The Inner Path: The Spiritual Bliss of Silence

Very often, we're surrounded with noise all day long and we keep moving from one task to the other without taking a break to think, to reflect or to undertake a detailed examination of our own feelings. But all these things really do require silence.  And, even in our busy lives, we just cannot underestimate the importance of silence in our daily lives.  

Here are some ways silence can benefit our lives.
  • Silence gives your mind space for introspection
  • Silence helps you to build awareness about your innermost thoughts
  • Silence brings clarity to thought
  • The clarity of silence gives you time to make wise choices
  • Wise choices will ultimately lead to a beautiful life
And, silence can not only have a profound impact in the way we think and on our daily actions, but on our inter-relationships with others as well. There is even significance of silence in social spaces, with others.  Silence can keep you from embarrassing yourself.  There are short silences such as hesitation, stuttering, self-correction, and the deliberate slowing of speech for the purpose of clarification or processing of ideas, which we see President Obama use quite a lot, which all helps bring clarity to thought before speaking. And then there's interactive silence, which occurs during conversations, either through interactive roles, and generally in small groups, by taking turns talking and being silent. And, spiritually speaking, did you know, according to cultural norms, silence can be interpreted as positive or negative. For example, in a Christian Methodist faith organization silence and reflection during the sermons might be appreciated by the congregation, while in a Southern Baptist church, silence might mean disagreement with what is being taught, or perhaps a disconnection from the congregational community. 

And in the spiritual bliss of silence, looking beyond the speed and superficiality of your modern lifestyle to find depth and spiritual space, you can find that perfect joy. This bliss is devoted to clearing the clutter from our minds.... to feeding our creative heart and soul through everyday activities such as gardening, walking, watching the ocean, or listening to music, where in that space is introspection, awareness, clarity and a beautiful life.



2 comments:

  1. It's interesting and at times difficult for some of us to recognize the importance of silence. I've recently retired and during my career and maintaining a household with my family; I considered it to be idleness when I wasn't busy with daily affairs, reassessing decisions or problems and solution planning.

    I'm getting much better in appreciating the merits of silence and introspection. I particularly like your definition of interactive and short silences.

    "Be still and know that I am God" is one of my most treasured verses if not practiced as much as I should. It's also with gratitude that I understand that I don't always have to be in a mental discussion with the almighty. I can be just silent and in the moment with the same results!

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  2. The reason why it can be thought of as an evolutionary force is because it is the result of adaptation to a stressor. All problems are due to an error in perception; a challenge is posed by the environment for you to adapt or suffer the consequences of failure.

    Ilchi Lee

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