Awakening in Silence

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Awakening in Silence

by David Simon, M.D.

The great paradox of exploring silence is that ultimately we cant experience it with ourmind or encapsulate its essence in words. To enter a deep state of stillness and silence,we have to go beyond the minds constant stream of thoughts into the field of pureawareness. In our dynamic, goal-oriented world, we dont usually spend much time orattention cultivating this quality of awareness, but it has been my experience thatlearning to surrender to silence nurtures all aspects of life including our environment,our body, our relationships, our creative expression, our heart, and soul.

The Sufis and Taoists say that those who say, dont know; and those who know, dontsay. So the fact that Im willing to spend a few words discussing silence may imply tothe reader that I dont know, but Ill take my chances because I believe that if this

exploration helps you weave even just a little more silence and peace into your dailylife, the benefits will be profound.

Learning to ListenIf you close your eyes right now and listen to your environment, you may hear thetraffic moving on the street below, the television in the next apartment, or therefrigerator humming in your kitchen. These sounds contribute to the ambient noise ofmodern life, which we usually filter out of our conscious awareness.

Even if you are in a completely silent setting, you may still notice an ongoing level of

activity that is independent of your surroundings. The source of this activity is yourmind, which hosts the continual inner conversation you are having with yourself. Noticethat you dont have to try to think; the thoughts keep bubbling up from aninexhaustible source.

Noticing our minds constant inner dialogue is actually a cause for celebration, for untilwe become aware that we are having thoughts, we usually believe that we areourthoughts and that were defined by a continuous pattern of memories and anticipations. Freedom begins when we are able to transcend the thought traffic and start to shift ouridentity to the silent witness that is not bound in time or space. This inner silent witnessobserves all the thoughts, emotions, sensations, and experiences unfolding in our life

without getting caught up in the stories, repetitive thought-loops, and conditionedreactions that keep our mind in bondage. You can connect with the witness right nowby noticing what youre thinking and then asking yourself Who is the one who isthinking?The aspect of yourself that is able to observe your thoughts as well as youranswer is the silent witness.


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Learning to still the minds dialogue opens the door to a domain of silence that has thepotential to heal and transform your life. As you tap into this inner silence, you beginthe process of shifting your internal reference point from ego to soul, from fear to love,

from anxiety to peace, and from constriction to expansion.There are many ways to access the field of silence, yet I have found that one of themost powerful and systematic approaches is the practice of meditation.

A Tale of Two MindsI remember my first experience of meditation when I was in the seventh or eighthgrade. I had a remarkably conscious social studies teacher named Mr. Schacko. Oneday when we were studying a lesson on Eastern philosophy, he introduced the idea ofmeditation. He said, You know, in the Western world, we take great pride in having avery active, creative, dynamic mind. In some way or another, the underlying belief ofthe Western mind-set could be summarized as whoever has the most thoughts, wins.In contrast, in certain parts of the Eastern world, such as India, Nepal, and Tibet,theres a much greater appreciation for a quiet mind.

So we have these two world views, Mr. Schacko continued. The one were immersedin is about keeping our minds active, having our thoughts going all the time, andmemorizing lots of information. Then theres the Eastern view, which is focused on howwe can find silence.

When my teacher introduced this concept to my class, most of my fellow studentsthought it was very funny. It seemed like it was so easy to have a quiet mind. Why was

it such a big deal?

Then Mr. Schacko said, Okay, right now everybody close your eyes and see how longyou can go without having a thought.

Of course, anyone who has practiced meditation even once knows that it doesnt takelong before we have thoughts. And I remember my very first thought was Uh oh . . .what if they are right? And what if having a big, active mind isnt the best use of ourawareness?

Although I didnt know it at the time, this was my first real introduction to meditation

and it has stayed with me for more than forty-five years. I learned that the ability toquiet our mind and experience silence is a practice that requires attention andcultivation.

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Several years later when I was a young college student, all things Eastern seemed to beexploding on the Western cultural front. I was once again exposed to the concept ofmeditation and quieting the mind, and I started to realize that we in the West have

been really afraid of the emptiness that often accompanies silence.When we havent embraced silence, we seek fulfillment and gratification throughachievement, material possessions, sensory experiences, and status; but no matter howmuch we acquire, the pleasure we glean is transitory and only partially satisfying. Its asif were trying to stave off the anxiety and discomfort that are bubbling just below thesurface by filling our minds with thoughts and engaging in perpetual activity andbusyness. We may do this in a thousand subtle ways automatically turning on theradio when we get into the car, opening the refrigerator to grab a snack when we findourselves alone and bored on a quiet Sunday afternoon, feeling uneasy about a longsilence in a conversation and rushing to fill it with our words.

Honoring the Sabbath QueenGrowing up, I can remember how my family seemed to value busyness and outwardproductivity over taking time to quiet down and be still. I was brought up in the Jewishtradition, and as a young boy, we celebrated the Sabbath on Saturday. Although thestated intention of honoring this day of rest was to take quiet time and connect withfamily and friends, many people, including my family, used the day to catch up onactivities they hadnt been able to finish during the week. As I was growing up, I didnthave a sense that the Sabbath was considered a sacred day of rest.

I recently was talking with a Chabad rabbi who told me that in some mystical Jewishtraditions, the Sabbath was considered an opportunity to transcend the daily activity oflife and experience a different domain of reality. The rabbi explained that in theChabad tradition, the sacred Sabbath wasnt simply about stopping work for the day,but rather was about embracing a completely different state of consciousness in whichtime and space disappear. The metaphor that has been used for thousands of years isinviting the Sabbath queen into your heart and soul and mind and celebrating for thatday.

It is as if by stepping out of time, we free ourselves from the constrictions, fears, andseparation that keep us trapped in a mode of constant doing and striving. After twenty-four hours, the Sabbath queen brings us back into time and space what we normallyconsider reality. And yet by touching the realm of the sacred and going beyond ourusual mundane thoughts, when we come back into our daily lives, returning to school,work, and our usual patterns of activity some remnant or residual memory oftranscendent wholeness stays with us, reminding us of the paradox that we can be inthis world but not of it.


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Like honoring the Sabbath, meditation is about taking time to experience the stillnessand silence that lie below all the busy thoughts and activities that usually preoccupy us.Taking time to close our eyes, quiet our mind, and go within offers a profound

opportunity to go beyond our egos tight identification with the transitory aspects of ourpersonality and personal lives and connect more deeply with our essential nature,which is infinite and eternal. Then when emerge from our meditation, our mind isrefreshed and were able to see the same experiences from a slightly differentperspective one imbued with the peace and clarity we have tapped into duringmeditation. This is the basis of authentic love, healing, creativity, and transformation.

Questions about Silence

As Ive thought about silence and explored the subject with friends and family, Ivenoticed some common themes and questions that Id like to explore here.

1.) Why does the human mind seem to have a reluctance to experiencesilence?

When people begin to practice meditation and other technologies to quiet the mind,they may experience a sense of discomfort ranging from restlessness to actualagitation. Its common to feel resistance in part because so many of us grew up withnearly constant sensory and mental stimulation. If weve never sat quietly with our eyesclosed, opening to silence may feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable at first.

Yet the shift from outer activity to inner awareness ultimately allows us to generate an

internal state of peace and happiness that is independent of the people, situations, andcircumstances around us. With practice, the transition from activity to silence reducesstress and becomes the source of our most blissful state of awareness.

Investing the time and energy to go through this transition is well worth it. When themind quiets, we experience the silent space between thoughts. And the thoughts thatdo arise are less conditioned and come from deeper, less predictable, and less familiarlayers of awareness. The philosopher Alan Watts described this as the wisdom ofuncertainty, which reminds us that in the ambiguity of life, we drop into a deeperdomain of awareness that touches the sacred source of all evolutionary impulses.

Since uncertainty is woven into the fabric of creation, we cannot always accuratelypredict which sensations will unfold happiness or sadness, pleasure or pain,enthusiasm or emotional constriction, love or hostility. Yet stepping into the unknown,while sometimes terrifying, is what makes life compelling, powerful, and meaningful. Inaddition, as we become more experienced travelers in the realm of silence, we canlearn how to consciously choose interpretations that generate more comfort thandistress.


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The mind is complicated. We will never master it because its very nature is to generatenew impulses, ideas, concepts, and associations. As long as the mind, with its innateparadoxes, is the dominant place we live, we will experience some level of discomfort.

Expanding our sense of self to deeper dimensions of awareness in which we canembrace ambiguities and contradictions accelerates our ability to experience silence.

Exercise: Noticing the MindAs an exercise to expand awareness and enhance witnessing, close your eyes and beginobserving the thoughts that arise. Notice that the mind is a thought-generating organthat is constantly giving rise to memories and desires, as well as attending to impulsesthat arise from within or without.

Our patterns of thought have a lifetime of karma or conditioning woven into them. As

the ancient Vedic epic the Bhagavad Gita states, unfathomable is the field of karma.Knowing this, we want to increase the likelihood that we generate thoughts thatpromote happiness, comfort, and the greatest possibility for success. Simply moving toa witnessing mode with the intention of enhancing relaxation expands our silence andcreativity.

Whether by conditioning or by nature, when we are with other people, particularlythose with whom we are not necessarily very intimate, we tend to avoid or distractourselves from silence. This is the basis of small talk, which seems driven by the humanimpulse to keep the noise going. I suspect that we tend to engage in small talk becauseeven if what were communicating is of relatively low value, the fact that vibrations are

flowing enhances our sense of connection and unity. Although it is not a commonpractice within most families and communities, cultivating unity in silence is worthwhileand allows for creative possibilities to unfold that are not available to us when we fillmental spaces with chatter.

Relinquishing the MindThe rewards and benefits of not succumbing to the resistance that silence mayengender are of immeasurable worthiness. However, we cannot impose silence on themind. The seeds of silence will germinate when the soil of awareness is right.Throughout my lifetime of teaching meditation and practicing medicine, I have seen

many cases in which someone who was unable to sustain a meditation practice at onepoint, was able to easily embrace a mind-quieting practice at another time. When aperson is not ready to meditate, its almost impossible to force it. And when someone isready, there is almost nothing that will keep him or her from it.

Ive seen it both ways. Sometimes peoples lives are so turbulent that they aredesperate for quiet and turn to meditation as a technique for cultivating inner calm and


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peace. And at other times, peoples lives are so joyful and creative that they embracemeditation as a way of reinforcing their access to the underlying creative silence.

I encourage you to be awake to the opportunities to make silence a regular aspect ofyour life, and I invite you to see silence not as something to be feared but as one of themost nurturing aspects of life.

I have noticed that each of us has a certain tolerance for silence. When our lives areextremely turbulent, we long for a settling of the mind and put our attention onbehaviors on practices that reduce the level of chaos. On the other hand, it is notuncommon to feel bored when there is too much silence. Most of us have a naturalrhythm of consciousness that ranges between turbulence and boredom.

Notice as a practice that when your life is too stable, you may end up unconsciouslymaking choices that generate chaos; on the other hand, when your life is too turbulentyou will naturally gravitate towards choices that encourage quieting of the mind. Themore awareness you can bring to the rhythm of silence and activity, the more readilyyou can choose where on the spectrum your life is best served.

2.) What is the best style of meditation to encourage quieting of the mind?

Any technique that supports a sense of comfort, joy, peace, and optimism can make avaluable contribution to quieting our minds. At some level, the mind has a naturaltendency to become quiet because it is built into our essential fabric to move in the

direction of greater happiness. Since the expansion of happiness is the purpose of life,choices that generate bliss will be more attractive than choices that generate stress.Therefore, each of us has an internal gage as to which meditation practices are mostuseful and desirable. If a particular meditation technique leads to expansion ofawareness, creativity, playfulness, joy, and freedom, it is a sign that your practice is onthe right track. If, on the other hand, your practice leads to straining, discomfort, or asense of rigidity, despite how expertly you may be practicing the technique, it willgenerally not serve the higher purpose of meditation, which is the expansion ofawareness.

There are many different techniques to quiet the mind, and almost any consciously

applied practice can be meditative. These are a few meditation suggestions that Iencourage you to try, observing how they influence your mind and body:

Take a walk in silence.Simply pay attention to the sounds, sensations, sights,tastes, and smells in your environment without engaging in conversation. In themere process of witnessing of your experiences, you will find that your mind quietsand your awareness of your connection to the whole is enhanced.


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Pay attention to your breath.From the moment we are born to the last impulseof our life, we are generating an inflow and outflow of breath that directly connectsus with the rhythm of nature. Its as if the universe is performing cardiopulmonary

life support on us throughout our waking, dreaming, and sleeping experiences.Bringing our awareness to the breath, even when our mind is turbulent, can awakengreater silence. Taking a slow, deep breath when we notice that our lives areturbulent can accelerate the process of returning to balanced, comfortableawareness.

Practice yoga.Physical yoga practices, when performed with awareness, canencourage settling of the mind. Although the word yogahas been usurped bypromoters of its physical aspects to support flexibility, strength, and balance, theessence of yoga is the cultivation of unity. When performed with present momentawareness, stretching the body with focused attention will quiet the mind. Even just

five to ten minutes of conscious movement can support hours of meditative peace.

Focus on the five senses.Any of the five senses can be used as a meditationtechnology to enhance silence. Listening to the sounds of nature, such as birds, thewind, and moving water, with the intention of witnessing, will quiet awareness. Asanyone who has received a massage will confirm, being touched in a loving,conscious way quietly expands the mind. Observing beautiful images can bring ourattention into the present and still our emotional turmoil. Ingesting delicious flavorscan reduce the tendency of our awareness to be distracted and bring us to thepresent. Aromas that distinguish themselves from the usual routine smells can bringattention to a focused mind. This is why in many meditative traditions, people are

encouraged to burn incense or diffuse aromatherapies. Chanting, either listening toothers or expressing these vibrations yourself, has traditionally been used tomeditate for thousands of years. Almost every spiritual and religious culture has atradition of consciously choosing rhythmic vibrations to bring awareness from pastand future to the present. Performing or listening to chants from the Vedic,Christian, African, Buddhist, Jewish, or other traditions will still the mind and allowthe gaps between the thoughts to emerge.

Mantra Meditation

For decades, we at the Chopra Center have been applying consciously chosen mantrasas vehicles to move awareness from constriction to expansion. The use of mantra,aword that means mind vehicle is an ancient practice for settling awareness withoutstraining or concentrating. These devices tend to be pleasant resonant sounds thathave a vibratory quality without accessing the meaning quality of the mantra.


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When we say the word flower,there are two components: one is the meaning, whichmay conjure up visual and olfactory experience. The other is the actual vibratoryquality, to which we have assigned an association between the word and its definition.

Flower in Spanish is flora;in Italian, fiorire;and in French, fleur. In each case, weassociate a vibratory quality with an experience, but this is at least in part arbitrary,based upon tradition. Unlinking the relationship between sound and meaning enablesus to utilize the transcending, enhancing quality of the mantra because in this context,the vibration does not automatically require the invoking of a meaning.

There are thousands of ancient mantras. The universal mantra is the soundAum,whichis said to be the vibration of the universe moving from silence to activity and back tosilence. The A component is the expression of the beginning, in which the worldmoves from unmanifest to manifest. The U represents the maintenance of theexperience, temporarily captured in time and space. And the M is that which

expresses dissolution of the individuation, allowing for the vibration to settle back intosilence. We can couple the sound with the breath, but will probably soon discover thatyour awareness transcends both the mantra and the breath as your mind settles andyour body relaxes.

I encourage you to explore various technologies to see which meditative practicesresonate with your physiology so that you have ready and reliable access to silence.

After a while you will find that simply closing your eyes becomes a meditative practice,one that very effortlessly takes your mind from activity to silence. Because it is morecomfortable to have peace than turbulence, with a little practice it will become easy foryou to meditate and to reap the benefits of mind-quieting practices.

3.) What is the relationship between meditation and spirituality?

Although meditation does not need to be associated with spiritual unfoldment, it seemsthat when one practices meditation regularly, we cannot help but have thoughts aboutGod. Perhaps this is because God lives within the gap of the mind, and when thatdimension is not occupied with obsessive thoughts about the past or the future, Godwanders in to fill that space.

In a sense, even when were thinking about God, the very thought of the divinesqueezes out the sacred. Words are intrinsically restrictive because the very nature oflanguage is to differentiate one thought from another. When I say that youre beautiful,intelligent, and kind, Im implying that youre not ugly, dim-witted, or mean. However, ifwere being honest, we all know that each of us can be beautiful and ugly, intelligentand foolish, kind andmean.


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It is the nature of the languaging mind to dichotomize the world into pluses andminuses; it is not the nature of life. We use our mind to define ourselves. It has beenfascinating as I lose my mind as a consequence of my illness to recognize that I have a

mind but Im not my mind. In actuality, we are the silent witnessing awareness thatgives rise to thoughts in the mind and sensations in the body.

Embracing UnityOne of the most curious, amusing, and, at times, distressing aspects of language is theuse of the word God.Many conflicts have been encouraged and sustained as a result ofthat vibration. In the name of God, both wonderful and terrible actions have beenperformed, and still today people feel justified in committing violent acts under theguise of divine guidance. One cant help but suspect that if God didnt have a senseof humor, she would feel tremendously disappointed in our human application of hername. Therefore, a vital question to ask is How do we cultivate the concept of God as

a unifying rather than as a dividing force of life?One of my dear friends, Beth NielsenChapman, has a song with the line Im a Hindu Buddhist Jew Islamist Christian. Thiswonderful expression reminds us that the essence of divinity is the embracing ofdiversity. If in the name of God we find ourselves creating more rigid boundaries,conflict, judgment, or fear, God is not being served and she is not serving us. If, onthe other hand, the thought of God brings about joy, flexibility, creativity, laughter, andlove, God becomes a vehicle for celebration.

How do we allow God into our minds, bodies, relationships, and life? We stop squeezingthe divine out through our preconceived notions of what is sacred and what is profane.When we assume the mind-set that everything is ultimately divine, though sometimes

more disguised than others, then we can see that all of our thoughts, impulses, anddesires arise from and can bring us back to awareness of the sacred. My beloved Hafizexpressed this idea beautifully in the following poem:

Prayto be humble

So that God does notHave to be so stingy.

O pray to be honest.Strong.

Kind.And pure.

So that the Beloved is never miscastAs a cruel great miser.


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I know that you have a hundred complex casesAgainst God in court.

But never mind wayfarer,Let's just get of this mess.

And pray to be loving and humbleSo that the Friend will be forced to reveal

HimselfSo

Near.

(Source: Let's just get of this mess fromThe Gift,translated by Daniel Ladinsky)

When our awareness is open, God is not hiding but rather tickling us at every momentof creation to get our attention. Cultivating and embracing uncertainty expands ourcapacity for the divine. Uncertainty resides in silence. The more uncertainty we canintegrate into our daily life, the more silence will resonate in our experience, and themore our comfort with detachment will be enhanced. In almost every spiritual tradition,divinity is associated with creativity God is the creator and creativity arises frompossibilities rather than from preconceived notions to which we become consciously orunconsciously attached. Meditation, by encouraging the quieting of thoughts, the

embracing and the awakening of silence, invites the sacred into our lives andtransforms even day-to-day, mundane experiences into a celebration of God.

It is possible to simply utilize mind-quieting practices as technologies to relieve stress,and this is a worthwhile and valuable application. However, the chances are that if youtake time to quiet your mind and go within, the divine will use this opportunity to enterinto your life. Its interesting that when our minds are active, divinity tends to hide,whereas when there is even a little bit of quieting, the sacred becomes enthusiastic andrejoices in the opportunity to connect more deeply with the underlying universal fieldthat we refer to as God.

We sense that were moving into the realm of divinity when our potential joy begins toexpand and we can barely contain our bliss as our bodies, hearts, and minds recognizethe precious gift of a human incarnation. Then God co-creates our essential divinity,inextricably linking the silence of meditation with the experience of the sacred.

4.) How do we integrate silence into our communication with others?


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Silence can be unifying or divisive. For most of us, not speaking implies not connecting.If were upset with someone, we may stop talking to them, give them the coldshoulder, or simply withhold information that we know the other person is seeking. As

a child, you may have been given the silent treatment as a punishment by your parents,caregivers, siblings or friends. As an adult, if a friend hurts your feelings, you mayignore their phone calls for a time, cutting off communication to send the message(albeit passive) that you are unhappy with their behavior.

One of the first papers I read as an anthropology student was a report by WalterCannon entitled Voodoo Death. Dr. Cannon recounted numerous cases of people whowere literally frightened to death. Most of these descriptions were from aboriginalcultures of South America, Africa, New Zealand, and Australia and involved situations inwhich an individual had violated a tribal taboo. As punishment, the chief medicine manplaced a curse on the person, declaring that he or she was no longer among the living.

From that moment forth, the individual was treated as a ghost, completely ignored byother tribal members. Cannon wrote that within days to weeks, many of these outcastsexpired of circulatory collapse. They died from the stress of being isolated and cut offfrom family and community.

Even though our culture extols the value of rugged individualism, we each feel aprofound need to feel connected and part of a greater whole. When we feel isolatedand disconnected, while were unlikely to expire in the sudden and dramatic waydescribed by Dr. Cannon, we arelikely to experience emotional pain.

Interpreting SilenceSince it can be difficult to interpret the meaning of another persons silence, we mayhave to do some work to sort it out. It can be helpful to realize that the assignment ofvalue to silence and speaking also has a cultural component. In the West we tend to fillin every gap of silence with words. Ive observed that people from Eastern culturesgenerally embrace silence and are comfortable when conversation drop away and theparticipants remain quiet. However, as we practice mind-quieting techniques, werecognize that communication can occur even without the use of vibrating vocal chords.

Being connected in silence is often more fulfilling and profound than creating theconnection through verbal language. When we are in an open-hearted, open-mindedspace, just our presence communicates our awareness of our essential interrelatednessand unity. We can often more lovingly express our awareness in silence than throughthe words that we choose. Knowing this, we can cultivate a skill set in which silenceand language can be expressed simultaneously.

In order to benefit from this possibility of integrating both silence and sound into yourcommunications skills, I encourage you to commit to a meditative practice that brings


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your awareness to the junction point between silence and activity, between a quietmind and an active, creative mind. We have the capacity to bring our awareness toboth the silent ocean of unboundedness and the waves that this unboundedness is able

to generate. The more readily that we can access silence and activity in our daily life,the more we experience creative thought, the more comfortably and playfully weexperience the world, and the more profoundly we feel the value of silence.

The essence of communication is the transmission of uncertainty. When we usevibration consciously, we stir the silence to transmit possibilities that were otherwiselatent. This expands our awareness, creativity, and our enthusiasm for life and enablesus to resonate in the junction point between silence and sound.

5.) One resistance that we have to silence is that it seems so serious. Sincethe purpose of life is the expansion of happiness, how does this reconcilewith silence?

Silence is the basis of laughter. When someone tells a joke, it usually follows a specificpattern. At first we set up a pathway that tells a story or expresses a perspective thatseems familiar and predictable and is likely to lead to an anticipated outcome then,

just as we are becoming complacent in our expectation of where the communication isproceeding, direction is changed, surprising us in a way that temporarily stops mentalactivity, encourages the opening of the gap, and allows some new idea or unexpectedinterpretation to emerge. If the content and timing are just right, there is a briefopening into silence with a reversal of expectation which leads to a wave of joy, whichwe experience as a burst of laughter. For example, as the debate over PresidentObamas nationality was raging, the comedian Jay Leno said, Before I demand a birthcertificate for Obama, I would like to see a certificate for Donald Trumps hair. Evenafter hearing it several times it still brings a wave of laughter into my bodymindbecause the response is so unexpected and unpredictable.

Laughters Healing PowerThe healing system of Ayurveda teaches us that nourishing our five senses enlivens ourhealth and well-being. I have found that its just as important to cultivate our sixthsense . . . our sense of humor. Weve all found ourselves facing difficult circumstances,

mired in worry. When a good friend calls and has us laughing at ourselves, werereminded that there is more than one way to view a situation. The very experience oflaughter shifts our perspective and opens us to new possibilities. We feel internallytickled as we make a connection between the predictable way of looking at a situationin an offbeat way.


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Many studies have demonstrated the psychological and physical health benefits oflaughter. It not only improves blood pressure and respiratory function but has also beenshown to enhance immune functioning. Studies conducted by scientists at Loma Linda

University suggest that one good belly laugh enhances immune function for twenty-fourhours. Years ago, Norman Cousins, the editor of theSaturday Review,developed anautoimmune disease and his physicians offered no optimistic approach to treatment.Rather than surrendering to the dismal prognosis, he rented Marx Brothers films, whichhe watched for several hours a day. The only negative side effect was that the somberhospital staff complained that he was disturbing the other patients, but despite thestaffs concerns, he participated in this laughter medicine and cured himself of thisotherwise untreatable condition.

The expression laughter is the best medicine has validity. At some of our healingcourses at the Chopra Center, we ask participants to bring a joke or funny story that we

share with the group as a way of invoking the positive health benefits of laughter.

Of course, laughter can also be accompanied by sarcasm and can occasionally come atsomeone elses expense. Therefore its useful to recognize that humor can be both atool for well-being as well as a source of distress. The subtle use of laughter can invoke

joy and healing, but it also can create discomfort if not used with sensitivity.

Laughter Is ContagiousIm not sure what hyenas are feeling when they express their sounds, but for the mostpart, human beings are unique in the natural embracing and expressing of humor and

laughter in their lives. Even infants at the young age of a few months spontaneouslysmile and coo, and parents invest elaborate efforts to evoke that response throughmaking funny faces, tickling, singing, and physical play. There is something intrinsicallyliberating about smiling and laughing, and something fulfilling about getting others todo the same.

When we have a laughter session at one of our courses at the Chopra Center, it oftenstarts with people not remembering a single joke and feeling self-conscious, but oncesomeone begins, its as if a channel of laughter opens and people tap into thehumorous stream of life.

Laughter allows us to temporarily step outside our space-bound and time-bound stateand touch the field of awareness that is boundless and eternal. The Americantheologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote, Humor is a prelude to faith, and laughter is thebeginning of prayer.

Of course, discussing the value of laughter is about as fulfilling as talking about eating adelicious meal or making love. The benefit is not in the description but in the


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experience, so I encourage you to lighten up. Look for humor in life and give yourselfopportunities to embrace the paradox, allowing joy and the healing value of laughter topermeate your life. Relationships that have space for laughter tend to thrive and

enhance our love and intimacy.

6.) What is the relationship between silence and death?

As soon as we engage in a human experience, we are embracing the process by whichlife unfolds. Everything in this relative world of form and phenomenon moves throughthree stages of expression: creation, maintenance, and dissolution perhaps moreeasily understood as beginnings, middles, and endings. As a wave emerges from theocean of life, the wave differentiates itself, sustains itself, and then returns to itsuniversal form. This awareness of the threefold expression permeates wisdomtraditions, reminding us to connect with this pervasive principle. An individual is born,grows up, and eventually dies. An idea arises, takes shape in the manifest world, andthen dissipates. A flower blossoms, diffuses its fragrance, and then fades.

Its intrinsically more joyful for things to be born than for them to die. Seeing a newflower bloom brings usually brings more happiness than watching it wither. The passionand playfulness of a new relationship usually generates more bliss than its ending.However, death is a part of life, for an ending is inherent in every beginning. Learningto embrace the inevitable finality of circumstances, relationships, people, and things, isan essential aspect of living a conscious life.

The Most Amazing Thing About Human BeingsAs Ive been navigating my illness, I cannot but be aware of the fact that sometime,almost certainly sooner rather than later, I will not exist as an individual personality.

Although each of us faces this reality, none of us actually understands what it means. Icertainly dont. There is an insightful story from the Bhagavad Gita in which the fiveheroic Pandava brothers are banished to wander the countryside. After many days, theyare lost in a forest and about to die of thirst. They are overjoyed to come across a lakeof crystal clear water. The youngest brother, Nakula, kneels down and is about to scoopup some of the precious water in his palm to drink when a magical crane commandshim, Stop! I am the one who owns this lake and you must answer my questions before

drinking or you will die. Nakula ignores the crane, takes a sip, and promptly keels over.

This happens with three more brothers, leaving us to wonder if anyone is payingattention. The fifth brother, Yudhisthira, takes the warning seriously, however, andagrees to try answering the cranes questions. There are a series of eighteen differentriddles, but the one that I find to be most interesting is this: What is the most amazingthing about human beings?


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Of course, I did not get the correct answer but this might be a good time for you tocome up with what you think the best response to the cranes question is beforereading on.

According to the story, the most amazing thing about being a human being is thatdespite the fact that every day people around us are dying, each of us still believes andacts as if we will live forever. On some level, we are actually fortunate that were ableto live in a state of denial about our mortality because if we were perpetually aware ofour ephemeral nature, we might experience an anxiety disorder or depression. But if wewere able to completely deny our mortality, we might not appreciate the transitory giftof a human incarnation. If offered a choice between a beautiful, freshly picked rose anda plastic one, most people would more highly value the natural flower precisely becauseit is impermanent. Our very awareness that this expression of life will die awakens ourappreciation for its existence.

Embracing the UnknownIt is natural to be afraid of death because it is the ultimate unknown. Death seems sopermanent in that when someone dies, with rarely reported exceptions, they do notreturn. On the one hand, this encourages us to fully embrace life. Even the mostawakened, enlightened people on the planet, when facing their impending ending,probably feel some reluctance to fully let go of their personhood. But since theresnothing we can really do about it, learning to surrender with grace and appreciation is askill that will serve us both in life and hopefully in death. This is where our spiritualpractices of meditation and yoga and contemplation can better prepare us for the

inevitable surrender of our individuality.

The more deeply we can embrace our own silence through meditation, the moreauthentically and comfortably we can embrace our death, for ultimately silence,meditation, deep sleep, and death are expressions (actually, non-expressions) of thesame phenomenon, which is that aspect of life that has the potential, but not themanifestation, of individuality.

Conscious listening is an important aspect of integrating silence and creativity. If youhave the tendency to obsessively fill in silence with noise, consciously attend to stillingthe mental turbulence and listening to the creative impulses that are seeking to arise

from a deeper domain of your awareness. When you can readily access silence in yourown awareness, you will experience creative solutions to both inner and outer questionsand challenges in your life and gain the confidence that you can participate with thesacred to manifest your deepest desires.

7.) How can we use silence to awaken creativity in our lives?


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Creativity implies that something that did not previously exist has now manifested inthe world of form and phenomena. The Buddhists like to ask, What was theappearance of your face before you were born? and in many ways this question

underlies all of life. Where do things come from? From where do thoughts arise? Howdoes something come out of nothing? These questions are great mysteries, and anyinsight into the answers will enhance our day-to-day life and empower us to create ameaningful existence.

Although the belief that we create our own reality has become popular in some NewAge circles, if were being honest with ourselves, we will recognize that while we dohave power over how we direct our intentions and attention, most of what happens inthe world is beyond our control. Its therefore important that we maintain a level ofhumility about our ability to create and determine outcomes. Still, the question of howsomething comes from nothing is a perennial one.

In the modern world, there tends to be a division between those who believe thatconsciousness is primary and that material manifestation is secondary, and those whobelieve that the material collaboration between molecules gives rise to consciousexperiences of thought, emotion, and creativity. This is a variation on the question domolecules give rise to conscious experience, or does conscious experience give rise tothe physical world? Its not a completely esoteric topic in that it influences how muchauthority and ability we can invoke to affect our lives. My view is that there is truth toboth sides of the debate and that we can enhance our healing, transformation, andcreativity by cultivating the flexibility to see the widest range of perspectives.

Holding the idea in our minds that we are both the underlying silence and that whichmanifests out of the silence frees us from the rigidity of the ego mind, which cravescertainty and security and tends to resist ambiguity. As the Vedic masters taught, theability to embrace ambiguity is the hallmark of enlightenment.

Tapping into the Universal FlowParticipating in the creative response is one of the most fulfilling, nurturing, and joyfulexperiences because it allows us to be part of the divine dance that gives rise to form,phenomenon, and the experiences of life. Taking time to consciously surrender tosilence enables us to intimately share in the process of creation, filling us with joy and

enthusiasm. It also allows us to understand and share in the process of translating ourintentions into good choices.

I recommend that several times per week, you consciously use silence to support yourdesires. Sit quietly with your eyes closed, settle into silence, place your awareness inyour heart, and ask yourself What do I want? What do I need? What would I like tomanifest in my life? Then from the silence of possibilities, observe what emerges.


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Youll know that youre tapping into a deeper domain when thoughts or ideas comeforth that you had not been consciously aware of before. Pay attention to these

surprising impulses of creativity. When you a new or unexpected idea comes into yourawareness, ask yourself with your attention in your heart What are the possible benefitsof this creative idea manifesting in my life? If your heart and intuitive response tellsyou that acting on this impulse will serve yourself and and those around you, then askyourself What can I do to nurture this idea into reality?

Simply by fertilizing the nascent expression of our idea with our attention and intention,the creative response is supported and the old forms give rise to the new.

Conscious listening is an important aspect of integrating silence and creativity. If youhave the tendency, as many people do, to obsessively fill in silence with noise,

consciously attend to stilling the mental turbulence and listening to the creativeimpulses that are seeking to arise from a deeper domain of your awareness. When youcan readily access silence in your own awareness, you will experience creative solutionsto both inner and outer questions and challenges in your life, and you will gain theconfidence that you can participate with the sacred to manifest your deepest desires.

8.) Is there such a thing as truth? How do we recognize it and how does silence relateto truth?

Agreeing upon what is true is not an easy task, as evidenced by the number of conflicts

in our personal, social, and political lives. The human mind seems to have an unlimitedcapacity to disagree. You say tomato,I say tomahto.We can and do argue aboutalmost anything . . . religion, politics, education, money, diet, and so on. If our goal inlife is the expansion of peace, harmony, laughter, and love, we must develop the skillset of respecting differences of opinion that is, different concepts of truth while atthe same time seeking to find underlying consistent ideas that enable us to makechoices that support unifying evolutionary impulses and harmony.

Some would say that truth is that which never changes, and since thoughts, feelings,and the material world are always changing, there is no such thing as absolute truth for

a human being. On the other hand, we can acknowledge that the one thing that neverchanges is that everything is always changing. Therefore, to get closer to the truth, weneed to embrace the paradox that truth is both the underlying eternal, constantdimension of life (the absolute) and the relentless transformation that underlies allform and phenomenon (the relative).

Accepting this paradox gives rise to creative possibilities. I am the silence andthe


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manifested vibrational world. I am that which has no beginning, middle, and end andI am that which has a birth, a life, and a death. I am an individual andI am God. Howcan all of these seemingly contradictory statements be true?

How We Decide Whats TrueThere are several contributing factors that influence what we hold to be truth or false.Much of truth is conditioning, in that we tend to take on the perspectives of expert andcaregivers because aligning our truth with theirs makes life easier.

As we live our lives, we naturally test these ideas to see if what we have learned isconsistent with our experience. If a certain idea about the world consistently seems tobe in alignment with how things manifest, we will tend to accept those ideas as true. Ifan idea or belief contradicts our experience, at some point we may reject that idea asbeing not useful and therefore not truthful.

Truth is often a social choice in that when we accept a particular point of view, if itenhances our connection to family and community, the benefits of that connectionreinforce our acceptance of that reality. This is why people hold and rigorously defendeven ideas that we may think are obviously false, toxic. For members of gangs, cults,and fundamentalist organizations, the benefits of being a part of a communityoutweigh, at least temporarily, those of being connected to something with anunderlying substance and sustainability.

One question we can ask ourselves when evaluating an idea is Does it enhance our

ability to love more and be happy? We can also ask Does this concept increase thepossibilities of us being comfortable in the world or does it tend to restrict us?

The more universal the application of an idea, the more likely it is to be resonating inthe field of truth. Concepts that are constricting or overly rigid are less likely to be anexpression of deeper universal truths.

The Wisdom of Our BodyWe have a built-in mechanism that supports our ability to authentically identify truth,and that is the sensations in our body. When we have a choice or idea or possibility

before us, we can sit quietly, bring our awareness into our heart, and feel our body.With our awareness on the idea and on the sensations that are generated, we simplyask ourselves Does this feel good? Does this enhance our level of comfort? Does itsupport the quieting of our mind, and the comfort in our body?

If the answer to these questions is yes,the ideas arising are more likely to be true thanthose that create dissonancy, discomfort, conflict, and confusion (distress). Therefore,


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becoming intimate with silence and awareness of the sensations in our heart can helpus live in alignment with truth. This enhances our ability to fulfill our potential in life asboth human and sacred beings.

Although every truth that we can express is at some level relative (meaningincomplete), choosing ideas and concepts that favor wholeness over fragmentation,timelessness over transitory perspectives, and expansiveness over constriction servesour environment, body, heart, mind, and spirit. Integrating the truth of eternal, non-changing silence with the truth of perpetual transformation enables us to participate inthe creative dance of healing and the expansion of wisdom.

9.) How can we use the power of silence to manifest our desires?

Power is the ability to translate our intentions and desires into expression. Authenticallypowerful people dont need to threaten, coerce, or manipulate others. They express anidea or intention or cause that is so compelling that others naturally becomeenthusiastic about supporting its manifestation.

The Law of Least EffortNature supports choices that are evolutionary, which means that they effortlessly movefrom constriction to expansion, from imbalance to balance, and from discord toharmony. If the intended outcome is truly evolutionary, we wont have to use a lot offorce or willpower, and our intentions will manifest with a minimal expenditure of

energy. In the process of moving from idea to manifestation, happiness and joy arise,encouraging the ongoing support of the intention.

There is often greater power at subtler levels of creation. Dynamite is a relatively grossconduit of power that is difficult to direct and is often destructive. In contrast, thepower that directs energy and information to our iPad across thousands of miles is anexample of an extremely subtle level of creation.

True power is subtle. If the expression of power is obvious, such as when dictators andtyrants are in control, it easily provokes resistance and resentment, sabotaging theoutcome that one is seeking. If we dont try to manipulate or control people, situations,

or events, we are less likely to mobilize resistance and can more readily manifest ourdeepest intentions.

Harnessing the Power of IntentionThe ability to tap into the subtlest level of intention grows as we consistently spendtime in the stillness and silence of meditation. The more deeply we can embrace our


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own silence in meditation, the easier it is to access the intrinsic power of ourawareness. Power arising from silence requires a certain trust in nature to orchestratethe forces that arise from and give expression to the manifest world of form and

phenomenon. The confidence to allow nature to express its evolutionary magic comesfrom cultivating comfort in silence.

We all want to be powerful people. We all want to readily fulfill our desires and needs.And we all want to manifest our dreams with the least expenditure of energy. We seethis principle of efficiency and power throughout nature. She always chooses the pathof least resistance to support the evolutionary flow of life. Aligning with nature, we canalso be expressions of authentic power that derives from silence, expresses itselfefficiently, and brings about joy, happiness, and vitality.

10.) How does silence relate to evolution?

The term evolution often invokes strong responses in the world today. The basicpremise of the concept of evolution is that nature uses principles to test possible waysto create the world and selects those that enhance survival, wisdom, comfort, beauty,and love. Silence provides the field through which nature experiments, testing thepossible forces that give rise to the world.

In the field of biology, Charles Darwin is credited with the development of the theory ofevolution, which essentially says that the world is always changing and that biologicalbeings respond to those changes with greater or lesser adaptability. Those tendenciesthat allow the individual organism to survive and thrive will be favored over those thatdo not. The world is always changing and living beings are always changing, so it is thedance between the experience and the experiencer that leads to the unfoldment of life.For example, if theres a relatively rapid change in the climate and the averagetemperature drops quickly within a few years, those creatures that thrive in coolerenvironments will be more likely to expand their population.

The Evolution of Our AwarenessSpiritual traditions also use the term evolutionto describe the process of consciousnessexpansion. To evolve spiritually generally means the integration of greater inner peace,wisdom, harmony, and connection. The more expanded our sense of self, the greater

capacity we have to interact harmoniously with the world, and the more likely we are toenjoy our human incarnation. The process of identifying ourselves as beings ofconscious awareness (as opposed to skin-encapsulated egos) is an evolutionaryprocess.

To evolve implies that our sense of self is embracing more of the world so that whatunites us predominates over what separates us. The value of utilizing silence to evolve


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is that we become more comfortable in a wider repertoire of circumstances. Ideally, theevolved being is inexorably rooted in the field of silence that embraces our divinity andour humanity. Since whenever we think a thought or say a word, we are in some ways

constricting our possibilities, embracing silence in our lives enables us to remain inalignment with the natural evolutionary flow of life.

Its not that evolution cannot take place in noise, for we have many examples of howintensely chaotic experiences can be creative opportunities. Land is generated fromvolcanic eruptions, tornadoes and hurricanes give rise to new geographical formations,and institutions and nations are born from violent revolutionary forces. Still, from theblooming of flowers to the birth of a baby foal to a groundbreaking scientific discovery,silence more often than not underlies the creative evolutionary impulse.

Ive observed that writing is an expression of the evolutionary and creative power of

silence. I dont know where the thoughts that flow through my mind come from, but Ido know that its the silence cultivated in my meditation that is somehow allowing theseconcepts to emerge. From the development of a new cake recipe to a breakthrough intreating brain cancer, before an impulse arises, there is silence. The deeper we canconnect and align with that silence, the easier and more likely we are to access thecreative forces that can heal and transform us.

Our Influence over EvolutionEvolution will happen whether or not we care. It does appear, however, that we caninfluence the evolutionary flow of life through our conscious attention and intention.The more comfortably we resonate in silence, the more we can consciously choose

which impulses we wish to nurture. Silence therefore directly contributes to our abilityto influence the evolutionary process. Without regular access to silence throughmeditation, we are passive participants in the evolutionary process. With engagement indaily meditation practices, we have some ability to influence the flow of life in a waythat supports our happiness, vitality, and ability to love.

Awakening in Silence

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