When was the last time you sat in complete silence?
No phone. No videos. No TikTok. No music. No podcasts.
Just you and the silence (or the gentle hum of background noise).
Silence reaches out to us, but few return its messages.
It's deafening these days when it finally appears.
Instead, we fill every spare moment with noise, content, entertainment and juicy distraction.
Quiet moments seem bleak, frightening even.
But silence doesn't have to be some prickly thing that sends you running.
It may just be where wisdom hides.
When I take a moment to let the world around me settle, and I enter the deep pool of silence:
Solutions to challenging problems appear. Creativity flutters into existence. Anxiety dissolves in the light of silence.
Here's how to bring more silence into your life without it feeling like a chore:
Take silent walks, especially in nature. Keep your phone on aeroplane mode but handy - your best insights will come when you're moving.
Create a morning ritual before the world wakes up. Even 10 minutes of quiet can reset your entire day. Keep a notebook nearby for quick-fire note-taking.
Drive without the radio sometimes. Use voice notes to capture ideas that surface.
Take long baths or showers.
Sit in your garden or on your balcony. Just watch, listen, and jot down what comes up.
Cook without background noise. Make it a moving meditation. Some of your clearest thoughts will come while chopping vegetables.
Exercise without music occasionally. Feel your body's natural rhythm. Your mind often solves problems when your body is in motion.
Clean your house in silence. Notice how your thoughts settle. Some of my best ideas came while doing dishes.
Walk to places you usually drive to. Use the extra time for mental space and insight-catching.
Eat one meal a day in complete silence without distraction. Taste your food fully. Let your mind wander.
These are all silence-cultivation habits and can change your life in just a few minutes per day.
(If you have more ideas, share them below.)
Creating more intimacy with silence will make you more creative, patient, calm and resilient.
Silence may be the secret ally you've been searching for all along.
Want to discover more about how you can quickly heal your mind with an absence of high-volume thinking?
Learn more about the Untethered Mind course here.
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Started forcing myself to go on walks without headphones in. I got used to having to multitask - walking and listening to a podcast or audible. Now it feels good just being completely in nature.
The sauna or a cold plunge.
I love to eat and eating is my favorite vessel to arriving in the moment- if done without distractions, as it engages many of your senses.