Can you be alone and quiet? Can you simply sit and be still in silence, with YOU? Are you walking around unconscious, asleep?

It seems that everywhere we go these days there is “human” noise of some kind or other obscuring the peace of quiet.

One typical day:

Bank – music playing from small radio on the counter. An advertisement is broadcasting on two large TV screens, with sound. Two people in line talking on cell phones and yes, one at the counter talking on a cell while interacting with the Customer Service Agent.

Restaurant — music playing through overhead sound system. Fourteen TV screens, all on. When asked to turn the music down, the server explains that it is company policy that the music must be on and they are not permitted to change the volume.

Grocery store — music playing overhead, announcements, TV monitors blaring the news throughout the store and one positioned overhead at each cashier line.

Gas station — music playing inside through overhead sound system. TV screens at the pumps, all on, all blaring advertising with sound loud enough to be heard while in the car. And here’s the best — speakers mounted on the top of the building playing different music than what is playing inside.

Bookstore — music playing overhead, different music playing in coffee area, and yes, speakers outside playing more music on the patio.

What’s the point, you may ask. Well, my response is exactly that; What is all this noise for, and what role does it play in MY life?

The gift we can give to ourselves is the gift of willingness to pause, and notice. Notice how our experience changes as we begin to awaken, and discover the veil of unconsciousness the noise offers. A veil we may have never noticed before.

Many of us don’t even think about it, but we somehow need the noise. We play the radio the minute we start the car. We turn on the television as soon as walked in the house (often before taking off our coat). We eat in front of the TV. We work in offices or stores that have music playing throughout the building, all day. We are entrenched in the noise, and we don’t realize it because it is so prevalent in our society. Only when we begin to listen, and to look at our daily experience, do we find it finally letting go of us.

As a Student of Experience™, I don’t often delve into the “why” of things; why takes us into mind, into thinking, and there is so much more offered in looking at our experience. However, occasionally it can be beneficial in helping us to discover the “how”. So, for that reason alone, let’s take a quick look at why.

It is quite simple; we need the noise to block out all of the obsessive and excessive thinking going on inside our heads. Once we begin looking; being still and intentionally looking at our thoughts and the experience within our body, we quickly see that there is typically so much going on inside, we just are not equipped to handle it all. The noise; the music, the television, the cell phone texting, it all serves as a buffer to separate us from our thoughts. The interesting thing is, many people are completely unaware of their perpetual state of unconsciousness. If you asked them about the relentless thinking in their heads that the music covers up, many would say, “what thinking, I just really like music.”

Well, that may be true. In fact, I myself do like music a great deal, and today I can listen when I choose to listen. Not so long ago I lived exactly as noted above, with music on all the time, never even noticing it was everywhere and the role it played in my life. Today, listening to music is no different for me than doing anything else; when I am listening to music, that’s what I am doing. I no longer “need” it on in the background while doing other things and it no longer plays the role of covering up my obsessive mind.

Exercise: See how you experience yourself as you attempt to be still, just sitting with yourself, in silence. There is no need to try to meditate or anything else, just take a few minutes — planned minutes — to simply sit quietly. Or, turn you car radio off on the drive today, even just for a few minutes, and notice how it feels. Notice as you do this, how it is for you. You may just find, as I did, that you don’t know YOU, and you can’t be WITH yourself, alone and in silence.

If you find the experience too unsettling, stop. There is no need to force an unpleasant experience upon yourself. But again, notice that it was unpleasant and realize the gift that comes in that unpleasantness. The gift is the experience, because you now know yourself a little better. If you wish to continue working toward being peaceful in your stillness, take small steps. Try a few minutes each day, or keep the radio off in the car a bit longer each day. Eventually you will discover that you make it all the way home one day without turning the radio on, in silence with yourself.

Turn off the noise and awaken to you!

This was written by Jim McDonald

I thought I would share this with you it is written by Mark Robbins a motivational speaker.

Have you ever seen a small child learn how to walk? If you have, you know what a remarkable experience it is. I’d heard about this, but had never witnessed it first hand until Samantha, our (almost) five year old, took her first real steps when she was just over a year. She and I were playing in our family room one night and although she’d taken a step or two here and there, and could get around okay while holding onto an adult or a piece of furniture, she hadn’t really “walked” yet.

That night I was holding her hands and pulling her across the room with me, as she took some steps. I decided to let go to see what would happen. I did and she took a step or two and then fell down, face first, on the soft carpet. She was fine. She looked up at me and although she couldn’t speak, she made it very clear that she wanted me to pick her up so she could try again. I did and this time when I let go she took about four or five real steps and then fell down. I screamed, “You did it!”, started clapping wildly, and yelling for my wife Michelle to come into the room.

Michelle came running in. Samantha and I went to the far end of our family room. I held her hands to steady her, started walking with her across the floor, let go, and then it happened – she really walked – all the way across the room, by herself. When she fell down, Michelle and I were so elated and moved, we both burst into tears and joyous laughter at the same time. Samantha, so proud of herself, began to shriek with excitement and to clap her hands as she was lying there on the floor. And, of course, she wanted to get back up and go again.

We all know how to do this – fall down and get back up. Assuming we know how to walk, which most of us are fortunate enough to be able to do, we went through this specific and miraculous experience ourselves when we were very small. We’ve also gone through it in a figurative sense many other times as we move through the ups and downs of life. The question isn’t whether or not we’ll fall down; the question is will we be bold enough to get back up again? Too often, sadly, we fall down and then decide we can’t get back up. Boldness is about having the courage, willingness, and commitment to get back up when we fall down – even if we’re scared or don’t think we can.

Resisting, complaining about, or even feeling sorry for ourselves about the “bad” things that happen is totally normal and what we’re often encouraged to do by people around us and our culture in general – whether we do it out loud with others or just in our heads. However, these things, while understandable, don’t address the real issues, the emotions we’re experiencing, or make things better for us. Facing difficulties in our life can actually be an incredibly rewarding and positive experience for us – if we choose to allow our challenges to be opportunities for growth.

Below is a list of some things to appreciate when we “fall down” in life. Obstacles, failures, and challenges can:

• Give us important feedback about where and who we are
• Provide an opportunity for us to be courageous
• Allow us to wake up and notice all the good things that are happening that we hadn’t been paying attention to
• Give us a great opportunity for learning, growth, and improvement
• Allow us to learn to appreciate ourselves, even when things don’t turn out exactly as we want them to
• Give us an opportunity to get in touch with, take responsibility for, and express our real emotions in an authentic way
• Challenge us to play bigger, make adjustments, or re-think our approach

By learning to see our challenges as opportunities, we take our power back from the situations, circumstances, and outcomes of our lives. Our ability to appreciate difficulties, learn from them, and use them to our advantage, gives us an important insight into who we really are and how to create success and fulfillment in a conscious, deliberate, and authentic way.

Being bold, going for what we want, and living with authenticity doesn’t in any way mean we won’t fail, struggle, or fall short. In fact, if we aren’t failing or facing any challenges at all, it’s probably a good indication that we aren’t playing all that big in our lives. It’s important for us to make peace with the fact that we will fall down many times throughout our journey. However, when we make a commitment to ourselves to get back up, dust ourselves off, be real about how we feel and what happened, and not let it stop us from being who we are and going for what we want -we tap into what true power, boldness, and authenticity are all about.

As Mark Twain reminds us in one of his many famous quotes, “Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.”

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