend was killed tragically in an accident. The young man was so struck with shock and grief that he struggled to speak or function. When his best friend heard the news, he came over to the young man’s house and just sat in this living room and said nothing. For several hours his best friend sat in silence in his presence. The young man later revealed that this was the most helpful thing that anyone did for him in his grief. Nothing could really be said to take the pain away… just the presence of someone he loved was healing and comforting.
Silence is golden!!
I once knew a woman who didn’t understand when an older woman told her that there is no need to talk very much with her husband, she would know anyway what he is about. This is what i like very much: understanding each other without saying a single word. Love Armin