Today I ...
A Word on Silence
I am comfortable in silence.
This hasn't always been the case. Silence made me uncomfortable, like it does for so many people. The thought of sitting in stillness and allowing silence to permeate me was something that used to scare me on an unconscious level.
Through my previous career, I was taught that silence was a great way to deepen a conversation with clients. I get that totally, but I feel like for most that silence is held in a space of waiting rather than the true intention of sitting in silence.
What I have learned now is that when I invite silence, I am allowing a person's Soul and Essence to shine forth. This also includes when I gift myself the space of quiet. For it is in that space where I truly connect with my Essence and where I allow that to shine. It also creates an open space for my Soul to speak.
The foundation of what I was taught in Social work is the same, yet it lacked the energetic lesson that to allow another Essence to shine, the space has to be held in Love and Oneness.
What I was doing and what most people do is they may be silent in action. Yet energetically, they are planning ahead to the next question or comment, anticipating the conversation or rattling through monkey mind conversations as their mind keeps talking despite the closed mouth.
In truth, I feel that most people actually fear silence, like I did. They fear it because they fear their own Essence and Soul Truths. They fear their emotions and what may come to the surface if they just stopped. This is why most people in conversation are not present; they are preparing for their next thought or comment rather than holding the space and truly allowing the conversation to flow.
This is evident when you do not answer a question with the typical anticipated answer, such as 'how are you?', with the expected response 'good'. If you stray too far from that response, people get thrown, or they don't notice at all and will follow with the usual response of 'oh good'.
Allowing space for silence within yourself and holding it for others sounds like an easy thing to do, yet to truly hold that space and allow yourself to connect with the Truth of the other person (or yourself) without words or questions feels vulnerable and is truly a remarkable skill to have. It honours all involved, and much like the greeting of 'namaste', it is feeling their Essence, not for what it should be, or with any other conditions, just a simple Loving exchange between two open hearts.
To do this requires stepping out of your mind, into your heart and opening it to receive and feel the Essence of the other, or of yourself. In a World where we are too quick to bypass things. To have the courage to embrace silence is a superpower and an unspoken blessing.
I encourage you to start with yourself, give yourself the gift of your own presence and allow silence to be a practice of self-Love.
Much Love
Tara