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The Power of Silence

Posted By: Randy GageNovember 13, 2009

I believe power comes from the silence.  When you see a great speaker, actor, poet, or musician, they get more power from the pauses then they do the sound.  

And nothing does more for your critical thinking than spending some time in the silence.

I spend quiet time every morning for a few hours.  No radio, no TV, just me writing, meditating or thinking. Once of the most wonderful experiences I had was to go to a Retreat in a monastery where I went three days without talking.  It really was a mind-expanding experience and I would recommend it strongly to everyone.

In the meantime, what are you doing to give yourself quiet time?  Or do you have people around you, a radio or TV on all of the time?  Why not go into the silence and see the power that can come from that?

-RG

37 comments on “The Power of Silence”

  1. Great post Randy.

    There was a time when I HAD to have the radio or TV on all the time. I actually didn't like when it was too quiet.

    Now, it's quite the opposite....I cherish the quiet times. I try to meditate every morning. It gives me so much more clarity in my thinking.

  2. In Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, he talked about the space between thoughts under the Law of Intention and Desire. Deepak shared that intention has an infinite organizing power. “Intention lays the groundwork for the effortless, spontaneous, frictionless flow of pure potentiality seeking expression from the unmanifest to the manifest.” I believe it is only possible to get here through undisturbed silence. The white noise of everyday life only holds back our pure potentiality.

  3. I've been wanting to do one of those monastery no-talking weekends; sounds fascinating.

    There is no sound without silence.

    I've been taking late night swims lately, all alone, and really enjoying the silence under the water.

    I've fasted for 5 days, and found that expanding,
    I've been blind for 7 days (involuntarily), and then again for two (voluntarily), and that was amazing too.

    Watching GLEE made me want to try being in a wheelchair for a few days. ALl ways to see the world. Anybody do something else like that?

  4. I remember meeting a boyfriend, and him asking what I was gong to watch on TV that night. I said I didn't watch TV.

    He looked shocked, and asked: "but what do you do in the gaps." He was concerned, because for him, those gaps opened him to the fears in his heart... I love to listen to the murmerings of my soul, messages from the Universe, the trinklings of the ethers....

    That was over a decade ago. I think it was after my first 5 day sient retreat. I miss being able to have those with kids. I've always wondered about doing a year silent retreat. Last year I found a man who also wanted to do that. But then I wondered if his retreat was just to avoid life, and get away...

    I love the silence because it allows me to be more present IN life and love.... not way from it...

    I know Randy, I know that you don't believe me!!!!

    Bst of luck in San Paulo.

  5. Thank you for this important reminder.

    I have found that I can waste many hours, days, weeks, months, indeed years of effort creating results that are not lasting simply because I had not taken the time for silence.

    I am convinced that whatever time I spend in silence is worth every single minute and cannot be replaced by any amount of physical effort.

    Learning to quieten my heart and listen and allow...

    kh

  6. Haven't gone it a wheel chair - but did water-only fast for 28 days. And mnay others shorter - 1, 2, 3 weeks... but that was the longest.

    And those good ol 10 day silent retreats!!!

  7. King Soloman taught us that silence is to be practiced: "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent" Proverbs 18:28a

  8. I wonder if I love so much the touring skiing, the cross-country skiing, the Mountain-biking and the simple hiking for the silence it gives me automatically?...
    fantastic opportunity to be myself.
    perhaps more of us should do this ?
    with respect and love

  9. I've found that people have different needs for different quality and quantity of sound/music/noise around themselves...usually serving the purpose distraction from boredom, loneliness, fear and a number of other feelings.

    When you Feel the Need for silence, it's your body/soul telling you that it wants to reconnect with you, communicate, relax, clear things up, unwind, reach a new level of understanding, etc.

    When you Enjoy silence, you are Ready to hear it... and it is so obvious, because every other type of sound becomes bothersome to listen to. It's like letting yourself come to the surface for air.

    I've never been to a silence retreat, but I find silence to be comforting in my every day life, in fact my need for music and other sounds has become quite specific; it has to be in the range of uplifting/dynamic.. In the last few years I find it hard or impossible to listen to meloncholic, depressive sounds. I guess something in me has shifted in a more positive direction, and I'm glad about that.

    Greetings,
    Maria

  10. Trying to be up half an hour or more every morning before my woman comes up. Lightning a candle , meditating , pray for patience , lovefulness , clarity and authencity .
    Kinesiology balancing my forecoming stressmoments . Then I am ready for porridgebreakfast. Serious man today.
    Sometimes I visit churches between their worships just for meditation.

    Since I did my twelfestep program some years ago I have been teached to make this kind of routines to stay in the program for one day at a time (only for today) .

  11. NOW, SILENCE I CAN RELATE TO...I SPEND MOST OF MY DAYS IN SILENCE AND SPEAK ONLY WHEN I HAVE TO OR TO ANSWER TO SOMEONE'S QUESTIONS...IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS OF SILENCE THAT I CAN REALLY THINK ABOUT THINGS AND IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS OF SILENCE THAT I CAN BUILD MY CASTLES IN THE AIR...IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS THAT I BECOME A MILLIONAIRE AND TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, FIRST CLASS ALL THE WAY...IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS OF SILENCE THAT I AM ME AND I FIND MY INNER PEACE...SO, YES!!!!..I ENJOY MI SILENCE...

  12. I wake every morning at 5 AM to meditate for 20 minutes. On average I hit three 20 minute sessions for day. Most of my creativity is spawned out of silence. My productivity has skyrocketed ever since I adopted the practice of sitting quietly. I wrote 20 plus pages of inspirational quotes in a little over a day after a particular session. It felt like I was on auto-pilot. Pure Flow. Every few hours ideas would hit me and I'd churn out 40-50 quotes in a few minutes.

    We are inherently perfect and chock full of world-changing ideas. Being quiet allows us to clear the clutter of false ideas so that we can tap into the Perfection that the universe yearns to express through us.

  13. I do meditation every morning alone with God...

    God says in Psalm: "Be still for I am God"...I love the experience of peace and joy, creativity and power!!

    Gene

  14. I too feel that silence/meditation is the key to having a peaceful, rich life. In addition to meditating daily, I have just learned how to use my thoughts to change my life- I learned by reading Lynne McTaggart latest book, "The Intention Experiment." I didn't realize until finding her book just how powerful and life changing power of intent really is- our minds are so amazing!

  15. I dedicate at least 40 minutes on meditation right after I wake up. No thougths , no mantras , no nothing... Just ''fueling'' myself with inner power that's witin me. Frankly , it's an amazing experience. The state of clamness, inner balance and harmony fulfills me every time I immerse into this deep pool of strength and care. It makes me feel as if something indescriptively loving resides within you and always there for me to support...

  16. When I lost my mom a few years ago, I chose silence as my compenion for a few good hours every day. I used to listen to music a lot before and it just wasn't doing it for me any longer. The whole experience helped me become more aware of raw emotions I had and since then it helps me to gain piece of mind. I make deliberate choices during the week to be in silence and clear my mind.

  17. I started meditation and taking a power hour about two years ago. At first it was sporadic...one, two, maybe three times per week. Eventually though, I began doing five, to six times per week. I felt more peaceful after each but it wasn't till maybe three or four months laters of consistent practice, when I realized, my whole life has completely changed.... My inner life of course which leads to the outer.. I whole heartedly recommend a POWER HOUR!

    To everyones Success!

    Nate

  18. I love the silence. I prefer to drive in it as well. Usually not possible with anyone else in the car. I did a survival course and a portion of it was 3 days/3 nights alone, with only six feet of line, a hook, a knife and the clothes I was wearing. Exhilerating does not come close to describing the experience.

    Another place to discover who you are is spend 10 minutes, if you can last that long, in silence, alone, being with YOU in a mirror. Then do 15...

    Another place to start is brush your teeth using the opposite hand you normally use. Turn off the radio.

    So much of our lives is about avoiding who we are at any cost. You put you together, you can take you apart and you will always be able to put you back together. It does get easier every time.

  19. Thanks for the post RG!

    Regular silence and reflection is a must. But so is the occaisional rock concert!

    I believe the trick is not spending the mojority of your time in either 🙂

    J

  20. I usually try to get at least 30 minutes every morning of silence before going to work. Helps me to see the day ahead of me and what needs to get done. Kind of like a golfer sees his shot before making it.

  21. Funny you say that. As a matter of fact I spend one or more hours a day in silence. Right now I have been in silence for about 2 hours.

    It is very relaxing to get away from the swarming noise of the world, and spend time with your thoughts and ideas.

    I would love to go to a monastery and be in complete silence. No chance for the phone to ring, away from the list of things to do.

    What a wonderful suggestion to make. I strongly agree. I believe it is healing to be in silence, even if you don't meditate, just curl up with a book, draw, or what I often do, which is sit in front of the computer in silence and soak up all the words of wisdom I can find. 😉

    I believe that the silence alows you to be with your true self, the ego goes to sleep because there is nothing for it to feed off of.

    Can you be alone in silence with yourself? Or does it make you uncomfortable? (just a general question, not directed towards anyone in particular)

    Jamie

  22. Randy,
    If spent 3 days without talking or singing, I would probably explode! But I have come to understand the power of quiet and being alone with my thoughts. I often spend the mornings at home with no tv or music on, just the sound of the waterfall in the garden or the bubbles in the aquarium and I become so much more creative and solution oriented. I pray and seek inspiration and just retreat from the craziness for awhile. It was hard for me to be able to be alone with myself. Sometimes, I nap, not sleeping, just resting and let my thoughts just wander and flow as they will.
    It is amazing the "answers" that come out of that quietness.

  23. Randy полностью с Вами согласен!"Остановка внутреннего диалога"-ключ к невиданным мирам. Мы создаем наш мир нашим внутренним разговором. Мы продукт того,что говорим себе и мы становимся теми,что делаем из себя сами.

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  • 37 comments on “The Power of Silence”

    1. Great post Randy.

      There was a time when I HAD to have the radio or TV on all the time. I actually didn't like when it was too quiet.

      Now, it's quite the opposite....I cherish the quiet times. I try to meditate every morning. It gives me so much more clarity in my thinking.

    2. In Deepak Chopra’s book The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, he talked about the space between thoughts under the Law of Intention and Desire. Deepak shared that intention has an infinite organizing power. “Intention lays the groundwork for the effortless, spontaneous, frictionless flow of pure potentiality seeking expression from the unmanifest to the manifest.” I believe it is only possible to get here through undisturbed silence. The white noise of everyday life only holds back our pure potentiality.

    3. I've been wanting to do one of those monastery no-talking weekends; sounds fascinating.

      There is no sound without silence.

      I've been taking late night swims lately, all alone, and really enjoying the silence under the water.

      I've fasted for 5 days, and found that expanding,
      I've been blind for 7 days (involuntarily), and then again for two (voluntarily), and that was amazing too.

      Watching GLEE made me want to try being in a wheelchair for a few days. ALl ways to see the world. Anybody do something else like that?

    4. I remember meeting a boyfriend, and him asking what I was gong to watch on TV that night. I said I didn't watch TV.

      He looked shocked, and asked: "but what do you do in the gaps." He was concerned, because for him, those gaps opened him to the fears in his heart... I love to listen to the murmerings of my soul, messages from the Universe, the trinklings of the ethers....

      That was over a decade ago. I think it was after my first 5 day sient retreat. I miss being able to have those with kids. I've always wondered about doing a year silent retreat. Last year I found a man who also wanted to do that. But then I wondered if his retreat was just to avoid life, and get away...

      I love the silence because it allows me to be more present IN life and love.... not way from it...

      I know Randy, I know that you don't believe me!!!!

      Bst of luck in San Paulo.

    5. Thank you for this important reminder.

      I have found that I can waste many hours, days, weeks, months, indeed years of effort creating results that are not lasting simply because I had not taken the time for silence.

      I am convinced that whatever time I spend in silence is worth every single minute and cannot be replaced by any amount of physical effort.

      Learning to quieten my heart and listen and allow...

      kh

    6. Haven't gone it a wheel chair - but did water-only fast for 28 days. And mnay others shorter - 1, 2, 3 weeks... but that was the longest.

      And those good ol 10 day silent retreats!!!

    7. King Soloman taught us that silence is to be practiced: "Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent" Proverbs 18:28a

    8. I wonder if I love so much the touring skiing, the cross-country skiing, the Mountain-biking and the simple hiking for the silence it gives me automatically?...
      fantastic opportunity to be myself.
      perhaps more of us should do this ?
      with respect and love

    9. I've found that people have different needs for different quality and quantity of sound/music/noise around themselves...usually serving the purpose distraction from boredom, loneliness, fear and a number of other feelings.

      When you Feel the Need for silence, it's your body/soul telling you that it wants to reconnect with you, communicate, relax, clear things up, unwind, reach a new level of understanding, etc.

      When you Enjoy silence, you are Ready to hear it... and it is so obvious, because every other type of sound becomes bothersome to listen to. It's like letting yourself come to the surface for air.

      I've never been to a silence retreat, but I find silence to be comforting in my every day life, in fact my need for music and other sounds has become quite specific; it has to be in the range of uplifting/dynamic.. In the last few years I find it hard or impossible to listen to meloncholic, depressive sounds. I guess something in me has shifted in a more positive direction, and I'm glad about that.

      Greetings,
      Maria

    10. Trying to be up half an hour or more every morning before my woman comes up. Lightning a candle , meditating , pray for patience , lovefulness , clarity and authencity .
      Kinesiology balancing my forecoming stressmoments . Then I am ready for porridgebreakfast. Serious man today.
      Sometimes I visit churches between their worships just for meditation.

      Since I did my twelfestep program some years ago I have been teached to make this kind of routines to stay in the program for one day at a time (only for today) .

    11. NOW, SILENCE I CAN RELATE TO...I SPEND MOST OF MY DAYS IN SILENCE AND SPEAK ONLY WHEN I HAVE TO OR TO ANSWER TO SOMEONE'S QUESTIONS...IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS OF SILENCE THAT I CAN REALLY THINK ABOUT THINGS AND IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS OF SILENCE THAT I CAN BUILD MY CASTLES IN THE AIR...IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS THAT I BECOME A MILLIONAIRE AND TRAVEL AROUND THE WORLD, FIRST CLASS ALL THE WAY...IT IS DURING THESE MOMENTS OF SILENCE THAT I AM ME AND I FIND MY INNER PEACE...SO, YES!!!!..I ENJOY MI SILENCE...

    12. I wake every morning at 5 AM to meditate for 20 minutes. On average I hit three 20 minute sessions for day. Most of my creativity is spawned out of silence. My productivity has skyrocketed ever since I adopted the practice of sitting quietly. I wrote 20 plus pages of inspirational quotes in a little over a day after a particular session. It felt like I was on auto-pilot. Pure Flow. Every few hours ideas would hit me and I'd churn out 40-50 quotes in a few minutes.

      We are inherently perfect and chock full of world-changing ideas. Being quiet allows us to clear the clutter of false ideas so that we can tap into the Perfection that the universe yearns to express through us.

    13. I do meditation every morning alone with God...

      God says in Psalm: "Be still for I am God"...I love the experience of peace and joy, creativity and power!!

      Gene

    14. I too feel that silence/meditation is the key to having a peaceful, rich life. In addition to meditating daily, I have just learned how to use my thoughts to change my life- I learned by reading Lynne McTaggart latest book, "The Intention Experiment." I didn't realize until finding her book just how powerful and life changing power of intent really is- our minds are so amazing!

    15. I dedicate at least 40 minutes on meditation right after I wake up. No thougths , no mantras , no nothing... Just ''fueling'' myself with inner power that's witin me. Frankly , it's an amazing experience. The state of clamness, inner balance and harmony fulfills me every time I immerse into this deep pool of strength and care. It makes me feel as if something indescriptively loving resides within you and always there for me to support...

    16. When I lost my mom a few years ago, I chose silence as my compenion for a few good hours every day. I used to listen to music a lot before and it just wasn't doing it for me any longer. The whole experience helped me become more aware of raw emotions I had and since then it helps me to gain piece of mind. I make deliberate choices during the week to be in silence and clear my mind.

    17. I started meditation and taking a power hour about two years ago. At first it was sporadic...one, two, maybe three times per week. Eventually though, I began doing five, to six times per week. I felt more peaceful after each but it wasn't till maybe three or four months laters of consistent practice, when I realized, my whole life has completely changed.... My inner life of course which leads to the outer.. I whole heartedly recommend a POWER HOUR!

      To everyones Success!

      Nate

    18. I love the silence. I prefer to drive in it as well. Usually not possible with anyone else in the car. I did a survival course and a portion of it was 3 days/3 nights alone, with only six feet of line, a hook, a knife and the clothes I was wearing. Exhilerating does not come close to describing the experience.

      Another place to discover who you are is spend 10 minutes, if you can last that long, in silence, alone, being with YOU in a mirror. Then do 15...

      Another place to start is brush your teeth using the opposite hand you normally use. Turn off the radio.

      So much of our lives is about avoiding who we are at any cost. You put you together, you can take you apart and you will always be able to put you back together. It does get easier every time.

    19. Thanks for the post RG!

      Regular silence and reflection is a must. But so is the occaisional rock concert!

      I believe the trick is not spending the mojority of your time in either 🙂

      J

    20. I usually try to get at least 30 minutes every morning of silence before going to work. Helps me to see the day ahead of me and what needs to get done. Kind of like a golfer sees his shot before making it.

    21. Funny you say that. As a matter of fact I spend one or more hours a day in silence. Right now I have been in silence for about 2 hours.

      It is very relaxing to get away from the swarming noise of the world, and spend time with your thoughts and ideas.

      I would love to go to a monastery and be in complete silence. No chance for the phone to ring, away from the list of things to do.

      What a wonderful suggestion to make. I strongly agree. I believe it is healing to be in silence, even if you don't meditate, just curl up with a book, draw, or what I often do, which is sit in front of the computer in silence and soak up all the words of wisdom I can find. 😉

      I believe that the silence alows you to be with your true self, the ego goes to sleep because there is nothing for it to feed off of.

      Can you be alone in silence with yourself? Or does it make you uncomfortable? (just a general question, not directed towards anyone in particular)

      Jamie

    22. Randy,
      If spent 3 days without talking or singing, I would probably explode! But I have come to understand the power of quiet and being alone with my thoughts. I often spend the mornings at home with no tv or music on, just the sound of the waterfall in the garden or the bubbles in the aquarium and I become so much more creative and solution oriented. I pray and seek inspiration and just retreat from the craziness for awhile. It was hard for me to be able to be alone with myself. Sometimes, I nap, not sleeping, just resting and let my thoughts just wander and flow as they will.
      It is amazing the "answers" that come out of that quietness.

    23. Randy полностью с Вами согласен!"Остановка внутреннего диалога"-ключ к невиданным мирам. Мы создаем наш мир нашим внутренним разговором. Мы продукт того,что говорим себе и мы становимся теми,что делаем из себя сами.

    Leave a Reply to Jordan Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


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