The Greater Silence
If I could explore the greater silence,
if I could determine all her boundaries,
Would I then find the wisdom in there?
Maybe I would find, as with awareness,
which is still limited by the experts,
and whose grandeur is still enchained
by those who want to define awareness,
so too is the silence, great and unlimited.
Only the Creator can understand it.
Maybe wisdom is one with the silence,
for wisdom is silent and silence is quiet.
Equally untouchable by the rhythm of time,
which can exist only in happenings.
While the silence appears out of nowhere,
before it is seized by my restless thoughts,
which would then run like terrified wild horses
in a hopeless attempt to subdue the silence.
Until they eventually tire, one by one
when slumber spreads her mercifulness.
But then sleep just opens another door
through which silence brings another world.
A world that stands free from this reality.
Or is this reality actually the abnormal one?
Because here, in this other world of dreams
I am more honest than being awake,
because my pretending-I loses its mask,
here, where fantasy and reality embrace.
Where the opinions of the educated
never dictates the direction of my steps.
Where I, a participating observer,
looks with sharper eyes and hear with wider ears,
while the mercy of sleep, for a moment
breaks the rules of my awaken world
to where a day can play out in the blink of an eye.
But then awakening arrives and closes the door,
whilst the sleep and awake, for a while still talks
before their talking is dampened by being awake.
But not before it influence my wake-up world,
and leaves its permanent footprints in my mind.
That then changes something inside myself.
Maybe my assumptions, maybe my values,
once it was cleansed by the fire of truth
in the crucible of my conscience.
And that brings me into the light of wisdom,
where she is, presumably, one with the silence.
Where I, away from all my fears and doubt,
alone in the presence of the light of wisdom,
experiences a peace within the silence
which transcends the human mind.
Thus the greater silence is beyond comprehension.
But with many definitions from learned people,
and in books where their efforts, which gathers dust,
is not at all in pace with the real world of silence.
Because, when I ponder the greater silence,
and she whispers words deep inside my being,
then I begin to understand why the Preacher says:
“I tested everything with the help of wisdom.
I wanted to get wisdom, it was out of reach.
The meaning of it all lies far out of reach,
(silence) lies very deep, who can find it then?
Palapie © 2019
Ecclesiastes. My favorite book. Usually translations begin with “Vanity!”, but that is not the translation. There is no translation for ‘hebel’ in that context. ‘Breath’ in the sense of ‘breath of life’, combined with the vapor your breath makes on a cold day might come close. It is not a thought, has no intrinsic meaning, it is the result of life but it is not life. The “everything” that the teacher tested is the shadow that life casts, in itself meaningless, but that is not to say that life is meaningless. Just the opposite. After that clarification, that background, then comes the message:
” I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?”
.We are alive. We must try to comprehend and understand and seek wisdom. And fail. We cannot comprehend that bit of breath that we are given, we must try to feast upon the wind, and to be disappointed, for that is our lot.
. , But our duty is also to eat, drink, and be merry. To take pleasure in all we have, that’s what it’s there for, and this may be all there is.
. The poem, by Palapie, is a beautiful attempt at the first part. to seek meaning.
. .But please do not forget the second part in the attempt to seek the first. Live.
Thanks for an informative and pleasant comment. Obviously, you’re a seeker like me. For that reason, we very often end up in the company of the Preacher.
The purpose of the poem was precisely an attempt to find meaning in the first part.It proved to be fruitless and above the intellect of us humans. The quest and the hope of discovering something of the wisdom in the silence is futile. Because the silence is unlimited on all sides. And meaning can only be found as the whole. Einstein has put it beautifully when he said: “Understanding is the ability to grasp the overall context that link all the parts into a meaningful whole.
About living, the preacher also says in Ecclesiastes 2:
1 ‘I said to myself, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.” But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 “Laughter,” I said, “is madness. And what does pleasure accomplish?”
I haven’t forgotten about that part. I am still meditating on that and still trying to build a bridge.
Wish I could comment more on this; sadly I am not well versed in poetry and am not good at analysing it. Still, your use of language is really impressive in my opinion. Thanks so much for sharing. 👍
Thank you very much
The more we understand our individual goals for growth on earth during this leg of our eternal journeys, the more we realize we can have meaning which can inspire those around us towards their talents….our time on earth is but a small steppingstone on the path to new beginnings.
well said… BBQ man, i hope you have been well and that your Thanksgiving was a peaceful and happy one with lots of yummy food. 🎵🦃🍷😁🌞💙
Thank you infa, and Yes..yes..yes..& yes. I even saved room for some warm pumpkin pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream…bluebell!
Just flowing with the current!….temperatures great, figuratively speaking!
glad to hear it……. yummmmm pumpkin pie and bluebell … 🤤😋😁
‘ the more we realize we can have meaning ‘
You are making such an important statement. The wonder of finding meaning can never be over emphasised.
Victor Frankl, in his book – “Man’s Search for Meaning says, and I quote: “Man’s search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a “secondary realisation” of instinctual drives. This meaning is unique and specific in that it must and can be fulfilled by him alone; only then does it achieve a significance which will satisfy his own will to meaning.”
It is a nice poem,I don’t read enough poetry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAmBKyfoJCY
This is how silence effects me sometimes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2GUPnnMxIM
In the 1890’s, Max Nordau wrote a very controversial book that unfortunately has been long forgotten, titled Degeneration. Nordau was a medical doctor who did research on things like rates of severe mental illness and the amount of art being produced that would make sense to the reasonable person, and saw both as being ominous. Nordau’s thesis was that the noise and frenetic activity of modern urban life is something that humans didn’t evolve to deal with, and at least in some cases, that constant noise and activity causes degeneration of its victims’ nervous systems:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degeneration_(Nordau)
Of course, the question is whether Nordau may have been on to something. We can’t know because if Nordau’s thesis is brought up at all today, it’s only produced for ritual denunciation. I have to wonder though. I remember when I bought my ranch in an isolated area in 2002. One of the first things I noticed was that the quiet and stillness were almost palpable; at first it was a bit unnerving. It was so quiet that when the wind wasn’t blowing and all household appliances were off, all I could hear was the blood rushing through my head. I also noticed that since I was working at the time, I went into my job better rested and less moody, and that I simply felt better. What’s more, I’ve noticed the same with my guests; at first they miss the noise and frenetic activity, but quickly acclimate to the quiet and stillness.
I understand many like urban environments, and all that noise and frenetic activity; I wouldn’t want to see urban environments made a thing of the past. But maybe we can do some research on the health effects of noise, and make reductions in the amount of urban noise if so warranted. The only things we have to lose are bad health and psychic distress.
Whenever the activities of the city gets to me, I would go away to, what I called my quite place, an isolated valley with a small dam not far from where I stay. There I’ve learned the value of just being quiet. Later I have learned that I could enter the silence, even in a crowd. The silence is all around us but our own thoughts sometimes causes the most noise. Once you have learned (and it is not easy) to control your rampant thoughts you can experience the silence any time, any place.
I find Nordau’s article very interesting. I will research it in the nearby future. Thank you for your comment for the link.
Palapie, the problem is that the quiet and stillness I refer to isn’t something that can be purchased in the city at any price. The reason why is that only being a long way from a noise or commotion source will nullify it.
For example, while it’s still very quiet here, the highway several miles to my south only gets busier. It’s two miles away and I can hear it clearly. I have to imagine what long-term exposure to living two hundred feet off this highway, or others like it, will do. At least the highway traffic dies back at night…..
If you read Nordau’s book in my link (I have), it’s important to keep in mind that his science is 130 years old, and obviously woefully out of date. This hardly means his argument is invalid though. It only means his thesis hasn’t been properly researched in more modern times.
I understand what you are referring to. You are referring to physical noise which can be so frustrating. And it is frustrating because you are listening,even if you don’t want to.
The silence I’m referring to is summed up by Headspace as follows:-
There is a level of silence, a deeper silence, which is so personal, so profound, that it reaches far beyond the external environment, far beyond the simplicity of a quiet mind. It is a silence which is as much at ease with noise as it is with quiet, as much at ease with movement as it is with stillness. It is a silence which transcends the thinking mind and therefore transcends these simple dualistic ideas. It is not a concept, a belief or philosophy, but a direct experience. And it is an experience which each and every one of us deserves the opportunity to return to that place from which everything arises…the silence of a quiet mind.
I will definitely do some research into Nordau,s book. Sounds very interesting, thanks.
Sounds like a Zen thing : )
I really can’t say. I don’t know that much about Zen. But it is very much a Bible ‘thing’ that was inspired by Psalm 46:10 (NIV) : : He says,(“Be still, and know that I am God”); and it triggered the search for silence.
Palapie, it was my feeble attempt at humor. All major religions have a contemplative/mystical side, including Christianity. Some of the writings of mystics, such as Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross–and even a few by Thomas Merton–are sublimely beautiful.
Lol…I saw your 🙂 and was actually wondering if you were only taunting. Thank you.
It is 2.09 am here in South Africa. It is my ‘silent time’ in the true sense of the word. Outside is a terrific thunderstorm. Ever since I was a child there is a joyfulness that fills my whole being with awe whenever the lightning and thunder as well as the down poring rain blesses the earth. And ,while writing this, I realize It s a noise that I am totally at ease with. It does not affect my being still during meditation.
Yep, I too enjoy dramatic weather–at least as long as it’s not too dramatic. We need rain desperately here. Since April, we’ve only had about three inches (7 cm) of rain. But dry weather isn’t unusual here either.
Even though I never came anywhere close to taming my unruly mind, I think I got a lot of out of meditation when I did it years ago. I’ll have to try it again sometime.
You must.
I am sorry for sending the invites so late.
It’s too good to leave it without more people knowing it.
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Hmm, I can tune out a fast heavy Train going past and not lose focus at a very young age. Then half a life sleeping in a Kenworth with the Diesel purring all night. That was a bummer when I became a “Fourth Responder” with a Kenworth Wrecker. 4th Responder is a term I coined meaning – When Vehicle chaos happens, Law Enforcement, Ambulance, Fire Trucks then Wrecker Drivers =#4.
Back to training my flesh to Wakeup to the – Call was not easy after needing to tuneout for 40 years.. But mostly did it. mostly, Cops had to bang on my door a couple times so I could unblock I-70 quick. Sorry back to this topic..
I lived under the shadow of the Everything wireless Tower and right by a Stingray thing. Then moved to the Darkzone and was away from everything Wireless for almost exactly a year. and I could hear a fly fart nearing 50 in my right ear after awhile, Then after getting a Cell phone and being online again, the steady mello ringing in my ears is back and I am miles from the Everything wireless tower. I can still hear the clock ticking but not nearly as well. Taking the battery out and putting the phone in the oven appears to help if I get a Headache too. Anyone reading this the next time you get a headache try putting on a Tin Foil hat for a minute.. Lol. Some Truths are so weird people are afraid to tell their friends. The wifes cousin had a migrain and stopped by at the Cell tower house. I got the baseball cap wrapped in foil out and she was laughing as soon as she seen it but kept talking to wife about her horrible headache asking for OTC headache Pills. Wife left room to medicine cabinet and I didnt explain nothin I just slipped it on her head as she was laughing about hat while in massive head pain. And then Blamo,, she stopped all movement with a look of total shock, as my wife walks back in the room says Oh my God, its gone instantly. She was totally freaked out and posted a selfie to face book within minutes with that hat on her head telling everyone it worked.. Lol, I swear the Truth really, really is stranger the fiction. Then again I might be nutz. 🙂
Captain, careful. I was acquainted with a retired train engineer. He had to retire young because his job made him stone deaf; he had to take his wife along everywhere he went because he couldn’t communicate other than to write.
Thank you, Straight Pipes and Chrome on Kenworths and Harleys messed with my left but not so bad on the Right. God blessed me with Lady 11 years younger and a Catahoula Cur and I am contemplating 2 Ozark Curs in case SHTF. Torn on that $o much right now.
Silence is difficult to come by these days.
True. There is a huge difference between being quite or to experience silence. To experience silence is to find a meditation technique to still your ever restless mind. What works for me is to imagine my mind is the surface of the sea, and then to focus on getting its surface as calm and smooth like the surface of a pond on a wind still moment. It is difficult at first because your thoughts are really like a tempest on the ocean. But it is worth it.
I started meditating while hiking. Focusing on not breaking a leg is a great way to divert the mind from spurious thoughts.
If it works for you keep it up until you are in full control of awareness, and not your restless mind. The mind is a wonderful tool, but it is you who must stay in charge.
Thank you for your comment.
Recommended.
I find my own silence often.
For me, it’s a matter of “death becoming” you.
I don’t expect anyone else to understand that.
I can understand what you are saying. It is like experiencing ‘death’ but being fully aware with you, the observer, being in full control of the awareness. That is where you find the germs that makes life worth living.
I was in coma for some time ( medically induced coma) -just on a month post a MVA. I was put that way as I was DOA at the hospital. I learned A LOT, not only of self but of others too being in that…”void”. I had no way to communicate with anyone BUT ME. I have taken that, strange tranquility on my life journey since. 🙂 I CAN “lock” myself into that headspace when I choose to now. It’s my way to decompress and become centered again.
You have found the greater silence’s domain while you remain in charge. All the wonderful blessings with the realization that you are consciously in control over what you want to enter your mind and it enables you to focus your thoughts on whatever you want. Truly a blessing.