We had the Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss yesterday: a formal sitting meditation and a period of mindful walking and a Metta Meditation or loving kindness practice. Our inner silence seemed to magnify the external noises around us: cars, sirens, walking, talking from the street and neighboring businesses, whirling blades of the fan, floors creaking and even the subtle rustling of material as we adjusted our posture.
Time seemed suspended as we slowly paced the room during walking meditation. One student later reported that for the first time in her life she fully appreciated the preciousness of the tree growing on the very busy street outside our window. It withstands the harsh environment of air and noise pollution as it reaches for the light and does its best to be part of the very planet’s lungs: taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen.
Here is the “Advice from a Tree” meditation instructor and author, Tara Brach, shared on Facebook: Stand tall and be proud; go out on a limb; remember your roots; drink plenty of water; be content with your natural beauty; enjoy the view. These lines evoke a sensibility of living stillness, abiding regardless of changes in the weather. Yet, there is a silence that isn’t quiet, much like what we encounter in sitting meditation. This week I listened to a wonderful interview with acoustic ecologist and sound collector, Gordon Hempton. Here is some of what I heard:
Silence is an endangered species . . . real quiet is presence — not an absence of sound, but an absence of noise. The Earth . . . is a “solar-powered jukebox.” Quiet is a “think tank of the soul.” We take in the world through our ears. Silence . . . is not a luxury. It’s essential to our well-being: There are answers in the silence. I feel the presence of everything, nothing shouts importance. Quiet is quieting.
What an invitation to go deeper!