S I L E N C E
“Silence is True Wisdom’s Best Reply” - Euripides
Silence is a subject that I often bring up in my meditation and Dharma programs, but it is also a topic I address in my Sound Therapy programs as well; and I would like to share some thoughts with you.
I think that the central point I want to share is that silence is hearing with one’s own heart. Lao Tzu is reported to have said, “silence is a source of great strength”, and looking at these 2 points, I feel that the Sound Therapist gains confidence through silence, and that the person or group he or she is working with acquires an entry point to awareness. Mind is noise, and the ancient Rishi’s of India felt that the source of mind was silence. Silence devours the sadness, guilt, misery, and arouses joy, compassion, and love.
Many of us in the Sound Therapy arts stress the importance of sound, it’s ability to move energy, it’s interconnectedness to ancient pathways, rituals and ceremonies. But silence opens clarity, and it cannot be understated. Is it not through silence that we feel the Great Mystery?
I have always included ’silence’ in all the Sound Therapy protocols I have developed over the years, often stressing in my lectures, the importance of the element of silence. Historically, many of the great philosophies mention ‘silence’ throughout the world. For example in India, the Upanishads have numerous references regarding ‘silence’ in relationship to Absolute Reality, and as far back as the Rig Veda the term Asat (silence) is used seven times in reference to transcendence. In Tibetan Buddhist thought regarding Self Absorption, it is through silence that one gains maturity and readiness. The Zen School refers to the three forms of silence - damaru, chin-moku, and moku, observations regarding silence as non speaking, pensive silence, and absolute silence. But it’s not a matter of looking out across the world, but looking within, and hearing with one’s own heart.
From the perspective of a Sound Therapist, sound and silence must walk hand and hand, through this connection one can find deep penetration and understanding. I refer to this connection as the Three Variables, Awareness-Intent-Intuition; and in a future discussion I will delve more deeply into these.
© 2015 Mitch Nur, PhD
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