It can be hard to find a place free of noise from traffic, aircraft, office equipment, home appliances, TVs, or stereos. Noise pollution and background noise is ever increasing, yet we are unaware because we’ve learned to block it out. High noise levels, however, still cause stress and irritability.

Cultivating silence is the process of quieting the overactive mind and resting from the compulsiveness that may drive our lives. When this compulsiveness fills our lives, we may feel uneasy in the space of silence. Rest and quiet are important for healing from illness, and to relieve and renew our energies from the overstimulation of everyday life.

When was the last time you allowed yourself the gift of the sound of silence? Where or when can you experience silence? In a library, a church, in the middle of the night, in a nature reserve, in your study?

Consider finding or creating a place where you can find respite from noise and this week take some time to use this place for relaxation and healing, for creativity, for contemplation. Perhaps you already have a meditation practice, if not, consider it’s  time-honoured practice to cultivate a level of inner silence and balance that can be accessed regardless of what’s happening around you.