My Seven Days in Silence – Day One
My idea of a ‘perfect’ vacation is a beautiful setting complete with yoga, meditation, yummy food and the opportunity to learn and grow. The Chopra Center offers an annual retreat at Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, CA. It’s called Silent Awakenings It’s literally adjacent to Pebble Beach, for some context. We spend seven days in silence. No phone, no TV, no online YouTube cat videos, no social media, and no talking! It’s a complete digital detox. I’ll be sharing my learnings and insights from each day. Day one is about Dharma and sound.
OK, so the evening and morning before beginning silence my mind is spinning and I’m feeling anxious. My mind was running the gamut of scenarios, as well as emotions. At the time, these things seem OVERLY important. The level of discomfort almost prompts me to leave. What if my family needs to reach me in an emergency? (They have an emergency number and the contact information to Asilomar) What if something big happens on the planet? (The staff shared they would let us know) How will I get my questions answered? (We have note cards to write our questions for Deepak) What if I learn something about myself or others that I may not like? (This didn’t have a solution…yikes)
The daily theme to awaken to is Dharma.
Every morning there is a theme and concepts to contemplate. Firstly, Deepak wanted us to pay attention to sound today. Only sound, period. I’m a fan of ‘where attention goes, energy flows’. So, this should be interesting. Dr. David Simon, one of the founders of the Chopra center said, ‘When we spend time in silence, we can hear the voice of our soul whispering.” Secondly, we are to think about Dharma.
What is Dharma?
I feel there is a fair amount of misconception about Dharma. To me, life is Dharma. We are in Dharma. It is that aspect of being and allowing yourself. Often, we get caught up in the letting go and simply being. Consequently, we feel like we must ‘find’ our Dharma. As a result, searching creates blockages. When we express our unique gifts and talents freely and authentically time loses hold on us; we are being and experiencing Dharma. Alternatively, others call this experience being in the ‘flow’. We often hear stories about master(s) of their domain (like athletes, musicians, artists, entrepreneurs) where they experience this state of flow. I like to think of it as the four-way intersection of skill/talent, passion, practice and purpose. Angela Duckworth in Grit says: Grittier people do more deliberate practice and experience more flow, that state of ‘doing’ that feels effortless and joyous.
Today, I listened to sound effortlessly and joyously! It’s hard to capture into words the true depth of the experience, but here’s my biggest ‘ah ha’: I am the sound; there is no sound without me. Because sound is an expression of consciousness, it is experience and interpretation.
Wind, waves, squirrels that are brave. Deer, sand beneath my feet, hair against my collar. Dog tags, owners praise, smiles that you hear to stave off the fear. Anxiety loses connection with the silent witness ever-present. I am sound. Doors that bang, floors that creak, paper crinkles. Chimes invite and footsteps abound. Nature is a huge symphony and I won’t miss another performance! I was dharma’d today!
In summary, I challenge you to be silent today and simply notice sound!
We only have a finite amount of time on this planet, and you can choose how to spend that time.
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