The Silent Game

Are you good at silence? When our boys were a bit younger we used to play The Silent Game – you know, the first person to speak (break the silence) is ‘out’. This game can be difficult for chatter-boxes but relatively easy for people who don’t really say much anyway. Which type are you?

I could go on to talk about our silence when others need help but I’ll keep that for another day.

Instead, I want to focus on the positive aspect of silence through stilling your mind. Even if you’re the ‘don’t-say-much’ type you will still probably have a lot of noise and chatter in your head. Some of this will be positive, the remainder negative and a lot of both may be leading to overload and stress. To get away from it all, you may switch on the TV or radio – more noise. That can sometimes be good (relaxing, meditative music, for example) but a lot of the time it leaves you in overload, busy and out of focus.

So what can you do to help. Well, one suggestion based on work by Charles Haanel and much later, Eckhart Tolle is to practice getting control of your mind and body. This, though, takes practice and won’t come easily to some (maybe most).

Find a quiet space where you can sit relaxed. Start by focusing on your body. Sit relaxed yet still. Resist the temptation to stretch or fidget. Practice this for say 5-10 minutes until you are very still, yet relaxed (not tense). Then return to your mind, your thoughts. Give thanks for all that you have experienced, including all the trials and tribulations of the day, that have already become lessons for the future, then let them go. Really let them go. Ask for forgiveness for the times when you were angry or hurtful and forgive those that wronged you. Then let these moments pass. Still your mind. Focus on silence. Feel how relaxed your body is. Feel the power within you, from your solar plexus to your heart to your mind. Be still. Be silent. Let it all go. Connect with the inner you, your inner peace.

Remain in this state for as long as you can. Don’t worry if you only manage a few minutes – that is your old state, your busy-ness paradigm pushing through. This will take practice. But as we shall see in later posts, it will be worth it, my friend. Yes, it will. You need to gain control of your mind and body at will before you can really focus on and achieve the life you want and all its goals. This is the key to health, wealth and happiness. And it begins with The Silent Game. Try it.