As summer sets in, we all seek more relaxation, time outdoors, and peace in our days.
However, the reality is that it’s difficult to mentally shut ourselves off in the digital age. We are so conditioned to life’s sound bites of information that reach us through email, text messages, web media, television and radio, as well as in our work and family lives, that we are forgetting how to be still, to be silent, and to find solitude. We are lacking mindfulness and attention toward our inner self.
Our lives have become so filled with noise and distraction that we have evolved to be uncomfortable with silence. For example, if someone is sitting silently in a room with you, you may ask them what’s wrong or what’s bothering them, since it is unusual to be with others and have long pauses or gaps in conversation. Another example is that when we aren’t doing something or taking part in any mind-consuming activities, we feel ‘bored’ because we’ve lost touch with the power of silence, stillness and solitude.
‘Solitude’ means a state or quality of being alone or remote from others. When we think of being alone, we think of being separate from others. However, the word ‘alone’ is actually derived from the middle English phrase ‘all one’, and therefore means to be present with ourselves.
How can we do nothing and grow rich?
There are many benefits to silence and solitude. When we are silent, still and present with ourselves, we can listen to our inner voice and hear our own spirit guiding us. We can dream and create in our mind, and we can receive messages through our imagination and thoughts. In silence and solitude, we nourish our soul, recharge our energy, and receive life-giving power. Silence brings us back to wholeness and to ourselves; this is the ultimate gift to receive.
How can you be still in a life that you are so busy living?
When we feel overwhelmed with tasks and to-dos, we react by engaging in some action which is an outward use of our energy. But if we remain silent and still and make time to contemplate, we are strengthening our potential by keeping our energies within. You will have more outward power when you go inward first.
We are human beings, not ‘human doings’. We need to give ourselves permission for non-doing and make time to just be and feel content in that space, instead of feeling guilty that we should be doing something else, or serving someone who needs us. We must feel satisfied with the stillness and present in the moment of doing nothing.
It’s not easy. Being still and silent takes practice. Don’t get impatient; set your intention on being still. You can sit or lay down, close your eyes, quiet your mind and slow your breath; this will lull you into rest. You may be tempted to fidget — enforce the stillness and the urge will leave. You can do this almost anywhere. (unless you are driving*)
The benefits are well worth the investment, and may take the form of a message you receive, or thoughts that you release; the riches you gain may be just be a mental break that you are allowing yourself. Sitting in what is known as ‘the classroom of silence’ for one hour a day can help you accomplish more than you would doing tasks for several hours. It’s a way to step back, look at the big picture of your life or work, and review everything without being engaged in anything. If you think you don’t have time to do it for an hour a day, you most likely need it more than you think. Even 15 minutes is better than no minutes!
Some people think this is prayer. Prayer is giving. Prayer is talking or sending thoughts toward your higher power. Being still and silent is the opposite — receiving. Solitude is being ‘all one’ with your higher self, and ‘all one’ with God and the energy of everything. Solitude is being open to and allowing what you need to come to you. Maybe the answers you have been looking for will finally find that landing space.
Each time you plug in your electronic devices to recharge, ask yourself “Have I given myself time to recharge?” Plug into YOUR source, be still, and be rich.
Penny
“The best cure for too much to do is silence and solitude.”
P.S. Read my blog post about making your car a sanctuary for silence and stillness.