Scientific research (and my own direct experience) consistently affirm that silence and stillness are vital to the brain and the body. We live in a world with near constant sensory stimulation. Even our “downtime” activities are often awash in sensory input, particularly screen-based ones. These pursuits are meant to be “relaxing” and “restorative”; however, they are anything but to the brain. Even if scrolling Facebook is technically “silent” and “still,” scrolling is a highly engaging and focused activity.
Much of the time, I do not cultivate silence or stillness. When I was home with my son while he was sick recently, I was either tending to him or attempting to squeeze in all my own stuff in the caregiving gaps. When I had time for a break, I scrolled and stared at my phone. In those moments, it did not occur to me to take a TRUE break and sit with myself in silence. My mind was doing what all minds have been conditioned to do: search for escape from the present moment in something outside of itself. To a mind, the “answer” is always somewhere out there, never to be found within. I continue to discover that intentionally turning my attention inward, in stillness, is the most honest way through a circumstance that seems challenging.
So, when the opportunity arises, I practice silent stillness. I can do my mundane household tasks in silence sometimes. Fold laundry. Wash a mug. Spray and wipe a countertop. All in active, present silence. I can stop scrolling on my phone and close my eyes for a bit. I can consciously breathe while in that sliver of space. I can take to my cushion each morning for a few minutes of meditation. I can care for myself in this way. And when I don’t, Life comes in to remind me (in all sorts of achingly noticeable ways!), of the golden gifts of silence and stillness.