Silence is the new answer

I haven’t blogged in 2 years but suddenly I’m inspired to talk about not talking? Truth is, you folks have had lots of questions about this whole “silence thing”. Trouble is, I don’t really like to write anymore- heck, I barely like to read anymore (I’m lovingly glaring at you, Audible)- so we’ll see how this goes.

If you’ve been following Voluptuous Life’s Instagram stories you’ve noticed, and perhaps asked yourself, why or how- I spend every Thursday recently in silence. To be clear, my definition of silence is no phone, no internet, no talking; no sounds at all, except for nature, the voice(s) inside my head, and whatever Vedic mantras I’m chanting for my meditation practice.

I’m not exactly sure what inspired this particular undertaking. I’d been in silence off-and-on during my time in India but that ended about a decade ago. I do start my mornings going to my altar (ash on my 3rd eye, candle and incense burning, Palo Santo in hand) asking to be “guided in ways I can clearly understand”. Perhaps it was partly Divine Inspiration that lead me to this endeavor?

It feels important to share that my life is already a lot quieter than most. I have no human children and sadly, no children with fur; I work for myself- partly as a meditation coach, mind you; and I haven’t owned a television in 18 years. I love the quiet. If it were up to me there would be no barking dogs, no fork biting and no mansplaining, like ever. I could easily go a couple of weeks without talking to another human. (No offense to all my favorite ones out there. I’ll call you soon, Ma!)

There is science-backed evidence that silence is good for the brain and our overall well-being. My exploration isn’t really about the quiet aspect of silence though or its health benefits. It’s more about finding answers. I’m sure you’ve noticed, especially lately, that finding truth out in the “real world” is somewhat challenging. It seems truth is either always changing, always being stretched, or always being censored. How can we find truth in a system that is at best unpredictable and at worst corrupted by multiple agendas?

My Silent Thursdays are an attempt to dive even deeper than the everyday DuckDuckGo’able questions though. I want to know more about who I really am, like where my soul came from and all that meaningful, but sometimes considered “woo-woo” stuff. I want to know what my true purpose is, this time around. More than answers, I want experiences. I want to taste that cosmic, unexplainable magic that exists all around us but seems to elude our 5 senses because of the limitations of the body and mind. This modern world often feels too “normal” and superficial for me. It’s like I’m being called to experience more miraculous things, the “chocolates” as my guru would call them. Before you start sharing your fave Ayahuasca retreats and shaman’s TikTok accounts with me, thanks, but that’s not the path I’m on right now. My guru and the ancient texts say that all of the answers are hidden in the silence. I’m going in to try to find them. I’ll share more details of the process soon, in case you’re interested in trying it for yourself. Hopefully, I’ll also have some cosmic secrets to share. Be prepared to communicate using telepathy, sign language, or charades though.

I’ll say one more thing and then I’ll shut the heck up because it’s almost Thursday.

Technology, social media and other sources of info and entertainment are beautiful complements to our human experience. But if we are constantly filling our minds with other people’s thoughts and creations,

HOW MUCH OF OUR LIFE IS ACTUALLY OURS?