When a friend talks to you, opens up about something important or heartfelt, I hope you reply with an I hear you. To hear someone is to listen more than you speak, it’s to get quiet for long enough to understand what the other person is saying and feeling. An opportunity for connection and healing can be missed when we talk over someone, interrupt or start planning what we’re going to say when the other person is still talking.
Each month we practice with a different theme. This month has been about understanding how speech is silver, but silence is golden. We trial stuff in the yoga class, to ultimately put it into action for the rest of the week. We’ve had three weeks of learning to relax in the space between stimulation and response, to trust that quiet is an enriching experience, as opposed to a place of absence. How has that filtered through into your relationships with others and yourself?
The ancient sages and rishis dedicated their life to preparing to arrive at the place beyond the noise, a place beyond the servicing of the ego. This practice of silence is a valuable roadmap for how to repair ourselves, our culture and society.