Tuesday, April 8, 2025
Good, nourishing food, over time, will heal your body. You can’t have high blood pressure, be overweight, and out of shape, and expect one nourishing meal to help. It’s a good start, but you have to eat consistently healthy food over a long period to see the effects. The same is true with silence, or spiritual food.
Everyone wants a quick fix. But to really get into blissful, peaceful states, one must practice sitting in the silence, daily. You don’t have to do it all the time, but the benefits slowly start to reveal themselves over time.
You are calmer. You are less reactionary. You no longer have an appetite for junk media like Facebook, the evening news, NPR, or talking. You no longer seem to “need” to be informed. You no longer seem to “need” to be entertained. You no longer seem to “need” to do anything. Sitting in the silence, doing nothing, restores the soul and awakens wisdom.
I’m not sure if the silence is addictive as much as its restorative. I’m sure TV, YouTube, Facebook, the internet, and the other apps are pure dopamine hits. Repetitively sitting in the silence, or meditation, releases dopamine too, but there is a difference – it’s the intensity and sudden surge of the neurotransmitter. While addictive substances trigger a large, rapid release of dopamine, leading to a “high” and potential for dependence, meditation promotes a more moderate and sustained dopamine release, creating a sense of calm and well-being without the crash associated with addiction.
So there you have it, nourishing food for the soul – silence. No sugar highs. No nervous “hits” by checking your phone, having to have the TV on, or “needing” music to cover the silence. Wholesome nourishment and healing, every day. A good helping of daily silence. Mmm mmm good.