The Importance of Silence
In his essay below, Piero makes a strong argument for silence as a driver of altruism, consciousness, and social change. After this election, we can clearly see how much we need that change in our world. Starting this Wednesday November 11, you can learn from Veronica Pelicaric how to rest, center yourself, and strengthen your practice of nonviolence in the 6-week Meditation Course for Nonviolent Living.
“Some form of contemplative practice is the only way (apart from great love and great suffering) to rewire people’s minds and hearts. It is the only form of prayer that dips into the unconscious and changes people at deep levels—where all of the wounds, angers, and recognitions lie hidden. Prayer that is too verbal, too social, too external, too heady never changes people at the level where they really need to change. Only some form of prayer of quiet changes people for good and for others in any long term way. It sustains and deepens the short term wisdom we learn in great love and great suffering. Forgive me for making that an absolute statement, but I believe it from years of working with people.”
~ Richard Rohr
All the most influential peacemakers and social changers had a practice of silence. Think about it. Thoreau, Gandhi, Howard Thurman, Martin Luther King, Jr., Peace Pilgrim, the Dalai Lama, Thomas Merton, Mother Teresa, Thich Nhat Hanh, Thomas Keating, they all had prayer, silence, meditation, and contemplation as part of their daily lives.
It’s in the silence that we reach an elevated and expanded consciousness. It’s in the silence that we get to see clearly, beyond the illusions, and get to know who we really are. It’s in the silence that we touch our common essence and go beyond what separates us to realize what unites us. It’s in the silence that we transcend our loyalties to our tribes and proclaim that we belong to each other, as Howard Thurman once wrote:
“People, all people, belong to each other. And he who shuts himself away, diminishes himself, and he who shuts others away, destroys himself.”
It’s in the silence that we move from egoism to altruism, from individuality to community. It’s in the silence that we realize that we are all in this together, that we are all connected, that we are one. It’s in the silence that we realize that we are human and divine before we are anything else. It is the silence that we realize that we are all in the same ship journeying through the space. It’s in the silence that we realize that this is a place of abundance, and that we can organize ourselves to live on this planet in new and better ways. It’s in the silence that we envision everyone having dignified lives, free from man-inflicted lack, pain, or suffering. It’s in the silence that we realize that this is our garden and playground. It’s in the silence that we realize that this is paradise, if we want it to be.
A new consciousness emerges in the silence. The end of the impetus to compete, conquer, dominate, subjugate, and accumulate; the end of the impulse to pursue power in order to control, oppress, and exploit; the end of prejudice and tribalism; the end of aggression, brutality, and violence; the end of injustices and abject poverty; the end of indifference and neglect . . . all these blessings come from inner work, from a practice of remaining in silence.
Altruism, empathy, and compassion; forgiveness, acceptance, and tolerance; patience, generosity, and kindness; nonviolence, tranquility, and peace; respect for the environment and for all sentient beings; cooperation and collaboration . . . all these wonderful insights, emotions, and attitudes are experienced by those who practice the cultivation of wisdom through moments of introspection in silence, stillness, solitude, and simplicity.
The practice changes us in many ways. Now, we feel awake, appreciative, and alive. We look at the same things, but now we see what we were not able to see before. We feel like little children, discovering the world and living in a state of awe.
And because we now see, we are able to act prudently and wisely, and change the world, making it what it ought to be.
Piero Falci teaches Mindfulness Meditation and Mindful Living and the acclaimed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. He leads Insight Meditation Silent Retreats and organizes Silent Peace Walks. Piero is an educator who believes that the inner work that leads to personal awakening and transformation is indispensable to create a wholesome world. He is a promoter of peace who believes in advancing the idea that Heaven is here if we want it to be. "A Better Life in a Better World: Can Mindfulness Save Us from Ourselves?" is his latest book. For more information, visit his website www.pierofalci.com