Why Do We Need Silence?

Divine Gurumatha Amma

Silence is a time to unplug and re-connect with ourself. It is a time to BE present in the now and not trapped living in the past and dreaming about the future that may not come. Almost 100% of our energy is spent outwardly and is focussed on others and on doing and not on ourselves. Many feel that taking time for themselves is selfish. Actually, our body is a temple and we need to develop a regular routine to care, nurture and purify it. In the beginning this may seem like work or a chore, it may even feel difficult but with patience and dedication you will come to a time where you'll need and enjoy the time you set aside for yourself, your temple and you will reap many rewards.

Just like we need breath to live, we need to cultivate inner awareness to thrive. Creating space for silence allows you to come to a place of stillness, a place where you can watch yourself and observe everything around you. It is a gift that you give yourself. It says that you are important and worth the time to be explored. It says that you are giving space to explore the unknown, the subtle energies and dimensions and that you are no longer happy just going blindly through life, you know there is more and you are on a path to experience this an awaken to your highest potential.

In yogic scriptures, it is said that our world and all of existence goes through different stages, cycles. Right now we are in Kali Yuga, the last of the four cycles. We have gone from the first stage, where everything was pure and where we knew our true self. A time when we knew that we are God, that we are the microcosm of the macrocosm. We knew that everything that existed in the universe also dwells in us, is us.

Now, we are in the last stage which is a stage of ignorance, disconnect, confusion and a time where we are completely lost of who we are. During this time, there is a tremendous suffering and a deep longing to know and connect with the Source, but most are going in circles and in the opposite direction from the Source. Because of this time of great suffering, many are turning to yoga for answers and comfort. Although it is a time of great suffering, this leads people to wanting to end this suffering, so it is also a great time where many are awakening.

In an age where information is instantly ready, many are so confused and overwhelmed. Corruption and control is all around us and many focus their time and energy on desire for power, status, money, and for one's personal gains versus caring globally. We live in a time where people are too busy, overworked, overstimulated and live through their animal senses and technology, yet feel utterly alone.

People don't know how to have meaningful conversations, how to give their time to connect and help others and not expect anything in return. People struggle in having loving relationships without jealousy, expectations, desires and ideologies as to how people and relationships should be and the focus is on what the relationship can give them and their ego. People are afraid to look at each other, to touch, to embrace another, to give compliments and see the beauty that exists in others. Everything is sexually loaded and actions are interactions that have an intention behind them.

The left side of our brain has taken over and the right side is left in the shadows. The right side is a place for community, love, compassion, creativity, oneness and heart based living. With over 70,000 thoughts a day, our mind is very busy and that is an understatement. Many have difficulty sleeping at night because the mind will not “shut off”, some even tell their mind to shut up out of frustration, sound familiar? Many are a slave to their body and the mind, and both are controlling the person instead of them both being a tool, a vehicle for inner peace and spiritual growth. We need to reconnect with our right hemisphere and live and love from our heart centre. Life and love is not calculated. Many are so numb and live in illusion. Silence helps you feel, awaken and reconnect.

Yoga is a process of connecting the body and the mind with the soul, a complete union. This is going from a very gross level to a very subtle level. Instead of an evolution, yoga teaches us to unlearn, to go within, dissolve & de-evolve, going back to the beginning of creation and away from where we are now in a very expanded creation.

Traditional science tries to explore the unknowable and this is not possible. Only through yogic science can we explore the unknowable as it is a personal path and experience. There is not one path, one technique, one way for someone to experience the unknown, higher dimensions, subtle energies and who they truly are.

We are living in a time where people are bombarded with addictions such as food, activities to keep them stimulated or busy jumping from one thing to another, people are addicted to lust, sex, learning, work, giving to feel something or receive recognition, technology, shopping, gambling, drugs, alcohol, being dull, lazy, overachieving and this list could go on endlessly. Now, more than ever we need silence to see just how we are living in misery and chaos and how we have the tools to come out if we choose to.

With the blessings and teachings from Gurumatha Amma at The Centre of Self Realization in India, I am honoured to hold space on a regular basis for you to come and be guided so you can experience silence and yourself at Yogalaya. Every two months, I will hold space for students to come and enjoy silence, gently fasting, mantra, kirtan, dance, connecting with nature, meditation and yoga.

Silence is not a time of no sound, of suppressing, of disconnecting, it's actually a time to experience the many gifts that are revealed in silence and stillness and a time to connect on a deep level with yourself and all that exists. You can't have sound, creation, existence without silence, stillness, so I encourage you to come to this quiet space in the country and explore yourself and the universe.

With Much Love,

Namaste,

Stacey L.A. Sinclair