THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE

Two words that contradict each but other yet both having an enormous influence on our lives.
Confucius said that “silence is a true friend that never betrays”. His thoughts were no doubt based on the danger of words which can lead to anger, hatred and bitterness if misconstrued.

The sudden breaking of silence can stimulate quite a human and even animal reaction, but silence between lovers, friends and family members can itself be harmful without the spoken word.
Emotions can in fact be misinterpreted with the voice “under wraps”. Psychologists even think that silence used to “punish” is a form of emotional abuse.

For many, silence is like a gift to detract from a hectic lifestyle and thus our constant desire to escape to the countryside, the mountains and islands, albeit that even in such places silence cannot exist.

According to environmentalists one of the quietest places on our planet is the Antarctic, mainly due to the lack of human sounds. Despite the racket from crackling ice, from penguins, seals and other creatures, visitors and scientists are amazed at the type of silence that exits.

It is common knowledge that as human exploration increases, greater areas of wild and unexplored territory along with the natural habitat will be destroyed.
Sadly many unique creatures and their fascinating “language” cease with time to exist.

Fragile natural sounds are torn apart by humans with a boundless need to conquer every environment. To add to this, when a sense of fear exists, lack of sound is common to both humans and animals; a mode to protect and avoid capture.

However, within the depths of the ocean, scientists have recorded mysterious seismic “hums” – in essence geological birth announcements. Subsequent to ripple sounds under water, a new volcano was born in the Indian ocean. Magma 35 kilometres under the ocean floor migrated upward through the earth’s crust, quite a phenomenal occurrence !

In conclusion, the OM sound revered in many religions might be explained as “ the vibes” of the universe; the primordial sound arising from pure consciousness which underlies all existence.
An interesting thought to end this week’s blog