Amid All the Noise 🌿 Embrace the Quiet of Mauna

When was the last time you experienced total silence (mauna)? When was the last time you were quiet enough to hear the sounds of your own body and your breath? Perhaps only in the still of night when everyone else is asleep. It is difficult in our modern 24/7 culture to find moments of true quiet and stillness. But in the midst of a busy day when everyone seems to want something from us, we might find ourselves craving some time alone without interruptions. We inherently associate silence with a feeling of peace.

Mauna and quieting the mind:

The Sanskrit word for silence is mauna. Yet mauna is so much more than the simple absence of noise. It also implies an inner quiet, perhaps even some inner wisdom. And on a philosophical level it is the fundamental silence underlying all existence. Perhaps ‘quietude’ is a more accurate translation, as we might individually experience mauna. It is the silence of deep inner listening or a focused inward gaze.

For this reason silence is a cornerstone of many faiths and spiritual paths. On retreat or in a spiritual community there may be formal periods of silence, where all communication is implicit or absent. Silence is a commitment to reduce the amount of noise we ourselves make, not just the noise we receive from the outside world. After all the noise we generate not only affects our own sense of wellbeing. It also has an impact on the people around us!

Learning to embrace the silence:

As we begin to explore silence as part of our meditation or spiritual journey, we might discover that silence can be awkward, uncomfortable, even a little scary. It can be difficult to practise silence without the support of a community. It’s tempting to fill the void with distractions. Although silence really implies an avoidance of all sensory inputs and stimuli like reading and writing – let alone gossiping and watching TV!

“Listen to the whispers of your heart”

Cultivating silence and inner quiet is just a practice, like any other. While it can be difficult at first, we might come to a point when it offers us some genuine peace, calm, or insight. The usual chatter of the mind slows down. And we begin to notice some gaps between our busy thoughts, ultimately we might sense some underlying stillness. A stillness and quiet that offers a glimpse of deep tranquillity, wisdom and acceptance. We cannot hear our truth (whatever that means for us individually) if we are deafened by distractions and noise. We might not reach self-realisation or enlightenment by observing short periods of quiet in our daily life, but we might just feel a bit less stressed. Even short periods of silence can be profoundly nourishing or even healing.

Try this on the mat:

• If you chant OM at the start of end of your practice, take a moment to feel the silence after the sounds have faded away. This is the turiya, the fourth sound (after A-U-M) of the sacred syllable.
• During yoga practice, listen to the sound of your inhales and exhales (particularly if you practise ujjayi breath) and make this your focus as you move through the postures.
• If you always practise to music, try turning it off and embrace the spacious silence instead.

Try this off the mat:

• Turn off the radio, music or TV sometimes, perhaps when cooking a meal or driving the car. Listen instead to the sounds around you and be present with whatever you are doing without external distractions.
• Measure your words. Abstaining from speech totally isn’t usually practicable in our busy lives, so instead try times of consciously speaking less, saying only what is needful in each situation and not indulging in idle chatter or gossip.
• Spend some time in nature, enjoying the sounds of the natural world, the wind sighing through the leaves of a tree or the delicate buzz of grasshoppers in summer grassland.