Do you hear that? Not the song but actual silence. If you tune in, there are answers that you will only find in being quiet. That is what I have learned from meditation. There are great songs in silence. There is a rhythm that seems to make sense. It wasn’t until I became a crisis counsellor 3 decades ago that I realized that. I had been meditating for years but when I was working, I soon learned that by slowing my breathing, I was able to hyper-focus, and that would help me take charge of a situation. I bring that up because now is the perfect time to tune in and listen to the silence.
For the first time in my life (all 54 years) the world has come to a virtual standstill for many. With COVID-19 keeping most of us in quarantine, we are not running in 20 different directions. A lot of us are home looking for things to do. I have an idea. Meditate. Sure, you may not know how, but certainly, you can unplug electronics and just listen. No need to do anything formal, just pay attention to your breath. For the next 30 days, work yourself up to 30 minutes. Day one, one minute. Day two, two minutes. Each day add an additional minute. This is a life-changer. Let me tell you why.
There are so many benefits to meditation. So many in fact, that I would have to write another article just to list them and you can learn more about the benefits of meditation here. At the end of 30 days, you will have learned some things about yourself that you may not have been aware of. Even if you don’t continue to meditate, you will have some new knowledge that you didn’t previously have. For a lot of my clients, it has been life-altering knowledge. Everything from staying in a relationship to a breakthrough in a life long fear. Others, however, learned that they were holding onto unjust insecurities. And some realized that they cannot stand the voice in their own head. The point? All was useful knowledge.
The sound of silence has answers. If you are home under quarantine, I encourage to try the 30-minute 30-day exercise. This is not a challenge, but an exercise. An exercise to redesign and realign your life. It is hard to do that when we are under the pressures of everyday life, which is why we should be meditating in the first place. In the confines of your mind and the quiet, you will find the answers. But somehow as we have gotten older, we stopped listening to that inner voice. We stopped dreaming. We bought into the illusion that busy means productive. It’s not. Slow down. Take your time. Get it right the first time. There’s no need to throw 20 balls into the air hoping to catch one. Sharpen your focus. Be deliberate in your execution. Throw one ball into the air and catch it.
30 minutes 30 days. May change your life. May alter your life. May do absolutely nothing. Think about it. The best result is a changed life. The worst result is absolutely nothing. Low risk, high reward. Isn’t 30 minutes worth it? To answer that question, you won’t know, unless you listen to the sound of silence.
