On a 10-day silent retreat, the teacher, Willa Thaniya Reid, says, “Silence is medicine.” I like the sound of this idea, and so I puzzle over it for a few days. This is what is called contemplation or investigation.
Noble Silence is one of the cornerstones of a silent retreat. Turn off the mobile phones. Put away my books. Even put away my writing, though I do jot down notes to myself, such as this blog post.
Sink in to the Nature all around me. Meditate on a cushion or chair seven times a day. Walking meditation in between. Eating meditation at mealtimes. And work meditation while doing my assigned chore (pot washing, for instance). Maybe meditation will even follow me into sleep. Or not.
Silencing all the devices, silencing the input of information cleanses my smogged-up sense perceptions. Colors are brighter. My skin even feels cleaner. My mind is more alert. Tranquil and alert. No worries. No anxieties. Calm arrives as the pace of daily life slows way down. I practice loving kindness. “May I live with ease.”
Silence antidotes the dis-ease of my mind. Silence is medicine.
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