Carrying the Silence

The silence is always inside and we carry it with us where ever we go. Where inside? Granted, sometimes it seems hard to find. If you are in your head, the search will be difficult. I find that moving my consciousness down into my solar plexus helps. It is here where the connection is easiest.

Once we find and develop a practice of finding peace inside of ourselves, we will begin to see it in others. Compassion follows peace. Even without total understanding, compassion can enter and heal us.

Occasionally, I find understanding in my practice. An understanding brought on by the perspective of entering and experiencing silence. Personally however, I have to be careful. I can get caught up in the desire to understand. But it is the letting go of desires that grants easiest access to silence. We often hang on to things so tightly that peace eludes us. The secret is to let go… of everything.

There is an old Zen saying: “You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes everyday – unless you are too busy; then you should sit for an hour.” When I am busy, I find that it will take this long to go through the process of letting go of all the things circling around in my mind and find the silence that I carry with me always. Still I find comfort in the fact that I am carrying it with me.