I Have Decided To Create Silence

I am sitting on a train, watching through the window. As i am coming back from a week of holidays I am contemplating the beautiful French countryside. Somewhere in the west part of the country between Nantes and Angers. Looking at the colours, the shapes of nature and cities, perceiving the repetitive movement of the train, listening to the noises around me…

Suddenly my mind starts to play and go into daydreaming. As i am letting myself go into this state, my head suddenly feels tingly and light. My heart opens, my body feels heavy and whole. I feel happy and complete.

I am experiencing a moment of presence and silence. I am giving myself a break. I have had similar moments as I was walking along the sea during my holidays. Allowing myself to sink into the moment, connecting with all my senses, just exploring the state of being. Nature is such a great support for this. It reminds us of the time, the priorities, the reality of being human.

But how can i repeat these beautiful moments of being in the now when I am back to the non stop activity London life, when I once again will be caught by the rat race?

Are you familiar with this question? As you are coming back from holidays and feeling refreshed an re-energized, yet already starting to feel stressed again about being caught up by daily life and its routines again too fast?

Through my daily life I have found some tips to cultivate this presence and achieve silence. Inner silence. Part of it is to take advantage of any available moment to slow down and reconnect.

Silence is a starting point to create, decide, take a step back, reflect, understand and digest. Silence is a state of awareness, a state of presence.

To achieve silence it is important to be aware of noise. Noise can in example be repetitive thoughts running through your head, tension in the body or emotional blockages. Noise is a sign of lack of flow. Pain is noise. Struggle is noise. It is a calling, it needs to be listened to. Not avoided. If you try to avoid/ deny it, well it will talk louder, then shout until you listen to it.

We are so use to act, know and respond right away. The reality is that we already have the answer within us. What needs to be done is to create a space to welcome the answer, to become a receptor. When we are looking for an answer, we actually already have the answer, but we have to listen to it. So we have to stop and listen, and agree not to know.

For this we need to create space. We need to create silence.

So how do i find and create silence in my daily life?

In order to create silence as we have noises in our head, body or life in general, we can:

– LISTEN to it. A good way can be through MEDITATION where we just allow to be an observer of our mind and its thoughts, without any judgement or interpretation.

– WRITE it on a paper on a daily basis. Take a piece of paper and write down all your thoughts without thinking or judging.

– MOVE. Dance, run, walk quickly, create movement, activating flow and breathing through the body.

– RELAX. Let go of muscular tensions with massage, physical activities or a warm bath or shower.

– WALK while being aware of your BREATH and HOW your body is moving.

– Connect with NATURE. Feel, sense.

– LAUGH. It is a very powerful way to relax and reset.

– Allow any EMOTION. Cry, sing, enjoy, disagree.

– SHARE moments with friends.

TO DECIDE TO BE IN THE PRESENT is an exercise you can practice everywhere, especially when your thoughts take over.

Below you will find an exercise I practice regularly during the day.

FLASH MEDITATION – using your senses as a support to presence.

Start to become aware of all the moments in your life where it feels too easy to jump into your mind (or grab your smartphone automatically); while waiting for the bus, going to sleep, when you just woke up, when you are cooking, when you are queuing in a shop or when somebody is talking to you (yes, yes i know you do it, we all do).

Then start to change your attitude right in those moments. During those moments decide to consciously become aware of your surroundings using your five senses.

See: Be aware of the space around you, what do you see, what colours, what shapes.
Smell: What are you smelling?
Touch: Be aware of your hands, are they in contact with something, a cup of tea? a table? your phone? Feel your skin, the contact with your clothes, is it cold? warm?
Listen: What are the noises, is it noisy, silent, are there a lot of different sounds, can you count how many different sounds there are at the moment, are they far, close?
Taste: Do you have a specific taste in your mouth? What does your coffee/water/food taste like, your chewing gum, is it sweet, bitter, dry?

As you are doing this exercise pay attention to how much information that actually is present. How do you feel now?

How is your breath? As you are aware of your surroundings with all your five senses, breathe deeply and explore this sensations; this is what is REALLY happening now. This is reality (yes, your mind was probably tricking you. Reality is simple, it can even seem boring, but it is only a first step, you will see it is amazingly rich and intense).

What would it take you to do this exercise one to five times a day, in the bus, in bed, as you are cooking, waiting for a friend? It only takes two to five minutes, the time you would spend looking at your phone for the 5678th time today anyway.

Give it a try and I can assure you, you will increase your quality of presence and you will have another way of perceiving your life and your surroundings!

I would love to hear about your explorations trying out these exercises, so feel free to send me your feedback via facebook or by email.

If you would like to know more about how you can increase presence and embodiment, and make your life the one you truly want, book a diagnostic session with Valerie or try one of her workshops or classes.

Valérie Schraauwers is a Bodywork Specialist.

She lives and works in London and teaches people to be present and improve their awareness in order to become creators of their own lives.

More information on her website: www.bodyawareness.co.uk