Silence is Medicine!

Do you ever notice the amount of sounds and images that bombard our ears and eyes everyday? It's crazy.This can lead to over stimulation which may contribute to stress and may also cause your body to hold tension in your muscles. You know how when a drug addict has to keep taking more and more drugs to achieve a high? It's the same concept. If the volume of your TV is a level 3, after awhile you will need a level 4. Sooner than later you will build up tolerance and need a level 15 and in the meantime damage your ears. If you see a movie and it has a sequel, everyone wants the sequel to be even better. Better effects, better set design, better action, higher shock value, and better everything. Then when it comes time to read a simple magazine article or something from the newspaper or read for a school assignment, it's boring. Or if someone goes to their place of worship be it a synagogue or church, it's boring. Sounds like desensitization doesn't it? It is. Why is desensitization bad? Well, you will be unable to tell the damage you're doing. I'm a classical singer. My voice teacher has said that cough drops aren't good for singers because they slightly numb the throat. If I'm coughing and singing I may feel nothing but it doesn't mean that damage isn't in progress: the only difference is that I can't tell I'm damaging my voice. In this same vein, building up tolerance to over stimulation will cause you mental, emotion, and physical stress and tension and the worst part is you won't be able to pinpoint why you're so stressed out.
The cure is to bring down your tolerance. Listen to silence. I decided to do this post because I want to have control over what my mind absorbs and I want it to absorb silence too. You are the boss of your mind and your eyes and ears are like roads to your mind. There's nothing wrong with silence; silence is beautiful. Here are five ways to help you bring down that tolerance:

1. When riding in your car or working out, try not listening to music or the radio.
2. Learn to not talk over people. This is hard because our society doesn't emphasize proper etiquette in this respect. Learn to listen to those speaking to you and don't respond until they're finished.
3. Teach your children the value of silence. Have quiet time everyday where there is no talking and as little stimulation as possible.
4. When you do listen to your music or turn on the TV, try to bring it down a few notches. If it's usually at 27, bring it down to 22. Over time, see how low you can get.
5. Try not to multitask too much. If the TV is on, try not to also do your homework, talk on the phone, and play with the dog at the same time. If you're doing your homework, just do that or if you're playing with your dog, just do this as well.
6. Learn to listen for the little things. Listen to your breath, the wind passing through the trees, your fingers typing on the keyboard, a cat walking (yes, I know they're quiet but their little paws DO make a very soft sound),  etc.
7. Everyday, try to carve out a chunk of time when you do nothing and listen to silence. This can range from 10 minutes to an hour. After awhile you will crave silence and look forward to it. Even the most entertaining show on TV or hottest new single on the radio will not stand in the way of your need for silence!