Silent Night

It’s my favorite Christmas song.  “All is calm.  All is bright.”  I can find it difficult at times to “live” the lyrics.  The unexpected, unwanted happens.  I can be anything but calm and looking at things as being bright. I have found is useful to pick a “Word of the Year” each January to focus on.  Past words have been “empathy”, “peace”, and “abundance”.  

My word for 2024:   SILENCE.  I’m like most.  It can be difficult to silence my left brain with all its continuous chatter of thoughts of the past or concerns about the future. Today we are so connected, it takes a concentrated effort to shut off all the past/future circuitry and engage the present moment neuronal pathways. And be honest with me now… How many of you have engaged in a conversation where you were so busy thinking about what you needed to say that you weren’t truly present to what the other person was even saying?  We can all find ourselves “guilty” of getting ready for the reply rather than just being silent and absorbed in the now.  

The Good News:   We all have these circuits of awareness available to us!  When I’m in my emotional and thinking right brain, I’m not concerned about the past or future worries and fears.  I’m not judging myself, others, or events.  I’m free of my attachments to my B S - - my Belief System.  It’s a beautiful place.

The Problem:  We can all find ourselves addicted to thoughts of the past (victim, self-pity status) or of how the future may unfold (fear mongering).  This is anything but silence!  So many before us have stated it eloquently:

• Blaise Paschal:  All men’s miseries arise from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.  
• Lao Tzu:  Silence is the great revelation.
• Albert Einstein:  Problems cannot be solved with the same level of thinking that created them. 

The Answer:  Neuroscientists and neuroanatomists are now better able to localize the origin of our thoughts and emotions.  There are parts of our emotional and thinking brain where the programming started as soon as we were born.  That’s not a bad thing.  We learned how to walk, talk, eat with a fork, get dressed, etc., etc.  The question for all of us:  What programming have we been wired to accept that is NOT serving us well?  It could be the programming of fear, judgement, inadequacy, failure, not accepted / loved enough, don’t have enough, not good enough.

My brain is like my computer.  There are programs on my computer available to me that I’m not using which would help me tremendously in being more productive and creative.  In the case of my brain computer, there are programs that create understanding, peace, joy, abundance, and love even in unwanted, unexpected situations.  This circuitry has always been there.  We were born with it.  It’s underutilized.  It’s where we understand such dictums as “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in all circumstances give thanks.”  We have the potential to literally become unflappable.  

HOW?  We have to routinely seek silence, shut down the electronics, and turn off the movies which keep replaying the past or stressing over the future.  We enter a state of gratitude for all life events.  Doing so, it’s easier to envision the opportunities in our perceived obstacles.  We are whole.  We are limitless.  We are enough.  We have enough.  We are living WELL aware.

Merry Christmas!  Wishing you an upcoming year of abundance, peace, and joy.  ONWARD!