Why Silence is Power | Priceless Benefits of Being Silent

“All the deep things and the emotions of things are preceded and attended to by

silence

.” Herman Melville In Western cultures,

silence

is commonly used as a means of showing respect and meditation. A prominent example in Dutch culture is the Silent March; a ritual that emerged from

silent

Catholic walks in Amsterdam. This Catholic tradition was a reaction to the banning of their processions by the Protestant establishment. A

silent

march was not prohibited, without prayers, songs, clothing or religious attributes, and thus a new ritual arose that survived to this day. Regarding Silent Marches (often a response to senseless violence), people react in a way that transcends the many empty words that circulate after a tragic event and our “noise culture,” in which violence It happens so frequently.

Similarly, the annual Remembrance of the Dead responds to the killing and murder of all Dutch victims of wars and peacekeeping missions with two minutes of silence. It is the silence that makes these rituals so

power

ful; There is no music, no words or songs that distract from the purpose. Furthermore, what better resistance to the deafening noise of war and the noise of the violent participating in senseless bloodshed than silence? And when words are not enough, isn't silence the most appropriate response? The

power

of silence is versatile. Silence can transcend speech, speak without words and complement what verbal language lacks.

And keeping silent also has advantages in terms of creativity, mental health, spiritual and religious practice, gaining an advantage in negotiations, and even as a form of intimidation. This video explores the power of silence and reveals four

benefits

of staying silent. (1) The quieter you are, the more you listen. The mystic and poet Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī once realized that the quieter we are, the more able we are to hear. From his mystical point of view, listening is essential, as Rumi attempted to approach God and hear a “voice that uses no words” by

being

still.

When we release all the words, we open ourselves to other voices previously suppressed by the continuous verbal noise. They could be internal voices (as philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson called “inner knowing”) and external voices and sounds that one overlooks due to lack of listening. We can listen effectively if we remain silent, inside and out. By

being

silent, we become receptive to our surroundings. We pay attention to what our senses observe, so we learn and eventually become smarter and wiser. If we refuse to remain silent and listen to what others have to say, we only share what we already know and learn nothing.

The ancient philosopher Pythagoras once stated: “A fool is known by his words, and a wise man by his silence.” Similarly, Lao Tzu wrote: “Those who know do not speak. Those who speak do not know.” Being silent helps us learn about the environment and recognize dangers (and opportunities) that we would have missed if we were too busy talking. But it also allows us to collect information about ourselves. Often, people are so busy overthinking, worrying, reflecting and analyzing that they are drowning out the underlying voices that are trying to speak. For example, we can forget to listen to our intuitions or let our body pains inform us about specific health problems.

Or we block ideas and solutions that are already within us from coming to the surface because our conscious mind creates too much noise. Staying silent can also lead to more philosophical and spiritual insights. For example, generally people tend to identify with their thoughts and thus believe that we are what we believe we are; that the “selves” we have created in our minds are, in fact, us. In Buddhism, thoughts are one of the five aggregates: fabrications of the mind that we mistake for ourselves. We are not our thoughts, according to the Buddha. And if we calm down and observe our thoughts, we will discover that everything we think about, all our ideas, concepts, identifications, are fleeting.

Therefore, according to the Buddha, there is actually no fixed self. But we only discover the illusory nature of thoughts if we remain silent, observe them, and recognize them for what they are. (2) Silence stimulates creativity. Theoretical physicist Albert Einstein argued that silence stimulates the creative mind. When he couldn't come up with an idea, he would simply stop thinking and "swim silently" (as he called it) and wait for the right information to come to him. Therefore, like many other great minds, Einstein spent a lot of time in solitude, taking advantage of the quiet. As he himself stated, and I quote: “The monotony and loneliness of a quiet life stimulate the creative mind.” End of quote.

NeuroLeadership Institute CEO David Rock wrote an article for Psychology Today stating that “an open mind is a calm mind.” He investigates the so-called "aha" moment that people have, during which a creative idea or solution emerges on its own. These "aha" moments involve weaker, less noticeable connections between neurons, which are difficult to notice when other, stronger signals dominate the brain. I quote: Therefore, we have knowledge when our general level of activity in the brain is low. This happens when we are doing something that doesn't require much mental effort, when we are focused on something repetitive, or generally more relaxed, like when we wake up.

Ideas require a calm mind, because they themselves are calm. End of quote. So, it seems that we need to create the right circumstances for our mind to calm down. For some people, this may involve going for a walk and doing repetitive forms of exercise or listening to relaxing music. For others, like Einstein, it might mean living in silence and solitude. Many of the great minds of the past, such as Isaac Newton, Elizabeth Bishop, and Nikola Tesla, worked alone in quiet places. (3) Silence can send a powerful message. In many cases, remaining silent can send a much stronger message than using speech.

By responding to words with silence or using well-timed pauses during conversations, we can communicate effectively without speaking or writing. Dutch silent rituals exemplify how silence creates a strong message. For example, during the Remembrance of the Dead on May 4, the two minutes of silence are always the most impactful moment of the entire ceremony, including other rituals and speeches by different people. Silence allows us to express what speech cannot. The many words spoken, ideas shared, and promises made never fully encompass the human experience. However, the power of silence as a response to tragedy is that we recognize that no amount of words do justice to what we seek to commemorate;

It is so important to us that we are willing to stop talking and remain silent for a certain time. Is there a better way to show respect? In conversation, using silence can also be powerful. American author Mark Twain stated, and I quote: “The right word can be effective, but no word has been as effective as a pause at the right moment.” End of quote. Academic research shows that silence in a conversation starts to feel unbearable after about four seconds. The author of the book Cringeworthy: A Theory of Awkwardness, Melissa Dahl, wrote in an article that awkward silences can be a powerful tool in getting what you want.

Dahl stated, and I quote: In researching my new book, Cringeworthy, which is about the psychology of discomfort, I discovered that uncertainty is a major factor in how unpleasant it is to feel uncomfortable. These are unexpected moments in life, where there is no clear indication of what to say or do next. It is a well-established finding in psychology research that not knowing tends to make people uneasy. End of quote. So the uncertainty caused by such silences in conversations makes people uneasy. I said something wrong? Does this person dislike me? What will happen next? And so, the person receiving the silence can proceed to make any decision just to end the worry of the uncertain gap in communication.

And this decision could be beneficial for the person brave enough to remain silent at the right time. Another benefit of being silent during conversations is that it is safer than talking. In some situations, anything we say weakens our position. For example, if we are part of a conversation about a topic about which we know nothing. In such cases, it is more powerful to listen: not only because listening gives us the opportunity to learn, but also because we do not make fools of ourselves by trying to appear knowledgeable when we are not. Additionally, being silent shows that we are interested and willing to listen, which people generally appreciate.

The Roman writer Publilius Syrus once said: “I often regret having spoken; “I have never been silent.” (4) Silence improves well-being. How can one take refuge from a noisy world and a noisy intellect? Countless experiences of many different people over the centuries tell us that silence helps us calm our busy minds. A significant body of research suggests that silence relaxes the mind, improves sleep, and decreases insomnia. Additionally, one study found that two minutes of silence has a more calming effect than listening to relaxing music. Other studies show that exposure to environmental noise increases stress hormone levels and can cause alterations in sleep structure. “Unnecessary noise is the cruelest inattention that can be inflicted on people, healthy or sick,” wrote Florence Nightingale, English social reformer and founder of modern nursing.

In an article in Psychology Today, author George Michelsen Foy tells us that we have learned to tolerate noise and see it as a positive thing in our modern society. The noise means the machines are running; All the technologies we have created are in operation. But by tolerating this noise, “we make a serious mistake,” according to Foy. Noise kills, and that excessive input causes real harm and is detrimental to our ability to function – an argument supported by a wealth of studies. Therefore, to escape the harmful flow of information and noise, we need to incorporate silence into our lives.

Moments of silence improve well-being and overall performance. I quote: What I really long for here is liberation, and liberation comes from emptiness. The emptiness of silence, of lonely landscapes, of closed eyes, of lying in a dark and silent room. The drop in tension that occurs when we go on vacation to a quiet place, the moment of zero gravity during orgasm, the psychic leap of a good joke when it turns the world upside down for a fraction of a second. That void cuts off the constant fascist flow of information and allows us to recalibrate. To think better.

Question, for a second, our baseline. It's really very important to do that. End of quote. The silence is minimalist and empty, but imposing and powerful. We cannot verbalize the silence, but everyone understands it. It encompasses everything: mysterious but clear, reassuring but painful, idle but useful, conscious but rebellious and elusive but accessible to anyone. Thanks for watching.