I believe it’s possible for everyone to discover this silence within themselves. It is there all the time, even when we are surrounded by constant noise.
Erling Kagge
These words invite us to investigate silence: what is this place of silence? How can we encounter this silence within that persists regardless of the noise around us?
Silence is essential to the practice of meditation and takes on various forms, such as the appeasement of our mind, which comes when we rest, pause, lay down our arms, and take a break from chasing illusions and from endless worries.
Where are you running to? Do you not know that heaven[1] is within you?
When there is nothing left, there is only love.
[1] ‘Ciel’ in French can be translated as ‘heaven’, or ‘sky’ depending on context
Inspired by these quotations Danis Bois unfolded the meditation to bring us towards the silence within, the heaven/sky within and the love within:
- To practise silence, we need first to choose a place to meditate that is calm, quiet and silent, then to lower our eyelids, settle into a motionless posture and take the decision to remain silent. (Body stillness participates in the quality of the silence).
- Selecting from the sound atmosphere around us what fosters calm, in order to gradually distance ourselves from disruptive noises.
- Finding our own place of silence: our breath becomes discreet, our heart slows, our body becomes stable in its stillness and our mind becomes peaceful.
- Adjusting our attention: if too focused, our perceptual field will be limited so we go into presence through open attention.
- Using the metaphor of the sky and the mountain to amplify the perception of space
- Directing our gaze towards the interiority of our body, to focus on the slow and deep motion of the inner movement.
- Using the metaphor of inner dance, a dance invisible for some and visible for others, the qualities of the heart awaken, it is the place of inner love.
Ultimately :
When there are no more external noises, no more agitation around us, no more chaos in our heads, no more emotional charge in our heart, no more dissatisfaction or expectations, what then remains is an inner dance, a fragrance of love and the impression of an infinite sky.
Danis Bois
The sky is blue, as it is within you also
The sky is infinite, as it is within you also
The sky is eternal, as a part of you is also
The sky protects us, it is within us Faced with this beauty, all we can do is remain silent. This is the silence of meditation
Danis Bois
Danis Bois, Doctor of Education, has been meditating for over 40 years and is co-author of the book “La méditation pleine présence, les 7 voies d’accès à la chaleur humaine” Eyrolles. Danis Bois leads a weekly meditation open to all people interested in meditation, and whose general theme, this quarter, is about “meditate on line with Danis Bois”
