On the Importance of Silence

Sometimes I catch myself talking, in such a matter-of-fact way, about stuff that only a few years ago, I would have found strange, far-fetched, or downright eccentric. If, at the time, anyone had talked to me about them in the way I talk about them now, I would have probably looked at them with some disbelief or surprise.

I’m especially thinking about yoga and meditation (OK, in the case of those two, it’s been a few years), but also of out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, psychogenealogy, or more topically these days for me, of family constellations, hypnosis, …

From doubt to openness

When I see the raised eyebrows and sceptical looks as I bring up these subjects, I am sometimes a bit surprised at first to see this kind of doubt, reservation, or even perplexedness. Then I remember: I, too, had similar reactions. At the time, my beliefs were different. I hadn’t yet read or understood anything about Advaita Vedanta (the concept of “non-duality” in Indian secular tradition), nor about the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, transmitted today in a more contemporary way by teachers such as Mooji or Rupert Spira, to name but a couple.

I had never been interested in Buddhist philosophy, never heard of “awakening” or “enlightenment”, nor of the “higher self”. I hadn’t yet taken part in a personal development workshop, or a silent retreat, nor spent a day with Buddhist or Cistercian monks in a seminary.

A personal transformation

The best selling work of Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now, that had an unexpected and profound impact on my life was completely unknown to me. So was Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication (I think the name doesn’t really do justice, by the way, to the richness of the approach or all the good that it can bring). Same goes for yogic philosophy, once you realise that the postures or asanas are but a tiny part of it.

So, yes, I realise I also had these reactions of doubt, surprise, curiosity, or even denial.

The power of silence

And when I see these reactions, I remember, more often these days, that Silence is much more precious than any word, theory, or uttered belief. What I feel of essence these days is the inner posture and the vibration that radiates from it. Much more so than any discourse.

It is this conviction that I try to cultivate these days, when I practice yoga, meditation, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), or any other discipline.

It seems to me that it is time … to be quiet.