“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
What are your resolutions for the New Year?!
I usually make one resolution that is focused on improving my internal world. I did a lot of reflecting and research before choosing the focus of my resolution. All my research pointed to peace. So, this year I am going to work on amplifying the vibration of Peace in my life.
Accordingly, I have set aside four hours of silence every Friday afternoon for this practice.
Here are a few of the more enticing tidbits I ‘discovered’ through my research:
Peace is freedom from disturbance
Peace has the quality of silence of the mind
Peace is the sound of your feet walking away from reacting
Peace allows each person to choose their response
Response is internal
You can choose how to feel
You have a moment to understand and not judge
You can pause and check your perception of the situation
Reaction is the external action that arises from the internal response
I tested my four-hours of silence approach twice before 2023 arrived.
Here are a few of the things I noticed!
I talk to myself… out loud and it seemed it was a lot! I was not aware of this habit.
The second four-hour session was very different in that it was easier to go silent.
I noticed after both sessions that my thoughts were significantly quieter for the balance of the Friday and into Saturday.
For a couple of days after each session, I found that being quiet in my day-to-day interactions was easier. I did not have the desire to fill in the silence.
My takeaway from my research, two ‘trial sessions’ and Martin Luther King, Jr’s words of wisdom ….
If I want more Peace in my outer world, I need to foster this by bringing more Peace to my inner world. I look forward to discovering how my weekly silent time cultivates greater inner and outer Peace.
