Silence is a source of great strength. Lao Tzu, circa 500 BC
When we are looking for answers to our life’s questions, often the best source is not from a speech, nor from a therapist, nor from someone’s writings. (Wow! And I do all three of those things for a living!) The answers to our toughest existential questions are often found in silence. Silence is one of the most untapped sources of wisdom in the world.
I have heard words of wisdom from a few people in my life, and I value those wise words. Those words have sometimes influenced my life significantly; but the answers to the deepest, most important questions have come from spending time in silence. The greatest wisdom in my life has resulted from seeking silence. In silence, insights and life directions come to me. This has been necessary in knowing what to do in my health care, my career, and my relationships. I have found hope, resulting in joy, during times of great uncertainty when the result of listening to the doctors or other experts could have resulted in paralyzing fear, or could have led me to make unwise decisions. My best decision-making has come as a result of first seeking silence, and then letting the answer come to me.
Some explain these wise thoughts of guidance as the “voice of God,” or as “higher consciousness.” However you choose to explain it, listen to it, trust it, and follow it. True guidance comes from thoughts that are accompanied by a sense of peace, or some other way of knowing that the guidance is accurate. If you are gripped by fear in the silence, you are likely just tapping into a dysfunctional thought process in your mind that had to be cleared before hearing the truth.
Seek silence. Make time, and spend the effort necessary to find it. You will be surprised what you hear in the silence.
Christopher knippers, Ph.D. May 31, 2017
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