Silence and Stillness

I wanted to write today about silence and stillness. What is so special about silence and stillness? Silence and stillness are entryways into the true depths of reality. Our world is characterized by endless degrees of noise. The noise of opinions, beliefs, conflicts, philosophies, and so on. But after a certain amount of experiencing all this noise, one naturally begins to wonder: what is the root of all this noise? Where does it come from? From where does it spring forth? And the answer of course is silence and stillness. Everything we experience in this world arises from a background of perfect silence and stillness. 

Spiritual practice, in its essence, is anything that allows a human being to withdraw attention from the noise of the world and apply attention to the silence and stillness that is the prerequisite condition for all noise. When we are totally involved with the noise of this world, we are cut off from our true nature as consciousness, which is this silent, still, eternally present space of awareness in which all noise can be noticed. When you identify with silence and stillness as your true self, life becomes a divine movie that you are watching, rather than a movie in which you are totally at the whim of. By absorbing oneself in the domain of silence and stillness and letting that be one’s true home, the noise of the world automatically becomes less of a problem.

Silence and stillness are names for ultimate reality. Without silence and stillness, noise simply could not exist. And without noise, silence and stillness would be entirely unknowable. We must cultivate an appreciation for both sides of the existential equation if we are to live at full capacity.