How Powerful Can Silence Be?

 

HOW POWERFUL CAN SILENCE BE?  Five years back WHEN we all got hit by that Covid-19 Pandemic, HOW often did we hear "I'M SO TIRED" but during those times, burnout and its long-lasting impact on our health really spiked all over.  And even the lines between WORK and PLAY became so blurred.  True, our increasingly noisy [and rowdy] world has been linked to even those cardivascular diseases, anxiety and depression.  BUT that's NOT the only reason we need more peace and quite in our lives💚💛💜

Of all the researches with SILENCE as the subject, that study from the University of Pavia seems more interesting because it revealed HOW much our body + brain both appreciated SILENCE.  The researchers investigated HOW different types of music [from classical to techno, raggae to rap] affected those 'markers of stress' [and surprisingly, including blood pressure, heart rate and breathing frequency💥💥💥

In our world today, SILENCE is often [and WRONGLY!!!] seen as an emptiness to be filled.  To piggy-back on some poetic one-liners, SILENCE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF SOMETHING OF SOMETHING BUT THE PRESENCE OF EVERYTHING.  Immersing myself in SILENCE, I have to admit that I have found NOT less BUT more.  And lowering the decibel level outside my skull has also turned up the volume from within, WHEN I can FINALLY hear myself think.  YES dude, that's HOW POWERFUL SILENCE CAN [really] BE😀😀😀

Here's the thing.  That notion of SILENCE as a presence [rather than as an ABSENCE] ISN'T just some airy-fairy stuff in the air.  Researchers have presented proofs that our brains perceive it that way.  A more recent study from John Hopkins University found that our brain processes SILENCE in EXACTLY the same way as it processes all the forms and shapes of sounds, as an 'EVENT'.  In short, SILENCE is NOT just inferred from a lack of 'auditory input BUT actually perceived.  In a poetic way, a researcher said it all:  "WE REALLY DO HEAR SILENCE".  Scientifically, experts tell us that there is evidence that attending to SILENCE can promote 'neurogenesis', that creation of new brain cells [in that part of our brain called 'hippocampus'].   In short, a completely SILENT environment would have been just as remarkable to our forebears💚💛💜

Our takeaway:  As I go through composing our blog today, my place is quiet.  YES, there is that soft whirr of my laptop [probably it's the fan whirring], the sound of my own inhalations and exhalations.  These are all sounds that would slip below the radar amid all the cacophony of everyday noise.  Would it matter if they did?  Arguably, researchers advise us that those faint sounds are the most important for our well-being as we evolve to have that incredibly auditory sensitivity.  BUT here's the awakening reality I myself uncorked after stumbling across those researches.  That is, IF we never step away from the hubbub, we'll never give our own selves that elusive opportunity to listen to SILENCE and find out WHAT it holds for us.  To quote the poets, TO LISTEN, YOU HAVE TO BE QUIET.  Well said, dude, right???