TheLeaderInside.com

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

~~~ Mother Teresa

Today I’d like to spend some time discussing the power of silence — especially the inner silence that will reveal so much about who we truly are.

Here’s an example of how silence can bring about discoveries. It’s sort of an analogy of what it might feel like to get a glimpse of your true self in the silencing of your mind during meditation.

Note: Here’s another meditation clip for you to use in your daily meditations. This one is also about 5 minutes long. I hope you enjoy it. Don’t forget to turn on your speakers. Just click the “Play” button — and then you can continue reading today’s article as you listen. When you’re done reading, play it again as you do one of your meditation sessions for today. (Yep! I’m still bugging you! This is something that needs to be in your life every day.)

One of the things that I enjoyed doing when I lived in Vermont was to go for walks in the woods. I loved going for those walks in the early morning hours. There’s an interesting phenomena that happens when you enter the forest – all the activity of the birds and other animals goes silent as soon as they become aware of you. They know that you’re there. They don’t want you to know where they are, so they get very quiet.

If I then find a warm spot in the sun, sit down, become very still and quiet myself and my mind — just as I would in a peaceful abiding meditation — the world of life in the woods that had shut down when I entered, begins to re-open again, slowly but surely. It may start with just a couple of birds resuming their singing. But after a short time the sounds of the forest get louder and louder. More birds will chime in. Soon the woodpeckers will go back to hammering the trees. Then the ground critters will begin to scurry through the underbrush. You’ll hear the squirrels as they scramble around and chase each other up the bark of a nearby tree. You’ll find that you’re listening to a variety of chatters and squeals from unknown and unseen creatures as they become less and less aware of you being present in their home. It isn’t long before the forest returns to its natural state.

The amazing beauty is that you are now a part of this world of the forest. You are not a big bunch of ego bopping along through life – you are now a part of this precious environment – you’re not thinking – you’re not worrying about what to fix for dinner – you are just with what is – you are completely present in this miraculous moment.

“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.”

~~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Something quite similar happens when we do a peaceful abiding meditation. We become very quiet and still. We focus on our breath because the breath is our way of knowing that we are alive in the moment. Our flow of thoughts begins to slow down as they are replaced by the flow of our breathing. We begin to sense a new level of awareness. We start to learn more about how we perceive things. We’re gaining a new understanding of how we relate to the world around us. We’re not forcing it – rather it’s all happening very gently.

But then, this ego of ours, being the demanding thing that it is, increases its efforts to distract us from our meditation. We find ourselves thinking about how interesting and exciting it is that we’re doing this meditation and wondering what our friends will think of us. We’re thinking about how good a cup of tea would taste right about now. We’re thinking about the shopping we need to do before we can get dinner ready. Trying to keep our minds quiet is a lot like trying to keep a kitten on our laps when it wants to go elsewhere. However, these thoughts are nothing more than stories we’re telling ourselves. You’ll probably also notice that most of these thoughts are of the past or in the future. This is the ego’s way of trying to keep us out of the present moment – out of the silence.

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”

~~~ Mahatma Gandhi

Please remember, this ego-mind of yours has been in complete control of you for most of your life. It’s not going to relinquish that control without putting up some fierce resistance. Keep bringing your mind back to the breath. Don’t spend any energy on trying to analyze the intrusive thoughts. Don’t judge yourself or your thoughts for being there. The thoughts are neither good nor bad. A thought is just a thought. Merely see the thought for the minor distraction that it is and return again to the breath. Remain gentle and you will experience a healthy meditation.

Keep practicing every day. Consistency is vital. With patience, and regular practice, we’ll begin to learn that there’s something going on under all that stillness. There’s a new strength there – there’s a new sense of stability – there’s a new wisdom. Integrating meditation into your life – learning to be mindful and present, clear and attentive – this is the doorway to a life of depth and joy.

Sure, our mind will run off on us again, but it we keep bringing our focus back to the breath, over and over, we will eventually learn how to be more mindful of what and who we truly are. When we experience those wonderful moments of perfect peaceful abiding, it’s like something from another world. Our crazy mind grows quiet. It stops chasing around like a scared rabbit. It’s a very spiritual experience. Even though this seems so unusual and strange, it is giving us that glimpse into who we truly are.

Now we are developing the tools to cultivate our gardens. Those flower seeds of love and compassion we talked about before will have a place to take root.

“Silence is a source of great strength.”

~~~ Lao Tzu

—————————-
If you’re new to us here, be sure read the other articles about meditation. You can find links for them over in the left sidebar under the “Recently Posted” section. They all have a title starting with the word, “Meditation”. They start with the January 24, 2008 post.

Don’t forget, spend at least 10 minutes twice each day meditating. Meditate for longer if you can. If you’ve been doing 10 minutes, take it up to 15. If you’ve been doing 15, see if you can take it up to 20 minutes. The longer you can maintain your focus on just your breath, the better.

“Those who really seek the path to Enlightenment dictate terms to their mind. Then they proceed with strong determination.”

~~~ Buddha

Namaste!

And, as I always say in closing — remember these words …

You are the most precious gift you can give yourself. Every day look in the mirror and say, “I’m available to more good than I have experienced, realized or imagined ever before in my life!” Do this every day while you look into your own eyes.

You are special — and you are loved. You are the greatest gift you can be.

Shanti … (A sanscrit word meaning, “Let there be Peace. Peace, beautiful Peace. Peace within, Peace without. Peace in this world. Peace for all beings.”)

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

~~~ Buddha

~~~ DBL-R

P.S. Remember, that if you have one of the “readers” — like My Yahoo, My MSN, or the Google Reader, or any of the others, you can get our blog sent to you automatically, whenever I post to it. Just click one of the buttons over on the left side to add it to your reader.
================================================================
In my meditation I often use what I truly believe is the most powerful personal growth and mind development tool on earth. It’s the The Holosync Solution. I knew that meditation was a vital element to nurturing my soul — to opening myself to the universe — and this tool has allowed me to achieve and receive the benefits of deep, long-term meditation — and to achieve it much more quickly. If you’re having trouble “getting meditation to work for you” – then the The Holosync Solution is what you’re looking for.

In addition to the wonderful discoveries we’ve been revealing in these post about meditation, regular, daily meditation can also give you …

(1) Increased intelligence and creativity.
(2) Lower stress levels — and with that — increased ability to handle whatever the world tosses your way.
(3) New levels of self-awareness and inner peace.
(4) The healing of emotional issues at the deepest levels —

— it’s definitely worth taking the time for this powerful practice every day.

With a One-Year 100% Iron-Clad Guarantee, you can now do so with no risk whatsoever — just click any of the links that say … The Holosync Solution

— The Holosync Solution

====================================================================

====================================================================
[tags]peace, inner self, inner peace, Buddhism, Buddhist, The Secret, Law of Attraction, dreams, spiritual energy, action, value, inner balance, enlightenment, destiny, manifestation, meditation, patience, gratitude, tolerance, acceptance, body balance, life cycle, beginnings, endings, positive thinking, ego, silence, consciousness, staying grounded, cycle of life[/tags]