Silence - boot camp for the soul
Part of the Yoga Teacher Training program I undertook involved five days of silence high above Gupt Kashi in the Himalayan foothills overlooking the peaks of Choucumba and Kedarnath.
What the soul gains the active mind loses.
Chatter is reduced, concentration is enhanced and recall is smooth and direct.
The mind really is the focus, at least for me, as I take leave from the everyday distractions and notice my thoughts one by one. Over days I seem to be able to group them...judgements of self and others, martyrdom, questioning, amazement, awe, gratitude. All mixed in like a thick, hearty vegetable soup.
The obvious occurs, one notices the birds, the changing clouds in the sky, the chatter of the locals as they go about their daily busyness. Then the unexpected happens, memories from long ago, revelations of behaviours and the patterns they follow. Each meal is to be savoured, it is like a barometer for the passing of hours and days. Everything tastes better in silence. Praying before each meal in gratitude of the meal to come, and those that prepared it. Not wanting to disappoint, I am sure I am eating more than my share!
I think a lot about my family, immediate and extended. We talk about karma and the role everyone in our immediate lives plays in helping us address karmic situations. I am so grateful to my little family for the opportunity to be in silence. I am sure we will all benefit! Even if the end result is simply that I am less of a nag!
Silence is the place where you realise that a lot of what you have been told is true. It is the place where you can listen to the messages to validate those truths. Silence is when new truths emerge and can take a foothold.
Today i found space to quiet the chatter and realise that I am basically a good person. Sounds pretty simple right. But the process to get there and having really craved outside validation, often not forthcoming, especially in earlier years, meant that I had to clear some debris and get closer to my own truth....at least for this time and place!
Silence.
In absolute awe and appreciation of everything today...the mountains, Himalaya, the local people, the food, the yoga, the silence, the birds...love peace and joy, or as Prasad, our teacher, says, love, freedom and bliss...I have tasted them all this morning.
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| The view to Choucumba. We meditated on her four pillars and imagined applying the simple strategy of bringing our lives into this simple fourfold focus. |
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| The things you see when your mind is stilled. |
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| In silence I was fascinated by nature. there were so few other distractions. |
Chatter is reduced, concentration is enhanced and recall is smooth and direct.
The mind really is the focus, at least for me, as I take leave from the everyday distractions and notice my thoughts one by one. Over days I seem to be able to group them...judgements of self and others, martyrdom, questioning, amazement, awe, gratitude. All mixed in like a thick, hearty vegetable soup.
The obvious occurs, one notices the birds, the changing clouds in the sky, the chatter of the locals as they go about their daily busyness. Then the unexpected happens, memories from long ago, revelations of behaviours and the patterns they follow. Each meal is to be savoured, it is like a barometer for the passing of hours and days. Everything tastes better in silence. Praying before each meal in gratitude of the meal to come, and those that prepared it. Not wanting to disappoint, I am sure I am eating more than my share!
I think a lot about my family, immediate and extended. We talk about karma and the role everyone in our immediate lives plays in helping us address karmic situations. I am so grateful to my little family for the opportunity to be in silence. I am sure we will all benefit! Even if the end result is simply that I am less of a nag!
Silence is the place where you realise that a lot of what you have been told is true. It is the place where you can listen to the messages to validate those truths. Silence is when new truths emerge and can take a foothold.
Today i found space to quiet the chatter and realise that I am basically a good person. Sounds pretty simple right. But the process to get there and having really craved outside validation, often not forthcoming, especially in earlier years, meant that I had to clear some debris and get closer to my own truth....at least for this time and place!
Silence.
In absolute awe and appreciation of everything today...the mountains, Himalaya, the local people, the food, the yoga, the silence, the birds...love peace and joy, or as Prasad, our teacher, says, love, freedom and bliss...I have tasted them all this morning.
