The benefits of silence

It seems like we can't slow down; life seems to be going by so quickly. It might be time to get used to silence again. Advice on how to tame it.

There are different kinds of silence, such as silence that shows discomfort, silence that is taboo, silence that is forced (omerta), silence that is for reflection, and so on.

As for the lack of noise, it's a kind of silence that not many people experience every day, for many reasons. Because the city makes it so loud that quiet is almost a luxury.

But also because a lot of us listen to music, watch TV, or listen to the radio while we do everything, like eating, working, moving, or making love.

When we don't know what's going on, silence can be scary. "The things around us, new technologies, our fast-paced lives, and our ability to get things done have made us dependent on them." "Adding quiet times to your day may not make sense in this situation," says Pascal Auclair, a teacher of meditation and awareness.

Getting rid of all the noise around us actually helps us connect with ourselves more. Pascal Auclair says, "Silence helps us connect with ourselves and our sensitivity, to grow our openness and awareness."

It's also said to help with lowering worry and anxiety, controlling emotions, boosting brain power, and getting a better night's sleep, among other things. It's also a great place to think and be creative.

But quiet from the outside is not the same as silence from the inside. This is what Amélie learnt on her first three-day silent retreat last year. She says, "At first, I felt like I was replacing the background noise with the din of my thoughts." "I finally understood that I needed to tame the silence around me in order to find peace within myself."

Marielle Paradis is a clinical psychologist and a big fan of meditation. She likes to talk about listening to silence instead of just silence. The woman who is working on her PhD in mindfulness says, "It's very rare that we achieve absolute silence, and that's not always the goal."

"Thanks to the practice of silence, our relationship with our mental chatter changes: we can identify less with our thoughts, and that creates a natural calming effect."

---