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Our lives are filled with constant noise. Garbage trucks, milk vanes, incoming emails, ringing phones, podcasts, videos, television, conversations with friends, co-workers, machines, construction, the list is never-ending. We’re fed sound, day in and day out! But at what cost? I recently came across an article by the WHO that constant doses of noise around us potentially leads to higher rates of hypertension, cholesterol as well as higher blood pressure. It could even trigger fatal heart attacks.
Scary right? Furthermore, persistent noises around us lead us to become more externally focused, which makes it quite difficult to turn inwards. Silence on the other hand, whether in meditation, in your car, or bath after a long day, offers numerous benefits to both the mind and body alike.
In my personal opinion, silence can heal you from within and plays an essential role in the wellbeing of your mind and body. Here are some ways it can help you stay aligned in all aspects.
Silence helps in self-reflection:
Self-reflection can only happen in silence. There are so many things you can learn on a daily basis simply by reflecting on the experiences of the previous day. Being quiet without any distractions at the start of the day can leave you with a sense of contentment, aliveness and a heightened sense of energy. You can sit in meditation and extend the session beyond the matt and take it to your breakfast. Silence and self-reflection help you grow each day one step at a time.
Silence makes you wiser:
It is easier for us to hear our intuition when we put a pause on auditory stimulation. This allows us to become familiar with that still, small voice within that is continuously speaking to us but that is obviously inaudible when our ears are tuned to outside stimuli.
I remember once reading a Zen verse that said, ‘The truth is so clear that it’s hard to see’. Silence is extremely powerful and it helps tap into our innermost layer where lies wisdom. By practising silence, we can uncover the truth that sometimes gets obscured by technology, noise and conversations.
Silence helps you know yourself:
The more time we spend in silence, the more opportunities we have to get to know ourselves. Basically, when you let yourself be in silence, I think you become more aware of the minute details in what you are experiencing. It is very usual to be constantly focusing and shifting awareness between things, but then you’re just skimming the surface. As long as we're only scratching the surface of experience, we tend to be influenced by our most unconscious patterns. Silence has the highest benefit of helping you gain a deeper and more satisfying understanding of yourself.
Silence helps in positive affirmations:
Self-reflection and getting to know yourself in silence, in turn, helps you understand your goals better. It allows you time and perspective to further bring your visions into reality. Positive affirmations need focusing and pondering within your innermost thoughts which is exactly what silence assists you with.
Silence helps you with health and wellness:
While noise can trigger a variety of detrimental effects on the body's systems, silence can help heal them. There is evidence that silence can actually stimulate new brain cell growth, enhance memory, and relieve tension in the brain and body. Practising silence each day, especially in mindfulness meditation reduces fatigue and insomnia.
Overall silence helps better your quality of life.
Get in touch with me to know more about practising silence and mindfulness meditation