More and more we all seek rest, silence and balance. Even CEO’s of big companies try to meditate from time to time, and yoga retreats on Ibiza are more populair then ever. But in everyday life it is often hard to find silence. How can we find peace and quiet in our busy modern lives?

In India there are traditions where people lock themselves up in a room for 40 days, with only one small meal a day. And also in a lot of religions seeking silence plays a big role. Jezus and Mozes went into the desert, Mohammed in a cave and Buddha under a tree. Experiencing silence for a longer period of time, could create space between your inner being and the outer world and that could give you some powerful insights in life.

Meditation

Exploring your inner world trough meditation can make you feel more free, more powerful and more aware of thoughts, feelings and influences from outside. A good thing, because that kind of gives you more control of how you decide to respond to things.

When you fist start to meditate you probably won’t really like it. I can be kind of uncomfortable when things get quiet. At first it can even feel more restless. But as meditation gurus say, that is just because you now notice all those thoughts and feelings you didn’t notice before.

The more often you experience silence, the more comfortable it gets. In stead of always trying to avoid dullness – turning on the TV when nobody is around to talk to, or listening to music when things get too quiet – you may even start to like silence. In the end this peacefulness could make you less stressed, you get to know your inner world better so you’ll be calm and in control of your own thoughts and feelings.

In modern life

But how do you do this when you have a busy job, work in a crowded area all the time, or when you live in a busy city? The art of meditation is noticing those sounds, but just letting them be as they are. Do not link them to irritation or restlessness, do not link them to thoughts, just let them be sounds.

Of course you could also seek for a silent room somewhere in your city, or reach out to nature if you really want to enjoy the silence. And otherwise? You could always wear a pair of ear plugs when you’re done with the sounds of the day. Knops could help you turn off the volume anytime, so silence is only one swipe away.