Who here has attained complete meditative silence?

[wstein]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Now, ask me about stillness and I could write a chapter on that.

Perhaps another thread for this ...

Though I will ask here why if you have inner stillness, why you would write about it?

I do wonder occasionally why inner silence is widely touted but continuing on to inner stillness is rarely mentioned. Mostly I chalk it up to that so few reach inner silence (even meditation teachers). Not so sure that is the answer.

[pixiedust]

Originally Posted by wstein

"Who here has attained complete meditative silence?"
I have reached silence most of the time (> 22 hours a day).

You might want to ask how many have achieved a meditative state in daily life. So many only reach it by setting aside a special time for meditation where they don't do regular life activities.

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[pixiedust]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

There is nothing so much like God in all the universe as silence.

Meister Eckhart

I think the quote is

Meister Eckhart — 'Nothing in all creation is so like God as stillness.'

[pixiedust]

There is a way between voice and presence, where information flows. In disciplined silence it opens; with wandering talk it closes.

Rumi

[utopiandreamchild]

Originally Posted by pixiedust

Words are man made. God is beyond that is he not?

Words may be man made but there God given. Why would God be beyond communication with us?. That's not logical. I love God, God loves me, that's logical. He is the father of creation after all. Amen

Originally Posted by JustASimpleGuy

Two better questions are why and how. Know the reason(s) and understand the purpose, method(s) and technique(s).

Another point. Is it really utter and complete silence 24x7? Or is it more a deep and pervasive clarity and serenity resulting in more skillful use of a tool? The big "problem" for most is the "Story of Me" that is constantly playing in the background. For what it's worth mindfulness is a great tool for taming the default network and its propensity to play that story on an endless loop.

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

There is nothing so much like God in all the universe as silence.

Meister Eckhart

That's a great answer to "Why?".

A deep and absolute silence and stillness. Ultimate serenity. Not wanting or lacking. Fullness and completeness. Ever-present and unchanging. Witness of all experience. SatChitAnanda.

What I find is once "touched" and the more familiar one becomes it matters less and less what mind does although the more familiar one becomes the less mind is want to run amok in a soup of random and scattered thought.

Familiarization is one meaning for meditation in Sanskrit so in my way of thinking that answers the "How?".

[Miss Hepburn]

Lets see...how did I finally move into more stillness of thought, quieting that activity of the mind? (In daily life as you asked).

Cuz, I think we all might know it can reached in deeper meditation, for me, by sitting for hours a session...and I mean,
as I have said before many xs --a stillness almost not to be imagined by most people.
That is - complete stillness, almost not breathing, certainly there is no thought just very, spine-straightening,
alert awareness...entering, ha, 'a Zone'.

But, in daily life it started with being miserable, depressed after an 11 yr relationship break-up.
Nothing gets change going like suffering!
Eventually, a therapist friend said..Ok enough - you've got to practice Thought Control. (Huh?)
Short version, I did and still do and it changed my inner life.
Recognizing unwanted thoughts of any kind and 'changing the channel'.
It gets easier and the thoughts drop from, say 50, to 2-3 nonsense thoughts.

Then, the following thing also occurred - I opened my first Bible and shortly my mouth dropped realizing the 'Theme'!!!
It was to never worry, trust God 100%...basically; minutely, instrinsically in every aspect of life, huge and small.

RE stillness in daily life ---those things alone eliminated all fear-based unwanted thoughts.
(ie, Thought Control and simply following Jesus' advice ---do not worry.)

Then, at the same time period - I ran across Col 3:2, "Focus on the things above and not the things on the earth."
What?
These were life changing moments.
Then, 4 years later I was introduced to the (Christian) New Thought authors, first :
Joel S. Goldsmith and his book "Practicing the Presence".
With years of prep in quieting the mind in, then, 30 yrs of meditation -
this was a piece o' cake in it's practice of opening the stilled mind to feel the Divine Presence...
washing the dishes, driving the car, shopping in a store.

So the stillness in my head is pretty darn still in daily life, now.
I focus on the Divine Presence and have NO cares, am carefree.
("cast your cares" - either you do that or you don't, you hang onto them or cast them far away from you!
And they all start in your thoughts.) Ref 1 Peter 5.

I dunno maybe I don't have much more to say ..except the joy of not having unpleasant, worthless thoughts
and memories popping into my brain is like a Heaven/Freedom...it's the Secret Formula of a happy life!
And why wouldn't someone jump for joy to talk about this to anyone that would like to know.

[pixiedust]

Thank you so much for this generous sharing, Miss Hepburn!

[God-Like]

Originally Posted by pixiedust

In daily life.

In some buddhists circles a silent mind is no mind where one goes about their business in silence where there is no chitter chatter ..

We all can do that to certain degrees. You're at home doing your chores on your own and you don't have to think about anything other than what you're doing .

Meditation in some respects isn't about silence in living life in an ordinary way .

Going about ones business is what one does ..

Not being silent and shouting from the roof tops is no crime lol .

It's not a reflection of not being spiritual per se .

To be silent or not matters not .


x daz x

[wstein]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Lets see...how did I finally move into more stillness of thought, quieting that activity of the mind? (In daily life as you asked).

Cuz, I think we all might know it can reached in deeper meditation, for me, by sitting for hours a session...and I mean,
as I have said before many xs --a stillness almost not to be imagined by most people.
That is - complete stillness, almost not breathing, certainly there is no thought just very, spine-straightening,
alert awareness...entering, ha, 'a Zone'.

IMO stillness isn't just about the mind/thought/inner voices. It is about releasing ALL the internal commotions, agitations, fidgeting of ALL your tools. 'Tools' include mind, ego, emotions, physical, spiritual, etc.

[advanced]
Once one stills the mind for longer periods of time (no mind chatter, no inner voices, no racing thoughts), one easily notices that other internal parts are behaving as the mind once did. At first it's hard to imagine what a spiritual commotion might be. Striving to get to the 'next level' is an example.

FYI, the method you used to release the mind chatter likely will work for the other commotions too. Personally I used the watch and label your thoughts method. This is easily extended to watching for and labeling the others also.