Shape Of Silence

There are many shapes of silence. Silence in the mind. Silence in deep sleep. Silence when I am fully present without distracted by the past or hijacked by the future. Therer is meditative silence when the mind is here and now. There is relational silence, silence of attention. Silence of oneness. Silence in nature when the human voices are quiet. Silence in deep dreamless sleep. Reading this passage reminds me of a story I had read some time ago. It is an old story. Lao Tzu, the chinese philosopher and author of The Tao, was passing by a village. It was night time. He was invited by the village chief to spend the night at his place. Early in the morning Lao Tzu was ready to go for a meditative walk. The chief requested that he walk with Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu welcomed him to walk with him. After a while the sun started rising filling the clouds with beautiful colors. The chief expressed his wonderment by saying," Look how beautiful the sky is looking!" Lao Tzu rebuked the chief by saying these words, " You talk too much." He taught him a good lesson of silence and a lesson of mindfulness. I have learned to listen to silence by practicing minsdfulness meditation. The clouds of agitated thoughts and disruptive emotions fade way and I see the sky of clarity. The noises in the mind go away and I feel the presence of silence. Such experiences are very profound and they help me to realize my true identity. May we all cultivate openess, clarity and silence! This is the way of being. Namaste! Jagdish P Dave