A few years ago, my wife and I had been to Chicago during winter, and stayed in the base-ment of a house for over a month.
I loved the place, for the very reason many hate basements; it was a deep silence that reigned there.
The world today hates silence: In fact, I’m beginning to think, people are scared of it. There was a time I travelled by the local train, and quite often the compartment would be quiet with maybe an occasional word uttered between two friends. Today there is a cacophony of noise as everybody chatters away on the mobile.
It’s like, “Oh my God, I’m going to be alone on this train, I can’t handle those silent moments. Let me dial a friend!” And the conversation, quite often unnecessary, spoils the wonder of silence, which that person could have experienced and enjoyed. Here’s the experience of someone who suddenly went through sheer silence:
‘I woke up one morning about 3 a.m. and went outside. It was about 20 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit), there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and there was absolutely no wind. The moon was not bright, but the stars against the white of the snow on the ice made it bright enough for me to see, barely.
The ice was frozen four feet thick. The lake was about two and a half miles across at its long-est, and about a mile across at its narrowest. It had been below zero for weeks. The ice was freezing deeper and deeper, which caused pressure in the ice to increase to a point that would create fissures, and occasionally ruptures.
Usually this happened near shore, but could, and did, occur anywhere on the lake. I stood out on the ice, and just as I was about to go back into the warmth of the fish shack, I was over-whelmed by the total silence around me.
It felt like the air around me was pressurized and pushing in on me, like even my thoughts were muffled. I could hear the urgent rasp of my breath (and see it in dense plumes). My steps made twist crunch sounds on the snow, but if I stopped — and held my breath — I was the only thing alive in the whole cold universe. My heartbeat chanted ‘lub a dub’ in my left ear.
Silence made me feel alive, more alive than I’d ever been before!’ In silence you discover yourself. There’s nothing to be scared about when you suddenly have no one to speak to. Just enjoy those moments of silence. Go into absolute stillness and find yourself entering into your own self.
After practicing this experiment a couple of times, you will find that even in a noisy environment you can silence yourself, and become still.
Stop the churning of your mind and in silence, you will feel alive, more alive than you’ve ever been before..!
—(bobsbanter@gmail.com)
