SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE:

The sound of rainfall!

It is sweet music that helps us to slow down, relax and reflect. Our mood naturally tends to become more leisurely and peaceful.

These ordinary sounds are harder to hear these days. Trucks emptying trash bins, leaf blowers, car alarms and helicopters have become our “soundscape.”

Our culture is saturated with overhead announcements, elevator music, TV and computer programs as well as the incessant noise from cellphone ringing and loud conversations.

The quantity and volume of sounds have escalated dramatically in our lifetimes. Silence was once our “default” option. If someone wanted music, news or entertainment, he or she turned on a radio, TV or record player.

But if we want silence now, we will need to create times and places to enjoy silence. There is a movement underway to manage “sound pollution” near wilderness areas. How will we manage our homes and leisure time?

I recommend a periodic “fast” from technology, whether it is for a walk on the beach, an evening or an entire day.

No phone calls, e-mail, TV or other distractions. In college communication classes, students are assigned to spend a week without media to raise their awareness about its role in their lives. We should take responsibility for our uses of audio-visual devices and become more aware about the ways that they may erode the quality of our lives.

Taking time for regular meditation, prayer or reflection are all at the heart of the world’s religious traditions. In silence, we can hear what is most important. We get in touch with ourselves but also with the very sources of our life.

When we are “on call,” we dull our ability to listen and eventually cut ourselves off from the life larger than our egos. We can learn to still our minds to hear what lies beyond them. With time and patience, any uneasiness and anxiety, and the urge to stay busy do subside. In that silence, we will be nourished and inspired.

DEBORAH BARRETT is a minister and teacher at the Zen Center of Orange County in Costa Mesa. The Zen Center offers an afternoon workshop every month for those, regardless of faith affiliation, who wish to learn to meditate.