GATEWAY TO SILENCE

This morning as I finished writing my morning pages (as recommended by Julia Cameron in the Artist Way, which she calls taking out the garbage), I noticed my body unwinding especially around the neck and head area. And then I noticed the Silence. The Blessed Silence. As the heater clicked off the Silence became palpable. I love this Silence. This stillness that tells me all is well. This Silence where there is no agenda. I am not asking for anything. I’ve emptied myself through my journaling of my worries and my desires, my pettiness, my anger, my fears. And finally I notice the Silence. I notice the stillness. I notice my body slows down, my movements slow down, my writing slows down.

Each movement, each stroke of the pen deliberate. Intention embedded into every stroke, in every thought being conveyed. I love this time/no time for it appears to stand still. 

In the Silence, I feel my body unwinding in between the moments of writing down my insights. Silence is my therapy. Silence is vital to my well-being. I strive to bring this Silence into my interactions with people. Sometimes I’m successful. Too often I fail. I get caught up in being heard, being acknowledged – both mine and their need.

When I notice and embody the Silence and the gifts it brings, it is my intention to always carry this in my being. It is why I “practice“ being in the Silence. It is like anything I choose to practice, the more I practice, the better I get at it

I once heard Kris Carr (Crazy, Sexy Cancer) say,  “worrying is like praying for what you don’t want to happen”. The Silence allows you to step away from worry and into acceptance which then allows peace and trust to enter the playing field. Not because I demanded it but because I surrendered my agenda to the Silence. And in that surrender was the possibility of something new. Perhaps the situation did not change but my perspective may have and that is EVERYTHING! That is a change agent. Only by confronting our own beliefs, fears, challenges and bringing them into the Silence can we affect change in ourselves and in others.

Our beliefs, our fears, our challenges are noisy. They create an incessant chatter. Ever try to sleep while worrying about something? Don’t you just want to scream, SHUT UP!!! Yeah. I know. I understand. I have found that the best thing for me to do is get up. Write it down. All of it. Verbally vomit on the page. For some of you it may be to turn on your favorite music and dance it out. For some of you it may require a paintbrush or colored pencils and getting it on paper. Then in that moment, the moment you lay down the pen, turn off the music, put down the paint brush, that moment, notice… Notice the Silence. And in that Silence notice what it is you are experiencing in your body. Listen to your breath. Listen to your heartbeat. Listen to the blood coursing through your veins.Notice the still small voice within. Notice if you are still holding tension. Just notice. Be with that tension and watch it dissipate into the Silence.

Notice that through your willingness to lay your burdens down at the Gateway to Silence that instead of projecting them onto those you love or those you don’t know on social media,  a space is created for something different. Perhaps an idea or a solution will burst forth in this fertile soil of Silence. Perhaps you will feel a sense of peace and acceptance. Perhaps the Silence will inspire compassion for yourself and for others. Who knows the limitless possibilities waiting to be noticed when we choose to enter the Silence and leave the chaos at the door. Perhaps that still small voice becomes a roar, a wealth of knowledge and information. Perhaps all you notice is the quiet. Perhaps that is the gift.  Whatever it is, in the Silence, you'll know it when you hear it.