Ringing in the New Year in Silence, Simplicity and Joy

Instead of celebrating and partying with the usual aches and discomfort the next day, why not be in the perfect stillness and let the peace and quiet bring its special presence into our lives?
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This New Year's Eve, let's ring in the New Year with silence. If we give ourselves silence, simplicity and joy will follow. Instead of celebrating and partying with the usual aches and discomfort the next day, why not be in the perfect stillness and let the peace and quiet bring its special presence into our lives?

There is something better than sheer determination to make our intentions come true. There is something more than willpower to bring our goals into the world. There are inner resources we rarely tap into that connect us to our higher selves, the greater self that is within us all. In the silence we can affirm these inner resources as we explore the home of our true potentiality. What better way to support our dreams and better self for 2013 than an evening in the wholeness of silence?

Silence carves out a space within us. At first, we may be uncomfortable, needing to be doing something, wanting to be entertained. But as we simply enjoy the stillness, we find its peace and quiet sinking into us. The peace helps us make peace with our complicated lives. The quiet refreshes our awareness, awakening us to this moment. Now, this night, we are with the wholeness in the silence, and this wholeness is inside of us.

If we can let go into the quietude, the silence gently melts our noisy thoughts. The silence can melt years of noise that has accumulated and settled into our bones. These bones of ours hold more than the story of our lives, they also hold parts of us that we are not aware of. Inside each of us there is a body of inner silence. Our bodies are home to love's body, an inner reservoir of unlimited spirit and joy.

The secret of silence is to make our thoughts a little less and feel our heart a little more. When our self-importance decreases, another part of us opens. The silence enters here. When we are less busy with our wishes and worries, the perfect stillness slows and softens our personality, bringing us deeper inside. Here, our awareness rediscovers our spirit. The silence has merged with our heart. Our spirit soars in the silence. All of us have had dreams where we can fly with little effort. These dreams reveal another part of us, when our normal mental world is not weighing us down. Spirit, flying, silence are all part of our unlimited heart of being.

As we give ourselves to simple peace and quiet, we can discover a multitude of life-giving qualities. We are not thinking about silence but being in the silence of our hearts. We surrender a little, and our heart says "yes." As this "yes" grows within us, solitude may be growing with it. We may come by a feeling of great generosity. Or maybe we uncover noiselessness, tranquility, simplicity, or harmony. Maybe there is no other way to describe what we find in our hearts than perfect joy. An experience of emptiness can lay right next to a feeling of fullness, trust, and gratitude. There are no boundaries or limit to the landscape of our inner life, the life of silence and our heart living together. God, life, love, joy are all expressions of something too great for words, something that comes out of the silence within us.

We don't want to get busy thinking about our experience. The key is not to analyze, expect, or try to make something happen. Let's give ourselves the opportunity for our heart and the silence to find their own magical union. In the truth of our heart, there is nothing to fear. Let's put our arms around the silence and feel the arms of silence around us. Together, we are in the intimacy of the moment, the intimacy of life. What better way to begin the new year?

A full and strong inner life inspires and strengthens our intentions and goals in our daily life. Knowing inner silence reminds us of our greater self, regardless of the circumstances of our outer world. It's time to take a new look at our priorities, activities, and relationships. What is a distraction and only serves to keep us busy? Where is there great heart in our life? What truly nourishes us and others? Imagine if we had a daily practice of receiving the silence of our hearts, our inner wholeness.

Every time our awareness, heart, and silence come together, we are entering a new frontier. We are uncovering more of our true nature. In these moments, everything good is with us. There is a reservoir of pure presence in each of us. The silence unveils this in us. We are ringing in the new year. The quietude is full of our potentiality. Life is full of possibility. May we all enjoy more silence, simplicity, and joy! Happy New Year!

For more by Bruce Davis, Ph.D., click here.

For more on emotional wellness, click here.

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