All profound things and emotions of things are preceded and attended in silence. -Herman Melville We live in a loud and noisy world. If you live in a city you constantly hear traffic, people, airplanes, ambulances/fire trucks, and music on car stereos. In addition, many people listen to music or podcasts while commuting or exercising. and have music, news or TVs on while at home, also spending time watching all kinds of videos. When external sounds are minimal our minds will often pick up the slack with runaway thoughts and mental scenarios. Some people are very sensitive to sound and make space for quiet or silence. Yet a majority of people find silence uncomfortable, preferring the distractions of multiple forms of entertainment and information most of the time. This week I came across an interesting article on Twitter titled Science says Silence is Much More Important to our Brains than we Think, by Rebecca Beris at www.lifehack.org. Research confirms that our brains need silence to not only regenerate physically but also to process and internalize information, conncect to ourselves and the world, and to reduce stress and tension. The research shows that silence is even better for these brain tasks than soothing music or sounds. Might it be time to begin spending some time in silence, exploring your comfort ( or discomfort) with silence?
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AuthorPeggy Handler, MFT, is a psychotherapist in San Francisco's Noe Valley Archives
December 2020
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