Through the practice of silence we become aware

of our pain. The pain is always there- in our minds

and in our bodies. Silence allows us to see it,

face it, release it.

We constantly judge ourselves.

Our minds decide what our experience should be

or should not be

relentlessly labeling things good or bad-

demanding that our lives conform to our labels.

Then, when pain comes into our lives

and it does to every life- we do not only suffer it,

but we suffer our suffering as well.

We add the mind’s harsh judgment of pain

to our actual experience of it.

By practicing silence, we may discover the ways

in which we intensify our pain by judging it.

The we have a chance to become less harsh,

more forgiving.

The pain created by our minds is stored in our bodies,

creating rigid patterns of behavior, blocking the flow

of energy within us, cramping our being.

Our harshness and our fears are embodied in our flesh.

In silence, we can feel these tendencies to congeal-

and allow them to be as they are. They may then

uncramp and release, for anything that is not resisted

tends of its own accord to unfold and change.

By cultivating silence, we can find and release

deeper and deeper levels of pain and so discover

once again what is beneath the pain:

the natural joy that is already inside us,

free to rise and flow into expression.

~Gunilla Norris

how can the silence be so loud sometimes? how can we spin faster and faster?

inquiry for today~  reflect on the space in between your day’s movements and tasks…..where are they? what do they reveal?

how little we hear

The quiet pools of wild rivers
Render the mind clear
You can see the bottom
Shifting shapes of rock, sand and fish.

Yes, out here wandering
Distant from home and bed
Life is often uncomfortable
But complaints are empty
And peace deep.

~Rod MacIver