"The Power of Quiet in a World of Noise"

I will be reflecting on Chapter 1 of the book Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh (aka Thay-teacher). The tag line for the book is, "The Power of Quiet in a World of Noise" In chapter one, "A steady diet of noise", Thay points out the omnipresence of noise in each of our lives. He points out that often we have chosen noise, either external and/or internal, in an effort to avoid the silence which would result. In our meditative practice we have spent much time in following our breath, in calming our mind, and arriving at a spaciousness to observe "what comes up for us". What is in the silence? I am reminded of our Beagle dog that our family enjoyed when I was a kid. Babe loved to chase rabbits. She chased many a rabbit but never caught one - until she did. Babe stood over the rabbit which was on its back. Babe stared at the rabbit and then looked in wonderment at me. The rabbit took that distraction to scramble free and escape. What do we do after we catch our rabbit-Silence? Thay offers that this silence is where we "can come home to our true selves". This is the true gift of our meditative practice. Prior to Monday night I hope you have time to read the chapter. In addition, perhaps ponder these questions. 1. What is one noise-either external or internal- that you know is unhealthy for you, but you have yet to "turn off"? 2. Has an insight into a challenging problem come to you "out of the blue"? If so, were you deep in thought on the problem or doing something unrelated? 3. What is in your silence? I look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow night. I look forward to your sharing as I learn so much from the wisdom each of you offer. Thank you 🙏 Dave