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Relinquishing Distraction

I don't own a television. I do have a stereo system, but I listen to it discriminatingly throughout the day, and usually shut it off by 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening. More often than not, I listen to CDs on my stereo rather than radio programs. The noise, banality, and manipulative propaganda rampant in broadcast media often offend me.

Even without television and radio broadcasts, I still get bombarded by noise from my environment. So I decided to take a break last week. For thirty minutes, I joined a small group of people who sat in silence at a local church. The idea of sitting in silence is nothing new. Meditation mavens, cloistered clerics and Quakers have done it for centuries. For me, however, the act of being silent with a group was novel.

At first it was difficult to sit still. Then, as my body quieted, my thoughts got louder. I wondered what others in the group were thinking. I went over my "to do" list so I would be ready to complete the tasks at the end of the half-hour. I also thought about what I could be doing if I weren't sitting in silence. Then, out of nowhere, true silence came over me.

I don't know when it happened, but at some point I stopped hearing the vehicles at the intersection outside. The voices of that committee in my head had also become silent. Suddenly the thirty minutes was over, and our leader was speaking to us again. I felt relaxed, at peace, and not at all ready for the silence to end. It was as if I were connected not only to those in the group, but to everyone and everything everywhere.

I wonder how my world would change if I experienced that kind of silence for 30 minutes each day? It is an idea worth contemplation.

• When was the last time you experienced silence?
  
  
• Which aural inputs are you willing to eliminate?
  
  
• Are you willing to sit in silence for thirty minutes?
  
  
• What fears keep you from doing it?

© 2002 David Bentley

David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world.

He can be reached by phone at 360.378.8436

by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com

or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com

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