06-22-2006, 07:33 PM
Does anyone have any specific techniques that have helped them reach greater depths of inner silence?
I have trouble getting past just a few minutes of inner silence at a time. It seems that no matter how much I remind myself and feel determined to hold the silence for long periods, I somehow slip back into internal dialogue over and over again.
There have been a few times where I was able to stay focused for longer periods, but those are really few and far between.
I'm not really sure that any advice from someone else could help much, but I am just curious of other people's experiences with inner silence and techniques used at reaching it.
The one from Castaneda's books that has helped me the most is "listening to the sounds of the world". At times I focus in on just one sound that I randomly pick out and try to stay with it as long as possible, and keep coming back to it as I begin drifting back to thinking. At other times, I try to listen to everything at once in the same manner.
Through this technique I've discovered that it is possible at times to split my attention and listen to the sounds and think at the same time. I know this isn't stopping the internal dialogue, but it does take the focus away from it when I just can't seem to be quiet. It also helps when trying to listen to a person or speaker. If my mind starts wondering, I have been finding that I can let my mind wonder and still pay attention to what they are saying at the same time. For some this might just come naturally. For me, it is a breakthrough
Would anyone else like to share some techniques that have helped them reach inner silence?
I have trouble getting past just a few minutes of inner silence at a time. It seems that no matter how much I remind myself and feel determined to hold the silence for long periods, I somehow slip back into internal dialogue over and over again.
There have been a few times where I was able to stay focused for longer periods, but those are really few and far between.
I'm not really sure that any advice from someone else could help much, but I am just curious of other people's experiences with inner silence and techniques used at reaching it.
The one from Castaneda's books that has helped me the most is "listening to the sounds of the world". At times I focus in on just one sound that I randomly pick out and try to stay with it as long as possible, and keep coming back to it as I begin drifting back to thinking. At other times, I try to listen to everything at once in the same manner.
Through this technique I've discovered that it is possible at times to split my attention and listen to the sounds and think at the same time. I know this isn't stopping the internal dialogue, but it does take the focus away from it when I just can't seem to be quiet. It also helps when trying to listen to a person or speaker. If my mind starts wondering, I have been finding that I can let my mind wonder and still pay attention to what they are saying at the same time. For some this might just come naturally. For me, it is a breakthrough
Would anyone else like to share some techniques that have helped them reach inner silence?