Welcome to Listening Below the Noise

Perhaps you already know my story. Seventeen years ago, I decided not to talk on a Monday in January, a one-time whim that turned into an ongoing practice that has continued every first and third Monday of the month since that day. This is a practice that has transformed my life.

THE QUESTION: What does that have to do with you?

Another question is: Why should you care? The answer is because the noise that surrounds us is negatively impacting every aspect of our lives and perhaps now more than ever. We exist in a culture that fosters addictions and places value on busyness, technology, and pervasive noise that masquerades as entertainment.

THE POWER OF SILENCE

Imagine your automobile. Now picture it after is has gone through a car crusher and it has become a solid block of metal no longer recognizable as a car.

Imagine a piece of music. Now take away all pauses between measures and notes until it becomes meaningless noise.

Without space, nothing makes sense. Not music. Not a car. Not a page of text. Not our lives. The space of stillness is vitally necessary to enhance our spiritual and creative lives, to promote healing in our bodies and our relationships.

There is a direct correlation between the escalation of violence and the escalation of noise. Sages and teachers and philosophers have told us this for centuries. Stillness teaches us to listen deeply, to practice mindful speech, to pay attention to the wisdom held within.

AN INVITATION

Happily, there is a growing awareness of the importance of silence. Centers offering silence retreats are booked as never before - some a year in advance.

More people are writing about it. More studies are being done on it. The community of those mindfully incorporating silence into their lives is growing and changing the world one silent moment at a time. View the shared blog, In Silence Together, for women who resonate with the practice of Silence and have joined together on the last Sunday of each month in Silence.

Will you join the silent revolution? Come share the wisdom and joy of silence with others in your life by living the example. Come join the community. Be an Ambassador of Silence. Together let us build connections. Let us construct a bridge to a quieter, saner, more reflective world.

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