Shape Of Silence
शांत वातावरण के प्रकार , द्वारा केंट नेरबर्नआज सवेरे का शांत वातावरण अद्भुत है| ये अपशकुन भी नहीं है, और ऐसा नहीं प्रतीत होता की कुछ इंतज़ार में है| ये एक सौम्य शांति है, द्रवित एवं हलके रंग की, मानो अचल तालाब में एक झिलमिलाहट |
बहुत अच्छा होता है हमारे दैनिक जीवन को घेरने वाले शांत वातावरण को सुनना |जिस प्रकार संगीत को जागृत उसको घेरे हुए शांत सुर करते हैं, हमारा दिन भी हमारे कृतियों में लिपटी हुई शांति से ही जागृत होता है|और पौ फटने का समय ही वो समय है जब शांत वातावरण अपने सबसे स्पष्ट रूप में नज़र आता है|
मैं एक बार ऐसे व्यक्ति से मिला जो कनाडा के प्रेरी (prairies) वाले इलाके में बड़ा हुआ था| हम उससे बातें करने लगे, वहां की खुली जगहों के बारे में ,और उन कैसे उन खुली जगहों ने उसकी आत्मा को आकार दिया है| उसने कहा “ जब हवा रूक जाती है, तो उस वक़्त इतनी जोर से ध्वनि होतो है कि सब रुक कर सुनने लग जाते है |
इस विचार ने मुझे अच्चम्भित किया | किसी ध्वनि का अंत इतनी जोर से आवाज़ के साथ कैसे हो सकता है ?
पर मैंने जब कनाडा की प्रेरी ( Prairies) की यात्रा की तब मुझे उसकी बात समझ आने लगी| जो व्यक्ति उन विशाल प्रेरी ( Prairies) में रहते हैं, जो ध्वनि उन्हें निरंतर सुनायी पड़ती है, और उनके जीवन के अन्दर लिप्त संगीत है , वो वहां बहती हवा की , निरंतर तेज रफ़्तार से, चीखती आवाज़ है | उनके लिए यह कोई ध्वनि ही नहीं है| जब वो ध्वनि हट जाती है, तो वो शांति एक दूसरा प्रकार ले लेती है, सब कोई इसके प्रति जागृत हैं, और सब रुक के उसे सुनते हैं|
हमें जरूरत है कि हमारे जीवन में उपस्थित विभिन्न शंतियों पे ध्यान दें| एक खाली कमरा एक दूसरी प्रकार की शांति लिए होता है , एक ऐसे कमरे की तुलना में जहाँ कोई छुपा होता है| एक खुशनुमा परिवार के घर की शांति कम अँधेरा लिए गूंजती है, एक ऐसे घर की शांति की तुलना में जिसमे क्रोध का वास है| सर्दियों की सुबह की शांति ज्यादा तेज होतो है, गर्मियों की सुबह की तुलना में| एक पर्वतीय घाटी की शांति ज्यादा विस्तृत होती है , एक जंगल की घाटी की तुलना में |
ये कोरी कल्पनाएँ नहीं हैं, ये हमारे इन्द्रियों के सूक्ष्म विवेकपूर्ण परिच्छेद हैं| यद्यपि इन सभी परिस्थितियों में ध्वनि का अभाव है, पर प्रत्येक शांत वातावारण का अपना एक गुण/स्वभाव होता है|
कोई भी ध्यान प्रक्रिया हमारे मन को इतना स्पष्ट नहीं करती जितना कि हमारे इर्द गिर्द के शांत वातावरण के प्रकार को सुनना है| वो स्थिति केन्द्रित होती है उस बारीक रेखा पे जो वस्तुतः है, और वस्तुतः नहीं है, के बीच में है| वो हमारे ह्रदय को अदृश्य के प्रति खोल देती है, और हमें इस चीज़ की याद दिलाती है कि ये विश्व, उन घटनाओं से कहीं बड़ा है, जिन से हमारा जीवन भरा हुआ होता है|
आज सुबह के शांत वातावरण में आती है एक चिड़िया की पहली चहचाहट | मैं ध्यान से सुनता हूँ| वो उस शांत वातावारण को ऐसे चीरती है, जैसे एक इन्द्रधनुष पौ फटने के मध्य से निकलता है|
मनन के लिए मूल प्रश्न : शांत वातावरण के् प्रकार को सुनना आपके लिए क्या नये आयाम खोलता है ? क्या आप उस समय कि एक निजी कहानी साझा कर सकते हैं जब आप विभिन्न तरीके के शांत वातावरण के प्रति जागृत हुए हों? आपको विभिन्न प्रकार के शांत वातावरण को गहराई से सुनने में किस चीज़ से मदद मिलती है?
Kent Nerburn is an author of numerous books. Excerpt above from 'Small Graces'.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does listening to the shape of silence open up for you? Can you share a personal story of a time you became aware of different silences? What helps you listen deeply to the different shapes of silence?
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18 Past Reflections
On Nov 13, 2023 suman ghosh wrote :
Silence can be beautifully feel through meditation & that is inner silence which unfolds our true nature of love fullness, peace & infinity with Joy.. it opens a different dimension which never be matched with external findings of duality rather it give the feeling of wholeness. This inner silence is full with guidance on how to live life better externally by spreading love, peace for every being surrounding us to get actual balance in life in all dimensions.
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On May 16, 2023 Catherine wrote :
I live in the woods on a small farm that is sanctuary to our adopted and rescued dogs, horses, cats, ducks, chickens and rooster. I am use to hearing animals communicate with each other and me. One day I was working on a slope putting in native bushes and all of a sudden there was silence. At first I thought our resident red tailed hawk was scouting the area for his latest dinner. That was not the case. I listened more carefully and instead of a sound, I felt a presence. It was louder than a sound and yet no sound at all. I turned around and 3 feet away from me was standing a beautiful 3-4 year old doe deer. I sat and admired her and spent the next 30 -60 minutes with her. Her silent presence was loud enough for me to feel if not hear.
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On May 16, 2023 francis dacosta wrote :
krishnamurti speaks of the space between thoughts. Thats where sacred silence resides, i feel. In one meditation class i was asked to focus on the silence between the in and out breath. where there was no easily identifiable activity.
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On May 16, 2023 Samata wrote :
I my very limited experiences. To listen deeply in order to "experience", not "hear", silence is to have the capacity to stop and observe with complete objectivity. No longer creating conditions nor empowering conditions to arise. It is bare observation that is able to sense without grasping as what is sensed manifests and dissolves.
Silence does not arise, it is present, what arises is my capacity to experience without interruption.
Silence does not arise, it is present, what arises is my capacity to experience without interruption.
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On May 16, 2023 Brenda wrote :
When there is a pause, in this silence my senses awake...I listen more deeply to hear the planet's song...there is always movement, so soft that it is beyond human perception, but it can be felt...as though listening with one's skin, and this listening will reveal a song, somewhere...
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On May 16, 2023 Victoria wrote :
Thank you Kent. This is so beautiful. I look forward to reading it again and again. Like silence, your written words are nuanced and give me pause for reflection.
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On May 15, 2023 Nithya wrote :
The brain is a physical perception center designed to inform by capturing boundaries and identifying patterns within them. The absence of vibrations within the human perceptible auditory range is generally defined as silence. Per this, silence is but a gap, an auditorily imperceivable gap.
The author, I think, speaks of a different silence. The kind that's not heard, it's not even felt. For its not what the brain can know, it's that which engulfs. The kind that's not born in those gaps, it's born in the freedom of acceptance. The kind that does not have a listener, all it has is love. The kind that just IS.
For them in the prairies, their body, mind, and intellect work seamlessly to the rhythm of the wind. So much so there is no 'wind and them' --the 'wind is them'.
i hope i find that silence where I will lose i.
The author, I think, speaks of a different silence. The kind that's not heard, it's not even felt. For its not what the brain can know, it's that which engulfs. The kind that's not born in those gaps, it's born in the freedom of acceptance. The kind that does not have a listener, all it has is love. The kind that just IS.
For them in the prairies, their body, mind, and intellect work seamlessly to the rhythm of the wind. So much so there is no 'wind and them' --the 'wind is them'.
i hope i find that silence where I will lose i.
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On May 13, 2023 Pat Denino wrote :
Christmas Eve
Tonight of all nights I appreciate silence. Though I suspect much of the Christmas story and message is mythical, there seems to be a tiny kernel of truth in it. What it is I'm not sure. If we could explain it, then the universe is in a lot of trouble, I suspect, if its wisdom can be comprehended by the bipeds currently scurrying around a minor planet on the edge of a nondescript galaxy.
No, I'm not putting us down. We're just not finished yet, it seems. Nothing wrong with acknowledging that.
Christmas. What is it, really? A dear friend implies it's all about gift. Gift is all about relationships. I give to you, you give to me. Maybe more than that. We receive from the universe. Do we give to the universe? What is the universe other than a bunch of us all connected? Us, meaning you, me, rocks, mountains, planets, crickets, elderberry bushes, the whole nine yards.
I look closely at gift. What does that mean? It gets fuzzy the closer I get to it. Gift is…ackno... [View Full Comment]
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On May 12, 2023 Ted wrote :
If I listen from duality, every moment of silence is different and temporary, terminated by some sound or different silence, and it's only up to me if I avoid (and suffer), or embrace and enjoy them. In a larger view, the infinite silence which contains and allows everything to take place within it is not disturbed by any of those, just as infinite space is not disturbed by the transient stars, planets, or clouds of matter appearing within it. Our bodies and egos may be afraid of being lost in that space, but in reality we cannot be anywhere else, and the fear is only the illusion of being something other, or separate. And so it is with silence...
1 reply: Nithya | Post Your Reply
On May 12, 2023 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
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 sayi... [View Full Comment]
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On May 12, 2023 Mariette wrote :
Now living near the ocean, i hear a completely different silence than during my childhood in the mountains. At the beach, the silence is teeming with activity. There’s the ever so slight pause at the crest and the trough of the crashing waves, that momentary pause, like at the top and bottom of our breath. And that space is often filled by the sound of the waves further out, building the amplitude for their turn to crash. As well as the birds taking advantage of the goodness of the crashing waves. There is so much depth of sound in what I first perceive as silence.
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On May 12, 2023 David Doane wrote :
What comes to mind is Thomas Keating's quote: "Silence is God's first language, and all the rest is a poor translation." I relate to listening to silence -- I don't know about listening to the shape of silence. For me, silences are part of environments, and silences differ depending on the environment they are part of and they can differ very much. Regarding a time I became aware of different silences is when I was in tense silence, ie the silence in a very tense situation, which felt suffocating, compared to peace silence, ie the silence of a peaceful situation, which felt enlivening and joyous. What helps me listen deeply to the different silences is my valuing silences, knowing there are many different silences, knowing the silences say much, and knowing the silences are what is being expressed just as much as the words or sounds and may be saying more about what is happening than the words being expressed.
1 reply: Barbara | Post Your Reply
On May 12, 2023 Barbara Schutt wrote :
The silence between the sounds, between breaths is where we should focus during meditations. I hear a bird sing with my eyes closed and then wait for another between the silence. I have chimes outside my window that break the silence. Just stopping to listen to the silence throughout the day and being in the moment is difficult at times but can bring such peace.