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Dawn James, author of Raise Your Vibration, Transform Your Life, writes about practicing pure silence to reduce stress

Do you ever feel as though the only time you can enjoy some peace and quiet is when you are asleep? Your days are filled with activities, appointments, chatter and obligations, and your mind cannot pause for even a moment. It’s like a six-ton train barreling down the tracks without any brakes. Well, what if I told you that your best ally in calming your mind and finding some peace in your day is … silence?

Silence is not just the absence of speech or exterior sound, but also the quieting of inner mental chatter. The regular practice of silence allows you to temporarily withdraw and detach from the world, thereby calming your mind over time.

Try to find a place where you can be silent for at least 10 minutes during your day. It may be in your car, a nearby park or a local library. This is not the time for reading a book or magazine or checking text messages or voicemail. It’s a time to simply be still and silent. This is your time to enjoy some mental stillness and peace.

Besides calming your mind, being silent increases your awareness and understanding of self and others. The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world. When you are silent, you can pay attention to your environment and truly observe the interactions and behaviour of those around you, as well as your own disposition when you respond to circumstances and other people. Your ability to actively listen to others also improves. As you begin to observe your thoughts and tendencies, you will realize what is most important for your well-being and start finding ways to balance your mind and your life.

Lastly, silence helps you develop your inner wisdom and your inner voice, because your ego-mind takes a backseat to the serenity and peacefulness of being silent. Silence allows you to discover the many things that need not be said. Practising silence regularly allows your inner voice a chance to respond to the multitude of thoughts and experiences you have as you go about your daily activities. When your inner voice starts to emerge, and you truly begin to listen, you will start to recognize where illusion ends and truth begins. This inner voice is the key to developing your innate intuition, a balanced mind and a peaceful spirit.

In addition to a 10-minute silence break during your day, try to be silent for a total of 30 minutes at the beginning of your day and just before bedtime. When the alarm goes off in the morning, don’t just jump out of bed. Lie there a few minutes and reflect on the type of day you want to create and enjoy. Set your intentions on what is truly important for you today. Be thankful for the ability to participate in a new day. In the late evening, instead of watching TV, chatting on the phone or plugging into some other media, take 15 to 20 minutes to be silent in a private or quiet place. Simply enjoy being you.

When you take time to enjoy periods of silence, you will reach new levels of self-discovery and insight that are impossible to realize while caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life. In a world that seems increasingly hectic and that offers little time for reflection, introspection or contemplation, silence may be your best friend for bringing peace and stillness into your life.

Dawn James is a holistic practitioner, speaker and author of the book Raise Your Vibration, Transform Your Life: A Practical Guide for Attaining Better Health, Vitality and Inner Peace.

If you are ready to break patterns that cause stress and dissatisfaction in your life, then order an autographed copy online at

www.RaiseYourVibration.ca

The book is also distributed throughout Canada, US and the Caribbean.

Visit Dawn’s site to learn more about practicing the power of pure silence plus more tips to raise your vibration for a healthier life. Remember also to keep visiting The Ultimate Stress Blog.