BlogHer - meditation - Comments

Sort of silence.

L16 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:16:07 -0500

A form of silence I love is the silence at a sporting event when national anthems are played. I am always called to say a prayer of gratitude for being healthy, wealthy (relatively speaking) and free when I hear an anthem. I hope that schools and sports never give up this ritual of playing the national anthem.

With respect to 9/11 I'm not sure if it's because I'm older now or what but it seems to affect me more as time goes on. Not in an angry way, but in a love of country way. I am thinking of all Americans today, and the service men and women of the many countries who serve(d) in the combat resulting from this tragedy. God Bless them all.

Thank you for these connections

paulag01 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:22:24 -0500

Thank you pookielocks and pgohn for these beautiful connections and thoughts.

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

http://www.thepaulagcompany.com

Learn 5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom (free)

A great post that reminds me of

pgohn — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:12:46 -0500

the great Christian mystics through history. Their spiritual method, that is still at work in the lives of many people today, is finding God as the "still small voice" that speaks to us in silence.

In terms of 9/11, I found that event to be a deep call to prayer -- for one another and the world. And today is a day for remembering and honoring those who perished in that tragedy.

Pat Gohn

My blog, "Among Women" is here: http://amongwomenpodcast.blogspot.com

Eerie Silences: 9/11 & visiting a concentration camp

pookielocks — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 08:35:11 -0500

The only other time I experienced such a silence was when I visited Dachau concentration camp the day after my 18th birthday. The silence is what I remember in both cases.

www.shebecameabutterfly.net and www.msmodern.com and www.taking-back-control.com

Silence is golden

Candelaria Silva — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 21:31:28 -0500

but someone else said that before me. Such an important post!

I attended a training given by a non-profit in Boston a few years ago that was held at a retreat center at an Episcopal Nun's residence in Roxbury. They provided lunch on one of the days we were there but it was a silent lunch. For 45 minutes, we ate in a silence which was broken only by the songs of the birds in their aviary. From then on, I have sought times for silence in my life. Silence brings rest which is essential to healing,

Thanks for this post.

http://blog.candelarisilva.com

Good and plenty!

Silence as sacred

paulag01 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:08:52 -0500

Perhaps the silence association with death is not so much because of death or horrific things, but because it brings us closer to what is sacred.

I certainly don't have the answers...but that is what spoke to me when I read your words Flightkeeper. Thanks for sharing them.

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

http://www.thepaulagcompany.com

Learn 5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom (free)

Thanks for your comment.

paulag01 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:07:36 -0500

Thanks for your kind words....and taking time to share them.

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

http://www.thepaulagcompany.com

Learn 5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom (free)

Perhaps there is quiet in there somewhere...

paulag01 — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 16:06:50 -0500

I have a great colleague who specializes in inter-generational effectiveness.. and I always catch myself now when I go writing off the younger generation... they are just doing it their way. That being said, I do hope they find their own ways of looking within, no matter how that silence or quiet space looks...

Paula Gregorowicz
The Paula G Company

http://www.thepaulagcompany.com

Learn 5 Steps to Move from Fear to Freedom (free)

Living in a big city

Flightkeeper — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:55:14 -0500

that was affected by September 11, silence was associated with death. It was most unnatural and signaled a horrific event had occurred.

I'm afraid there's silence at Beslan too where the remnants of a school still lies.

(My blogs are http://flightkeeper.blogspot.com and http://cutefuncool.blogspot.com)

Lovely piece, Paula. This is

avflox — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:23:22 -0500

Lovely piece, Paula. This is a very sound, very needed suggestion.

Silence is getting lost in the noise

Beverly Flaxington — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:53:05 -0500

I couldn't agree with you more. I often worry about this next generation coming up -- it seems they never sit without ear buds, or the cell phone. No time for listening to that "small, still voice" that often tells us exactly what we need to know!

Beverly Flaxington

Blog: Dealing with Difficult People

Book: Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets

Thanks!

Romancing_the_stone — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:08:29 -0500

http://romancingthestone.wordpress.com

Hi, Lovely blog. Thanks for the insight.

I've read elsewhere that

LMAshton — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 01:36:20 -0500

I've read elsewhere that singing also lowers blood pressure. Not sure why that happens, either, but it makes sense to me - I get light-headed when I screech (I don't actually sound good enough to call it singing. :D)

I appreciate your response. I've decided that, for now at least, it's not something I'll try. If/when the low blood pressure thing is under control, I'll revisit it for pain control issues.

It appears, at this point, that there's a significant possibility that my low blood pressure, along with a lot of other symptoms, is likely an autonomic dysfunction and possible treated by pharmaceuticals. I've tried increasing salt and liquid intake, but while there's been improvement, it's not enough. But then, my symptoms were pretty severe to start with, so it's not surprising that I didn't see total improvement. :) I'm trying to locate a neurologist who specializes in autonomic dysfunction...

I just about doubled my consumption of salt a little over a year ago when the husband and I caught chikungunya. Odd little virus that has, as one of its side effects with some people, salt craving and the inability to tell how much salt is normal. We thought my cooking tasted fine, but no one else could eat it because it was too salty. I was banished from adding salt to the food when the relatives were over. Quite funny! :D But even then, no, blood pressure still too low and giving me bad side effects.

A blood pressure monitor is a good idea. I'm not sure if I'll be able to find one here, but I know some people who will know, so I'll look into it. Thanks for the suggestion. And yeah, I babble too much...

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate | A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court | LMAshton on Twitter

Hi Laurie...

Catherine Morgan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:11:24 -0500

Hi Laurie.

I'm not certain why this exercise reduces blood pressure, but I think most of the yoga breathing exercise do. For me that's a big benefit because I have high blood pressure and a high heart rate. However, if you are struggling with low blood pressure, then I would avoid these types of exercise for now (unless you specifically ask your doctor and he/she says it is ok).

As a side note: Most of my life I had low blood pressure (although always with a high heart rate). Medications never helped me increase by blood pressure (mainly because of the side effects), what my doctor ended up recommending was using a healthy dose of salt on my food, and when my blood pressure was very low eat a very salty snack (like popcorn or chips). This worked for many years. And then out of the blue, in my mid thirties, my blood pressure did a total flip and was mostly high (apparently because I have a rare type of blood pressure problem). So now I avoid salt as much as I can.

You probably already do this, but I would recommend you monitor your own blood pressure at home and keep a record of it. This can be helpful for both you and your doctor to recognize what's working and what's not.

Thanks for your comment.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
at Catherine-Morgan.com and Women4Hope

So as I'm re-reading the

LMAshton — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:09:46 -0500

So as I'm re-reading the above article and reading through the links in the article, I see that one of the "benefits" is that the humming lowers blood pressure. I put benefits in quotes because it's all a matter of perspective - lowering my blood pressure, for example, would be a very bad idea. Matter of fact, I have to take specific actions to raise my blood pressure to safe levels and, well, still don't entirely succeed all the time.

While I saw the lowering blood pressure bit the first time through, it didn't occur to me until this reread that it's not clear whether lowering the blood pressure happens automatically as a byproduct of humming, or if it's with specific humming techniques, or if that only happens some of the time.

My question is this - are there specific techniques that cause the lowering of blood pressure, or is it inherent in all of these humming exercises? If there is a specific technique, would you please let me know what it is so I can avoid it?

I'm still trying to determine if this is something that is actually safe for me to do.

Thanks!

Laurie in Sri Lanka

Chilli & Chocolate

A Canadian in King Parakramabahu's Court
LMAshton on Twitter