On Silence

We spend the majority of our lives talking and talking mostly without real necessity and definitely without much wisdom in the words we mutter. Our need to talk originates from our need to get lost and stay lost and sharing that sense with others makes it palatable and justified. It’s a way to fall asleep & snap out of awareness and the present.

In Vipassana Buddhist meditation retreats the value of silence has been identified and been made a centerpiece of the practice. In breatharian retreats (where one fasts without food or any drink including water) although people have sufficient energy for maintaining physical mobility , they lose their ability to speak. Speaking becomes the most energy draining activity even more than any physical activity and is converted in the most precious one to protect from unnecessary abuse. Only in that context , silence takes its rightful place and its value in our inner connection becomes apparent. There are Indian masters whose teachings revolve around the sound pitch of our speech as a way to assess if we are at the present or not, if we speak our own inner truth or not.