It is said that silence is golden and the mother of all meditations. Generally, people find it hard to maintain silence even for a few minutes. The moment they sit in silence, they are flooded with thoughts, which hampers peaceful meditation.
Laughter deepens the silence, and silence deepens laughter.
This is where the practice of unconditional laughter can help clear your mind of unwanted mental clutter, allowing you to experience deep silence. Once you practice silence, laughter will flow out of you like a fountain—deep and intense. This is what we call Laughter Meditation.
Stages of Silence
- Silence of the Body: It is said that stillness of the body is stillness of the mind. In fact, if you observe some people when they are lost in their thoughts, their bodies are often in motion. There is a certain restlessness in the body due to a stream of uneasy thoughts flowing through their minds.
Since the body and mind are connected, bringing stillness to the body can bring stillness to the mind. By changing bodily behavior, one can change the state of the mind. Silence is the perfect tool to achieve this, and the best way to silence your body is to put your mind and awareness into the body, scanning through it as we do in the practice of yoga nidra. When the mind is engaged in observing sensations in different parts of the body, it cannot think, and there will be no thoughts. This is the easiest way to silence the body.
- Verbal Silence: Humans are social animals and love to interact with others. But when we become too caught up in the outer world of gossip, unnecessary thoughts, and agitation, it generates a great deal of negative emotions and feelings. Excessive talking and interaction take attention away from the inner self, and this constant process of action and reaction hinders mental and spiritual growth.
Silence proves to be a great solution to this perpetual problem as it leads to self-knowledge. The moment we decide not to speak, it becomes easier to focus on our thoughts and embark on a journey of self-introspection. Practicing verbal silence helps you get to know yourself, makes you a better listener, and teaches you more about others. You can develop better relationships and avoid unnecessary gossip, which often leads to conflict. Verbal silence can be observed even in the presence of others, simply by choosing not to speak much and listening more actively.
- Mental Silence: Another way of practicing silence is to be alone and spend time with yourself. In fact, all great thinkers and philosophers have created their best work in solitude. This technique is especially relevant today as it helps you disconnect from other people, the stress of the outer world, and material distractions, all of which make the mind restless.
In solitude, you enter an introspective mood, getting to know your true self. Realizations about yourself and your relationships become clearer. In the privacy of silence, you can hear your own voice without contamination from the voices of others. You stop being the “doer” and begin observing life in a dispassionate way. Most answers to your problems come through silence. Better ideas, valuable insights, creative thoughts, and beliefs are the positive outcomes of spending some time in quietude. It makes one a better person and develops the ability to cope with life’s challenges in a more thoughtful way. It brings a sense of calm as you learn to stop and think before reacting, thus increasing self-worth and bringing inner satisfaction.
What You Will Learn from Laughter & Silence
- Reducing the Number of Thoughts: The purpose of any meditation is to reduce the number of thoughts in the mind. If you examine the quality of these thoughts, most of them are negative because we experience more negative situations than positive ones in life. For example, our minds are constantly bombarded with negative information every day through media and other sources, generating a chain of unconstructive thoughts that make us fearful and agitated. We need a few hours of silence to contemplate and organize our thoughts into a positive and coherent viewpoint.
- Focus and Concentration: As a young student, I experimented with a magnifying lens, focusing sunlight onto a piece of paper and watching with amazement as it burned. Such is the power of the human mind: if it focuses on something specific, it can create wonders.
Jumping haphazardly from one thing to another, without reaching your goals, is the result of an unfocused mind. Learning to focus and direct your mental energy towards a specific area in life results in tremendous personal power and unlimited growth potential. The practice of silence unleashes your power, helping you develop focus and concentration, improving your daily efficiency, and ultimately leading to the realization of your goals.
- Contemplation: Contemplation is a form of self-dialogue and active thought process used during a silence retreat. It allows the mind to recognize its current actions and behaviors. During this process, your mind becomes more focused, enabling you to develop specific plans, strategies, and commitments for making necessary changes, thus improving the overall quality of your life.
- Mindful Awareness: The mind often slips into the past or projects into the future, avoiding the present. Since the past is gone and the future has not yet happened, how can life be enjoyed if you are not present in the moment? In silence, you learn to observe your breath, which helps bring you into the present. Focusing on your breath allows you to become one with the moment, experiencing the beauty of life as it truly exists right now.
To join free Laughter club on zoom Please click here
https://www.laughteryoga.org/zoom-laughter-club/
To learn Laughter Yoga online and become a certified leader
https://www.laughteryoga.org/online-certified-leader-training/