Noise is everywhere
Construction, traffic and honking horns! We are bombarded with a cacophony of sounds aka noise, as soon as we step outside the door. If you venture to a shopping centre; all the hard surfaces, crowds, flashing lights and the ubiquitous music each shop uses to vi for attention; there it is again, noise. You can’t even do the grocery shopping without piped music at some predetermined level. I’ve even struck a shopping centre car park with music blaring. How can anyone hope to be connected and to feel connected amongst all the noise?
Where has the silence gone?
It is no wonder we are disconnected with ourselves. Connection to being can only come through silence. To be connected to another you must first be connected to yourself. You have to have enough space and silence to make that possible and there just isn’t much of it these days. More than ever, to find a connection with yourself which presupposes a connection with another, it requires being deliberate about taking time out for yourself.
There is noise inside you too
The kind of noise that exists inside of you arises from mind and your identification with that “little voice” inside your head. That “little voice” that if it had it’s way would convince you IT is YOU! You know, the one that has something to say about everyone and everything. It’s the voice that never shuts up and is intent on doing everything it can to keep you from being present. That same noise keeps you stuck inside of a loop where you voyage from the past to the future and back to the past and to the future again. It is the noise that keeps you from being connected to you.
Don’t give all your attention away to mind and the external world.
Eckhart Toll
That “little voice” is never going away…
Have you ever noticed that there isn’t just one voice inside of your head? At times there can be an entire chorus inside of our heads and just like the external world it can become overwhelmingly noisy. No wonder it is hard to hear ourselves think and to know what we want. So what can you do about it?
If you think you can rid yourself of “it”. Think again. That “little voice’s” primary function is to keep you safe; we evolved that way. However, if you let it rule you far from keeping you safe it will keep you prisoner, stopping you from realising your full potential. So what’s the answer?
Become the observer and get connected
If you notice there is more than one conversation going on then “they” (those voices) must be separate from you. If they are separate from you then they are either referring to different You’s OR they are not you at all. Rather, they are a reflection of some ‘identification’ that your mind has made.
As soon as you can notice the conversation as distinct from you then you can begin to separate yourself from it.
Separating yourself from your internal conversation is the beginning of freedom and a step on the path to becoming consciously aware and getting distance between you and the noise.
You are not your thoughts. You have thoughts. That is a critical distinction.
Once you can dis-identify with that internal chatter and observe it for what it is, as the observer you can begin to channel your focus and attention and begin to shape the nature of the conversation to one that is more supportive of you. If you listen you will hear a quieter voice that at times communicates more as a feeling. This feeling is BEING.
Silence is golden
There is a silence within that is the source of Being and the access to Being is silence. You can do this through meditation. Meditation does not have to involve sitting cross legged on a cushion in Lotus position. It can be as simple as bringing your attention to your breath and staying focused on the NOW.
The first thing you will notice is just how hard this is! It sounds simple enough and the subliminal pull is always away from the now, for the mind and the internal chatter to take you anywhere but here. The irony, of course, is here is the only place you can be! Because NOW is the only time you have any control over.
I challenge you to be silent and to stay in the NOW even for just 5 minutes a day and observe a different you coming forward: A you that is peaceful and connected and begin the process of really living.