Inside Yoga 106 (28/4/14)

When the volume rises too high we have a very natural impulse to reach out for the volume controls to turn it down. Yet in our modern world we appear to have forgotten how to do this, with the result that it is getting noisier everywhere – and by this I mean both internally and externally.

When we practice meditation – this can be formal sitting meditation as well as yoga asanas (postures) which prepare us for meditation – we look for a quiet place within (as well as outside).
This silent place has always been there inside us, it is just obscured by what the texts refer to as veils or layers which hide the silence – these veils and layers represent the habits and patterns of our life which have built up, it can be stress, distracted thoughts, simply all our thoughts that have accumulated and blocked our ability to see things clearly.
We learn to strip away these layers, to access the place of quietness which is also a place of solace, calm, joy and peace, as well as clarity and insight. It takes practice and perseverance to find this stillness and even more determination to stay with it, but those who have discovered this know it is the most natural place to be.
It is where we can release all these unwanted things in our life: be it stress, emotional worry, anxiety, strains and tension in the body, and some have even managed to rid themselves of sickness and disease through this process. We might realise that we are unable to concentrate and focus as a result of being overwhelmed by too much information and chatter – this is one result of the modern world and lifestyles.
We are sleep walking into a noisier world.
By modern life I am looking at social media, conventional media and all types of communication. Before I progress, I must admit, I am using these media to write this, but the point that follows is not about not using these media, but understanding how much we use them and depend upon them, and the implications.
When I look at Facebook, twitter and other sites, although I can see their uses, and use them themselves, I also think there is so much chatter. Far too much chatter. And this is what seems to be the problem.
When we meditate we learn to notice that most of our thoughts can be dropped. We might at the moment a thought rises think this is important, but if we sit with it, keeping it within us, we see that it can be dropped. This means we have more space within to see more clearly, and also to recognise more important thoughts should they arise.
We are curious beings, after all we are cousins to monkeys and they are known for their curiosity. They investigate everything because instinct dictates that they must find out of this of use to them. We are the same and have gone on in leaps and bounds over the millions of years to reach our modern world.
The big BUT is that we do not know when to stop! This is a theme I have mentioned in my previous blog (see https://www.yogabristol.co.uk/?p=1176 ). The result is that formats like Facebook and Twitter are full of chatter and most of it the most trivial and useless of items, yet we are drawn to it because being social beings we like to know what others are doing and thinking.
We cannot stop. We are addicted to chatter. Even when walking in a beautiful place of nature, we might be looking at our phone checking something, and very unaware of the interesting plants we have just walked past! And even without the gadgets we might not notice the nature as I often see people walking in the hills (by the way, I walk in the hills almost every day with my dog) and these people are chatting way – often with loud voices oblivious to their surroundings. Their lungs and body might be benefiting from the exercises, but their minds are still filled with the noise of chatter that they had at home before setting off.
I also contend that the body does not get the full benefit, because a chatting and distracted body will not to feel as energised and rejuvenated from a walk as someone who has gone for a walk in silence and really taken in the scenery – simply because the body had too much going on at the same time. In fact it is hard enough to keep our own mind quiet when walking alone, let alone with others – how many walks have you been on when most of it has been lost in thought?
Yes thoughts can help us understand things and perhaps solve problems, a long walk are known for this, but do we need to encourage our mind to think – no we don’t! It does well enough all by itself, so better to focus on quietening it down. Give it some time off.
The point is we are not very good at keeping our mind quiet, so why make it harder? Those with small children know that when their little one is getting too wound up, excited and tired, to prevent some tears, it is best to take them out of the situation that is over stimulating them, and this way you can get them back to a calmer place. We as adults need to do this to ourselves and most of us have learnt how to, but now technology has changed our behaviour and we have forgotten how to do this. How many of us have started with a browse of Facebook, and related media, and after sometime felt really overloaded and exhausted, and perhaps frustrated with ourselves?
In the old days before all this instant connection and 24/7 connectivity we would have a break from the chatter. We would be limited to conversations over the phone (only so many you can have), chatter at work and at home (when in company) and before 24-hour TV the TV would be off more hours in the day. We got our breaks from the noise and chatter of the outside world.
Like the child who could not control their behaviour and an adult did it for them, external conditions kept our worst traits at bay, but now that has gone we cannot stop ourselves! We are in a 24/7 world that overwhelms many of us, and the struggle to keep up is just part of the problem.
My advice is to watch our behaviour and know when to take ourselves away from the stimulation of media, chatter and noise. And also, perhaps we can learn to ask ourselves, do we need to share this or that with everyone, just because we have had the thought?
There is great quote from Muhammad Ali which sums this up: “Silence is golden when you cannot think of a good answer.”
If you want to make comments or ask questions, please feel free to by filling in comment section below or contacting me