10: Debunking The Myth - We Need Silence For Peace

In this episode, I debunk the idea that we need complete silence in order to create a peaceful environment.

This episode was inspired by a blog I recently wrote "8 Ways To Make Your Home More Peaceful". 

Read the full blog post here.

Comment below to let me know if this shifted your perception on how you percieve noise in your environment.

Transcript

 I recently wrote a blog on eight ways to make your home more peaceful, and one of the topics of the blog focused on noise control. So I thought it would be interesting to challenge the traditional view that restful spaces demand, complete silence. Tranquility can be found beyond silence, and this is what we will explore today. 

So when you think of restful space you might think that complete silence is a necessary step in order to experience peace and tranquility. I see this a lot in yoga classes, especially the kind of classes that I teach that focus on yoga for rest. When there is a slight noise distraction many people find it challenging to relax. What if I told you that tranquility can exist in between the noise of our modern world? 

Visualize the scene of a bustling cafe or a park filled with the sounds of nature. These spaces offer their unique brand of calmness. It's not rooted in absolute silence. But these spaces can be very peaceful. 

One of my favorite examples is the sounds around you when you're lying on a beach. And it's not only the sounds of the waves crashing, but the sounds of life happening around you. Children playing and the kind of indistinct mumble of people talking. It's one of my favorite scenes to return to when I want to emulate to experience the essence of peace. 

 So how can we shift our mindsets and embrace these alternative restful practices?  It begins with being mindful of your surroundings. It's a, rather than fixating on complete silence. Focus on environments that make you feel at ease. Whether it's the soft hum of background noise or the melody of nature. Find what works for you. 

 If you struggle to find peace in more dynamic spaces, start by acknowledging that tranquility can co-exist with background noise. Experiment with different environments to see what resonates with you personally. It might be a quiet corner of a library or a serene spot in a bustling city park. 

Once you've spent some time exploring and found what works for you. Consider how to emulate this essence of peace in your living space. So perhaps a white noise machine will work for you. White noise comes from things like a humming fan, the buzz of your appliances, or TV static. You could also try frequency music, and there are many options for frequency music on YouTube. 

So you could find one that works for you and many of them ran for hours. So you could have this on, in the background, in your home. I personally enjoy the sound of rain so I listened to a combination of rain and frequency music on Spotify and I use this as a way to get sleep. So it's kind of become a bit automatic that when I press play on this track, I automatically go into a state of calm when listening, so it kind of prepares me for sleep.

Think of this as a mindfulness practice and remember that mindfulness has anything that allows you to focus your mind on a single thing at a time. 

I encourage you to pause this recording for a moment. Sit back, close your eyes, and simply focus on the hum of the sounds around you. Only the sounds. And notice how you feel once you've done this for a little while. 

This is also something that you can practice on your yoga mat. So, as I mentioned earlier, You might find that there are distractions around you during your class, especially. If you're practicing something like meditation or more stillness-based practices like yin or restorative yoga nidra. You might find that the hum of a fan can be agitating or be focused on the person snoring next to you. 

This happens a lot. Instead, you code focus on the sound of your breath, maybe. The music in the room, if there is any, or perhaps make the hum of the fan, your white noise. Notice how that shifts or changes your practice. 

If you want to read a little bit more on how to make your home more peaceful it, head over to roomofrest.com/yoga blog to read the blog "8 Ways To Make Your Home More Peaceful." 

I've also left the link to the blog in the show notes below and let me know in the comments if this helped you to reimagine what a peaceful environment could be for you. 

Keep in mind that finding tranquility. Doesn't always mean seeking absolute silence, you are able to find peace in our modern noisy world. Explore and discover what brings you peace in the world around you. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode. I hope you have a beautiful day.