How did you “silence inventory” go?  What did you find out about silence in your days?  Does it appear anyplace?  Do you seek it?  Do you avoid it?

If you haven’t taken some time to consider if silence is part of your day, I encourage you to stop now and think about that.

If it is not enough in your days and you want to make it part of your days, where do you begin?  What are the even small things you can do to bring silence into your life?

Do you go for a walk anytime in your day?  What do you do while you are walking?  To you listen to a radio or mp3 player while you walk?  Turn it off.  Instead of listening to “something” hear the sounds the around you.  The cars going by, the wind, the birds and animals, your own breath, your heartbeat.

Do you commute to work in your car?  Try not tuning on the radio or cd player.  Hear what is there already.

Do you exercise at home or in the gym?  Is the TV or radio or music on?  Again,  turn that off and hear what is there.

When you want to take a few minutes to sit down and rest what is the first thing you do?  Turn on the TV, get a newspaper, a magazine, a book?  Why not sit down and not put something in your hands?

By intentionally not “filling” these times, you can begin to open the time to silence.  By becoming aware of the sounds already there, you begin to “give up” putting something more in the space and accept the space, the time as it is.

How many times today can you open the door to silence?