Wise teachers from Jesus to the Buddha, Krishna to Mohammed, the Shaolin monks to aboriginal elders, Hippocrates to Einstein, knew that the unseen or spiritual part of us is the essential nourishing source of all that we are. Throughout time, there has always been one consistent message amongst all the great philosophies and spiritual precepts. That is, due to the ever-changing nature of our material world, permanent happiness can never be attained by tending to the physical level of life alone. We can race around day after day, year after year, focusing on the external areas of our lives — diet, exercise, work, relationships — yet, despite much effort, happiness can still elude us. Perhaps, Socrates summed it up most succinctly with his famous words, “know thyself”.
Despite this age-old wisdom, in today’s world of instant gratification, on-demand information and entertainment saturation, how many of us stop to nourish our silent source within? We wake up to alarm clocks ringing in our ears. We shower while listening to radio DJs belting out the day’s breaking news. We get dressed in front of the TV, read the paper while eating breakfast, make phone calls while driving to work. While ‘silence is golden’ for some, the thought of spending a minute alone or in quiet contemplation is for many a scary thought. We have created such a God of activity in our Western world that we have largely forgotten one of the most fundamental tenets of life — that inseparable from all intelligent, evolutionary activity is ‘non-activity’. Claude Debussy once said, “Music is the space between the notes”.
Just as it is in the spaces that music gets created, the ancients tell us that it is only in the spaces between our thoughts that we can truly enjoy the ‘music in our lives’. It is in the silence between our thoughts that we access our highest creativity, our deepest intuitions and our most profound joys. As the Tao beautifully declares, “You remain silent and it speaks, you speak and it remains silent”. Here are few ideas to ponder over.
Experience silence daily
Wherever possible, try to make some room to hear the music in your life. Look to incorporate one or two ‘pause periods’ in your day to enjoy some inner silence. Switch off your car radio, TV or iPod and ‘just be’ for a while. Take time to watch a sunrise or sunset occasionally. Just sit and close your eyes every now and then. If you ever get the opportunity, try spending 30 minutes, an hour or even half a day in silence.
Minimise stress
Stress severely limits our ability to experience inner silence and spiritual peace. If you go outside on a cloudy day, you might say, ‘Blast, the sun is not out today’. However, the sun is shining as it always does. It’s just that the clouds are blocking your experience of the sun’s light and warmth. Similarly, too much physiological stress obstructs our ability to naturally experience the light of consciousness shining within us. Therefore, incorporate activities into your daily and weekly routine that help prevent stress from accumulating. These might include yoga, music therapy, massage, hobbies etc.
Learn how to ‘transcend’
While transcendental experiences can be had on an ad hoc basis (listening to beautiful music, being totally engaged in a passion, etc.), learning how to systematically transcend is arguably the single most important thing we can do for our health and well-being. If you already do a meditation or relaxation practice that provides good benefits, then certainly continue this. However, if you don’t currently transcend on a regular basis, look to add a transcending-based meditation practice such as Transcendental Meditation (TM) into your daily routine.
The concept of transcending is not to be confused with today’s concept of meditation. Some people even call a hobby or exercise their ‘meditation’. While all these things, and indeed anything that calms the mind or relaxes the body are to be strongly encouraged, it should be noted that the effects of such practices are quite different from the effects of transcending.
Seed wisdom
As the gardeners of our own tree of life, if we want to do just one thing to strengthen every area of our life, we need to nourish the unseen spiritual part of ourselves — that which lies within.
- The writer is a former Australian professional athlete (AFL footballer) who is trained in both Western and Eastern health-sciences (Maharishi Ayurveda). He is author of the bestseller, Ancient Wisdom for Modern Health
