If one cannot get one's own way, one must bow to the inevitable. ~ John Ray
Meditation by it's very nature gives the practitioner the ability to stay in the present moment. Living in the now allows for one to listen to the moments between sounds. One could argue that if there is no sound then there is nothing to listen to...but that is not the kind of listening I am speaking of. I don't believe that as long as we are breathing and full of life there can be total silence. In fact, I really don't believe there's ever going to be complete silence.
The listening of which I speak - is holy listening. Listening to that still small voice inside of you...listening to what others don't say instead of what words they use to label thoughts and emotions. Each of us came equipped with our own internal guidance system. Some of us feel called to have our "systems" recalibrate every now and then. We had become "lost" in the sea of others. One of the gifts of meditation is the ability to still the mind and body long enough to get beneath the chaos known as mind to that deep place of stillness. This calm does not go away during the moments we are not practicing formal meditation. The calm grows with each moment of practice ... it begins to fill our being and resonates out during our moments of non practice. If necessary you can even recall the calm.
In the calmness we are better able gain acceptance of the world around us. The chaos is primarily caused from the dualism of labels such as good/bad, love/hate. When you have serenity which is found in calmness you have acceptance. Life is life and for whatever reason...it happens on its own terms.
