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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Sound of silence
Castelnou, Roussillon, France
My hand automatically reached out to put on the radio as usual in the kitchen at 5.45am this morning. It's something I always do, just as automatically filling my bowl of cornflakes or porridge in winter. But after a minute or two I wondered why it was on at all, as I wasn't listening to it; So off it went.
It's been my good fortune to have had six days in the south of France, staying in the remote hilltop medieval village of Castelnou with steep cobbled streets, full-bloom roses and geraniums on balconies and partially enclosed with a 11th century fortified wall. There are so many birds it's like being in an aviary except the views extend to snow capped Pyrenees mountains to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the dogs sleep in the centre of the road and the lazy cats watch the birds. There are no tourists at this time of year, just the smell of jasmine, lavendar, warm sunshine and silence. This is what we experienced for six whole days, without music and without radios or TV. We did have a TV in our room and I had taken my IPod with me too....but they remained off.
Listening to silence can be deafening. When there are no obvious sounds and within the quietness you can begin to hear many things that just go unnoticed. The whisper of the wind and rustling leaves. There are bird songs, the click of crickets and chimes of distant bells. Occasionally a car or bike will pass but they are gone as quickly as they came, leaving this open and wide expanse of views to rustle and simmer in their own unhurried way. There is just so much to hear if we pause and listen, yet nothing if our ears are closed.
Closing one's ears is what can happen in London. There are so many noises of domesticity, commerce and traffic, and then we add the radio, the TV, the IPod to 'entertain' us and block out the unwanted noises with our own 'sounds', yet we are probably thinking of something else completely, so even our 'music' is unnoticed; it's just more background noise that assaults our senses. By shutting out sounds we deaden our awareness, dull our senses so we 'hear' nothing. The cacophony of sounds is the environment of normal city life. But take all this away and we're left with much gentler experiences. In the absence of noise, even the smallest sounds become apparent. There is a simplicity and non-stress about listening to nothing, about living in the moment, enjoying the peace, as peace can be such a rare commodity.
Peace is what I had this morning, before I put on the radio which I did not listen to. I heard it, but I was not listening. Noise we hear.....but listening brings an involvement of attention. If we are not listening, then the sounds, even music, is just noise.
When I have music, I like to listen to it with the regard and attention that one may give if we were asked a question and were required to reply. This to me, is listening. If I am not listening, then the sounds are unwelcome. Noise pollution abounds in the city, it surrounds our society so it permeates every nook and cranny of our existence.
Having just returned from hilltop villages where only birds and crickets break the silence, I feel more inclined to choose my sounds. And if I'm not listening to the radio, off it goes. And with the peace and tranquility comes quiet happiness and contentment. It's a no-stress environment, an empty void into which one can choose whatever sound we like. And into this space of no-sound, I can now switch on the radio......and listen.
