Silence by Alex Green

February 16, 9:44 AMNew England Fitness ExaminerJo Levy

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Pictures: Jo Levy - silence in my world

"Do you imagine the universe is agitated?" asked Lao Tzu a few thousand years ago. "Go into the desert at night and look at the stars. This practice should answer the question."

A quiet mind, freed from a noisy environment and the onslaught of continuous thought, has long been a signpost of spiritual development.

In Christianity and Judaism, there is the silence of contemplative prayer. In Islam, the Sufis wrote about the wisdom of finding silence within. Hinduism, the source of yoga, emphasizes the importance of silence for inner growth. Buddhists believe that silent meditation is the path to enlightenment. For Quakers, silence makes up much of the service, allowing for the development of heart and mind.

Secular philosophers and other writers have advocated its benefits, as well.

Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I like the silent church before the service begins better than any preaching."

Humanist Aldous Huxley observed, "Silence is as full of potential wisdom and wit as the unhewn marble of great sculpture."

Claude Debussy even reminded listeners that music is found in the space between the notes. Avant-garde compose John Cage took this idea to an extreme. His composition 4′33" consists of just over four and a half minutes of complete silence. (To this day, it’s the only piece I can play on the violin.)

Silence opens us to the experience of reverence. Yet many today lead noisier lives than ever. Some choose to live near busy highways and airports. Restaurants and retail stores blast rock and country music non-stop. A study conducted by Pennsylvania State University found that urban teenagers listen to four and a half hours of pop and rap music a day. In our homes, radio and television broadcasts are punctuated with a steady stream of commercial messages at trumped up volumes.

This creates frustration and anxiety, especially for innocent bystanders. In The Happiness Hypothesis psychology professor Jonathan Haidt writes that "noise, especially noise that is variable or intermittent, interferes with concentration and increases stress. It’s worth striving to remove sources of noise in your life."

Sensible advice. Yet Matthew Kelly believes there is another reason we choose noisy environments: Silence reveals our weaknesses to us, our shortcomings.

In The Rhythm of Life Kelly writes, "In the silence, we see at one time the person we are and the person we are capable of becoming. … It is precisely for this reason that we fill our lives with noise, to distract ourselves from the challenge to change."

We can fix this, however. We can hit the off button, walk outside, visit a chapel, or take a quiet drive in the country. If you really can’t escape the barking dogs, screaming kids, or NFL football, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of noise-canceling headphones.

My backyard