Perfect Poise, Perfect Life
Bring your body into balance and revolutionise your life
By Noel Kingsley
Publisher Hodder Mobius
AVAILABLE HERE

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Noise, problems and finding our own Quiet inside

The banging has stopped, no clanging of metal, no shouting of "Hey", "Right" "Pass it here", "Hang on". The scaffolders outside our offices have a momentary pause in assembling the structure that will obliterate the view from the window of my Alexander Technique practice for the next few months of 'essential refurbishment work'. It's raining again so all is quiet, apart from the pitter-patter of rain drops that have no hurry or haste about them, and bring a sense of peace that is probably only surpassed by falling snow. A few months from now and we'll see if Britain's new monsoon season gives way to traditional weather. As one of my clients said, "On the continent they have 'climates' but in the UK we have 'weather'!" And don't we just!

So in this momentary pause in external noise we find peace in central London, where traffic noise does not penetrate the areas behind buildings, and it is not yet 9.00am. So a rare silence hangs in the air and I think how wonderful such a natural experience is? How gloriously precious a bit of peace and quiet can be. When familiar noise abates and we discover the 'lack of noise', it is almost something in itself. 'No noise' is not a vacuum of nothingness, but almost an entity we can grasp, the platform on which selective sound can be presented, listened to, enjoyed and appreciated. 'No noise' is a worthy commodity that we should all have, as nature would have intended. it brings peace to the soul. It is our birthright, and for all of us to rediscover.

But on reflection, noise is all (mostly) on the outside of us. We are not aware of our own internal bodily sounds of heart beating, breathing and digestion, so any noise that we do perceive is outside. And it is possible to find a silence within us, even with external noise pervading our environment. By 'stopping' and centring we can give ourselves a moment space to rediscover the quietness within. It's not about 'blocking out' other noise, but just ignoring it to focus on the peace within. It's heaven. The no-stress, calm and quietness that we can find if we stop and just listen without thinking of other things can be an oasis of tranquility, an island to find sanctuary, a place that's private, safe, secure and unpenetrated by external, unwanted stimuli. We all have this place within, if we choose to discover it. Stopping to give ourselves this time and opportunity to experience our inner quiet can help us cope with life.

Dealing with problems can be a similar thing. Most of us have to deal with difficult situations during the day and usually these are outwith our own bodies. But it is so easy to internalise these problems so they affect us, causing us to stiffen up, tense our necks, hold our breath, interfere with digestion and cause stress. The problem that was outside of us has managed to infiltrate our system and now we're feeling it inside. But that late report, damaged goods, staff problem, blocked drain, cancelled train, aggressive boss are all outside of us still. For me, I had a good breakfast this morning, thank you. I slept well, my back feels good, I had a lovely shower this morning and hey, I'm feeling good. Now let's deal with the problem, or let's deal with this opportunity that dresses itself like a problem. But let's keep it well and truly on the desk or outside and not let it inside. Thank you.

It's good to stop, centre ourselves, make sure we're breathing, have a glass of water and remember, we're fine. It's quiet inside here. Those problems are not inside me, but outside and that is where they stay. As I'm well, fed and rested, I'm in a pretty good state to do a good job on them. But if I let them 'inside of me', I'll not be able to cope as well.

It's good to remember who we are.......and I'm having a good, fun, quiet day, thank you very much, dispite the clanging noises that have just begun again. I hope you do too.

:-)

Posted by Noël on October 24, 2006 9:00 AM | Permalink