Religious gatherings spend time in silence.
Social events may spend a set amount of silence in memory of a person or event.
Silence is golden.
Be still and know that I am God.
Those involved in prayer shut themselves away in a "prayer closet."
Admonitions to be quiet frequent our lives.
In the fast paced world, silence is a rare commodity. People seek it in silence retreats, monasteries, the woods.
I experienced my first taste of silence in the mountains outside of Central City, Colorado. A quaint cemetery overgrown with aspens beckoned. I wandered among tombstones in a place that hadn't welcomed a new guest in twenty years.
The second real silence I found was in a ceramics workshop. A small group of us sat at a table and painted greenware. After the initial instructions were provided, not a word was spoken Four hours. I don't remember the sound of traffic or even the rustle of paper. The time was heavenly and both long and quick. It was the first time I remember effortless concentration as an adult.
When I returned home I was relaxed and had a beautiful piece of ceramics painted in the color style of Lladro porcelain. I carried that memory with me a long, long time and when there were days of cacophony, drew from the well of that experience.
Fifteen years later, I experienced the sound of silence when I went skydiving. Leaving the airplane, the sound of the engines and the wind rushing as I fell was as loud a noise as I ever remember. Vibrations rippled through me.
Then the ripcord. Once the parachute unfurled there was no sound at all. My ears felt strange to not be constantly moving. There, among the clouds, my body and my ears floated in silence. As a middle-aged adult it was the most peaceful thirty seconds I'd experienced in a long time.
I've thought a lot about silence since then. How I've sought it along with countless others. Why we seek it. Why we need it.
Sitting in silence with someone who has endured a great loss is a sign of genuine affection, respect and understanding. Usually words fail to comfort but the simple act of being with some one and not saying a word says it all.
Learning to be silent can help alleviate the stress of the moment, help you unwind from the day. Basking in the quiet is known to decrease cortisol, a steroid hormone, tied to things like high blood pressure and chronic diseases affecting the heart.
Take five to ten minutes a day and get away from the television, the cell phone, the computer, the things in your life clamoring for your attention. I've known some people to find this place in the bathroom, the one spot in the house you are left alone for at least a few minutes. Others retreat to a bedroom, an office, or a den. Any place where they won't be disturbed for ten minutes.
Sit comfortably on the floor, or your bed, or on a piece of furniture that allows you to relax; with your hands unfurled, perhaps resting on your thighs or knees just breathe. Your fingers are relaxed and your hands are open. Picture the people and noises around as being muted and then turned off or moving from the bright light and colors to a muted and darkening gray where the sounds cease. Slow your brain from over thinking. Picture the quietest place you've been or would like to go. Think about your breath and shut the world away for a few minutes.
Do not set a timer. You'll hear the widgets and gizmos rattling and destroying the quiet which you seek.
Some say when you practice silence you become more attuned to yourself, your body, the world around you. Practicing silence provides peace when the ordinary would look around you surviving the chaos and think you've lost your mind. You know better, in silence you actually find your mind.
Silence is not sleep, although being silent might lead to sleep.
Be still, remove sound, and bask in the benefits of silence.