The Sound of Silence - taking time out

When was the last time you just sat and did absolutely NOTHING????  !!!!  Scary thought, perhaps, for some people, but by doing nothing, LOT's of things actually do happen....... For instance:

• your heart rate will probably slow down
• your blood pressure will probably reduce
• your breathing will certainly slow down and be more steady and regular
• and....... if you do it for long enough, your busy mind chatter will probably quiet down as well

Doing nothing is not about sitting cross - legged and meditating for hours on end!!!  Simply sitting for a few minutes and not moving, not looking at anything and not listening to anything in particular - they all can make a huge difference on your physical, mental and emotional well-being.

So I DARE you to sit somewhere for AT LEAST 3 minutes (try 5 if you are feeling brave!!!)  EVERY DAY and see what happens.  It could be the first time in a LONG time that you have done it, and a word of caution......  If you say to yourself that you haven't got time to sit for a few minutes.......then that might just be a sign that says you NEED to sit quietly for a while to rest up and recharge!!!

And if you need some help sitting still, then take a look at the CD "Calm your Mind" and listen to the free track.

It seems that more and more people are choosing silence as a way of dealing with the turbulent times we are living in.  Sara Maitlant - an author and journalist - writes of her experiences of silent living in an inspirational book called "A Book of Silence"  (published by Grant 2008 www.granta.com)

Also check the Diary section on the site for details of a radio programme talking about silence - March 7th