Peace to You

This year I am sharing some thoughts or ideas  to help us live this year to the fullest, to make this a year of remarkable living.  Join me here for an astounding journey through 2015.

This past week I have been listening to what people are saying to each other about their lives in general.  Many people are talking about the issues they have with the government and even more people are lamenting about the cost of living.  However, the theme that seemed to come up most often is about them not having enough time, and about how hectic their lives are.  This year is still in its infancy, yet they are already feeling exhausted.  Calmness, peace and quite seem to be in short supply.  The question that came up in my mind was how could we address this problem, after all there are only so many hours in the day.  So I started experimenting and found that it is not about finding extra time somewhere, but rather a question about how to recharge your batteries effectively and thus having more energy and enthusiasm for the day ahead.

It all came down to taking 10 to 15 minutes OUT of your day.  Yes, taking 15 minutes out of your busy schedule. "Where must I find those 15 minutes?" I can hear you cry out.  The good news is that we all have 15 minutes spare in a day, whether it is those 15 minutes we are awake before the alarm goes off in the morning, or 2 o'clock in the morning when we find ourselves suddenly awake for no reason, or before we settle in for the night.  Wherever you find those 15 minutes, book them as exclusively YOU time.

Ok, so what do you do with those 15 minutes?

Spend them being still.  Here on the blog I have put a link for some soothing instrumental music.

Find a quiet place, in the house, the garden or the attic.  Close the door, ban all outside interference and put the music on to play softly in the background.  Put a timer on for 10/ 15 minutes so that you do not have to worry about the time.  Sit down quietly, and comfortably and close your eyes.  Empty your thoughts of all your worries, your deadlines, the staff meeting, the chores awaiting you for the day.  Focus only on the music flowing around you, through you and in you, if you want to, you may think of a verse of scripture or an encouraging quote, but do not allow any worries or fears or the pressures of everyday to hijack these 15 minutes.  Just listen and feel the gentle melody touching you, and lifting your spirit...

When the alarm rings.  Switch off the music and carry on with the rest of your day, refreshed and recharged.

For centuries, many cultures have realized the benefits of meditation, yet most of us believe it to be hocus-pocus.  However, studies have shown that there are several benefits of meditation.  Just like a calm, peaceful body of water, a lake or river, best reflect the images of nature all around, the same way we are able to focus better when we are internally calm.  It is this calmness that can bring greater clarity to issues we might be struggling with.  Meditation can refresh our minds and bodies and fill us with energy and enthusiasm which in turn help us to perform better and faster.  Meditation can also help to calm us down after a stressful day, it can help us to relax and sleep better.  Meditation can create feelings of peace and happiness, and in turn we can pass these feelings on to everyone we come into contact with.

Still sceptical? Try it, even if only once a week, you will soon realize that you start to look forward to those 10-15 minutes just clearing your mind and letting the music soothe your soul.  If you want to share your experience with us, please feel free to do so here on the blog.  I would love to hear from you.

Here is the link for the music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cnfj6QCGLyA

What is that sound...?

This morning, as usual, I woke up at five o'clock.  However, as the mists of sleep drifted off me, I became aware of a strange sound, an unusual sound.  For a few minutes I lay there wondering what it was that I was hearing.  Then it dawned on me.  It was the sound of...silence.  Complete and utter silence.  No low level buzzing from all the electronics plugged in next to the bed.  No cluck-cluck from the geyser warming up and no humming coming from the neighbour's pool filter.  I peeped over my husband's shoulder at the alarm clock.  Its red digital display was black.  We were having a power outage.  I settled back against my pillow and let this rare moment wash over me, foreign, yet warm and welcoming. 

Every day we are surrounded by noise.  From the minute we are woken up by our alarm clocks until we fall asleep to the voice of the late night DJ till we finally silence him in a sleepy haze.  Even then there are still noises around us in the form of electronics, sirens in the distance and others that we are not consciously aware of.   Our days are filled with sound.  

Silence has become a rare commodity.  Modern man seems to fear the quiet.  I walked into a doctor's waiting room last week.  The place was full.  Soothing music filled the room, and at first one would think that there was a silence hanging in the air.  There was, after all, no conversation going on, till you noticed a droning sound and the click-click and tap-tap of dozens of fingers on the keyboards of laptops and Smartphones.  Every single person there was totally engrossed in their own electronic world.  I sat there in that noisy silence.  It was not pleasant.  It was not warm and welcoming.  It was a disconnect from the real world, it was alien and terribly sad.  It was a silence of electronic, manmade clutter.  Not the silence of quietly being.  It is as if people are losing the art of quiet, of being at ease with themselves, enjoying their own conversation, the quiet companionship of being with other people.  We have become the slave of a different god.

People view silence with suspicion and they pity a person sitting alone by him or herself enjoying a quiet cup of coffee and looking out at the waves rolling onto the beach.  Quiet, introspective people threaten our theories about happiness.  Surely a quiet person has to have some or other deep rooted problem, must be totally boring or at the very least on the brink of suicide!

Most people today have forgotten the importance of silence, they do not understand silence.  Yet silence is an essential part in our well being.  The people of the east have long ago realized the importance of being still, to be quiet.  Through daily meditation they enter the realm of silence and the portals of the devine. We need silence to think clearly and to be able to hear our own innermost thoughts.  It is in silence that we have the chance to listen to the universe and to hear the whisper of God’s voice.  When we are surrounded by silence, drenched in it, then we can begin to truly hear again, to listen.  Our spirit, our soul is crying out to be heard.  God is trying to reach us, communicate with us.  As long as we keep up the sound pollution, we cannot begin to listen, to understand.  Silence is not just empty time, devoid of something.  Silence has presence; it is filled with an energy of its own.  Silence has substance.  Only when we are silent can we hear the spirit's guiding voice.
In the quiet our senses start to become more acute.  When we are not so busy thinking up new words to utter we start hearing better.  The tremble of insecurity in my child's voice, the silent scream of depression, the way fear is disguised in an angry voice.  We also begin to see better, to notice the hidden sadness behind a brave smile.
Maybe it is time to schedule silence into our busy lives.  To consciously spend time away from all external sound, to even switch of our internal dialogue, and just be quiet.  To breathe deep, being completely conscious.  To listen.

I leave you with these words from Psalm 46 : “Be still and know that I am God.”