I like my head phones with the noise-canceling feature. The in-flight hum is not there any more. The head phone neutralizes the outside noise by producing a counter noise which is barely audible. Not a very perfect technology, I agree. But it works; well, almost. What if in a noisy downtown apartment, install a machine which sucks all the noise around and brings total silence to the space. That would be ideal. But a person who has developed a skill to be one with silence even right in the middle of chaotic noise is, shall we say, 'device independent'?
On the other hand, many of us are afraid of silence and addicted to noise. If there is no talk going on in a get together, it is commonly called an 'awkward silence'. We are comfortable with the noise of the mind which is that of chatter. Hum of the mind, the perpetual 'thought generator', is considered normal.
If a monk starts hearing ringing sounds inside his ear during meditations, in some schools of practice, it is considered as a sign of his arrival at a higher level. Either in deep silence his mind is sharp enough to listen to his own neurons firing in the brain or the blood flowing through arteries; or he is hearing a sound which is not at all there. Who knows?
Sometimes words are not needed to convey something; or spoken language is inadequate. Lovers can communicate silently. Mothers and children can also do this. Masters and mystics have the history of communicating through silence. There is something meaningful about the deep silence of a Buddha. Ramana Maharshi was known for his silent initiations.
One thing is true; it is a powerful state of mind to be silent on command, as if one has found the off switch to shut the mind up so that it won't take over the sharpness of our awareness.
graphic: 'waves' /sebastian©2009
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