Today my teacher talked about sitting in silence. He feels the world is on the cusp of another paradigm shift, and could either become an enlightened age or intensify in violence. It's up to us to pray for peace and healing, and the best prayer is silence. He didn't clarify, but I'm thinking prayers with words can go wrong: they can become selfish, or label, or see people as bad or good. But sitting in silence, looking inward, we begin to understand and accept ourselves, both our light and dark sides. If we find the space and time, we begin to witness our thoughts, and see our concepts and beliefs as sometimes alienating, separating us from other beings. Our compassion and love can be freed to grow and affect our behavior.
All our devices, the cell phones, TVs, Ipads and video games bombard us with overstimulation and simplification and distraction. Our thinking becomes the product of other input, not our own reasoning process. Silence allows us to listen to our inner voice, our instincts, and observe our minds and what flows through them.
Yesterday, I was thinking that right speech requires honing the skill of right listening, but today I see it also is encouraged by right silence: centering ourselves for reflection and contemplation. Then we have our inner Jimney Cricket to guide us toward right living.
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