Quiet

Shhhhhhhh....

Hit your personal mute button for a moment and notice what sounds you hear. All of them. You may have to close your eyes and see how many and what type of sounds is coming into your awareness. How many are there? As I sit in my office and begin writing this, my window is open and it's a windy night. I hear the rustle of the trees, the tinkling of a wind chime, the cord of my blind tapping against the windowsill, a hum of faraway traffic, and my fingers clicking away on the keyboard. The sounds rise and fall with some grabbing my attention more than others. This is actually a type of meditation, sitting and noticing sounds as they come and go and doing so without judging what we hear.

We need to get quiet in our own selves in order to become fully present with sound. I think that the skill of listening is one that we would do well to practice in order to increase our understanding of what's being said. And not only by the human voice. The sound of the tree branches and leaves bumping against each other tells us about turbulence. The conversations of birds, frogs, and insects reminds us of the animal kingdom buzzing along in its own realm of reality. The musicality of rain falling generates fresh life and a mood that often asks us to withdraw. Is life ever truly silent?

A recent piece on CBS Sunday Morning (aired Sunday 21 April 2017), highlighted how difficult it is to find places in nature that haven't been impacted by man-made noise. Researchers ventured into different natural environments and have been recording the sounds for the past 25-30 years. High-quality microphones enable them to differentiate many different species and the various conversations they're having with each other. The sad thing was, over time with the imposition of man-generated noise, they've stopped talking. As we have clear cut forests, occupied air travel flight routes and built cities, nature's sounds have diminished. One researcher had to hike 6 hours into a wild area of central Washington state, one which receives 10-14 feet of rain/year, in order to find an untouched sound environment. It was beautiful and tragic all in the same moment.

With Earth Day being celebrated last weekend, the revelation of sound pollution and its impact was timely. It seems to be an element of destruction that we simply fail to notice, unlike tainted water or smoggy skylines. Perhaps, its impact doesn't seem to be as critical but I believe that would be naive. How does yoga play into all of this?

Just as sound impacts the natural environment, our own mental chatter impacts how we feel. We are so easily drawn outward, with our senses being constantly bombarded with tantalizing lures of images selling us what we most likely don't need. We get distracted from our inner voice by simply walking through our day so making a conscious choice to find stillness and silence helps us to turn the volume up on our inner need. In yoga, this is called Pratyahara-a withdrawing of senses from the outer world to the inner landscape. Pratyahara is the turning point in the Eight-Faceted path (ashtangha yoga) as described in the Sutras of Patanjali. The first four are internal/external observances (Yama/Niyama), poses (asana) and breath (pranayama). We then come to Pratyahara where if we are able to pull our awareness from the outer world, begin to move into the final three limbs of concentration, meditation, and union (Dharana, Dhyana & Samadhi).

Last weekend I was chanting with Krishna Das and many of his followers. On the first evening, I was part of 1300 people participating in a kirtan, a musical event where mantras are sung. I had the experience of delving into a mantra and becoming completely lost in it, not realizing I was there with 1299 other people doing the same thing. And then something would grab my attention and I'd look around at other people having their own unique experience and be pulled outward. The chanting would bring me back into my own realm where I could once again withdraw my senses from the outer to the inner-pratyahara.

And why is this important?

It is important because when we quiet the mind other channels open up to us--creativity, increased awareness, compassion, and forgiveness. When we get quiet, whatever needs to arise can do so and, in return, we become more at ease with whatever is present in our lives. When we get quiet, we open the path to hearing the sounds of the natural environment and remember our role in looking after Mother Earth.

My thought for the week is to get quiet, pull your awareness in and see what is present for you.

Shhhhhhh...