what is silence?

[sweetsweetmary]

Silence is waves of energy that Humans have grown to spark their anxiety issues because when one is left to reflect or think, Silence is a virtue, and should be observed and appreciated, if done in the right context, and because our DNA says that right is right and wrong is awesome, and cool. A time to recollect, a tranquil state, How life should be, And the quote you must live by is:

LIfe is more simple, not complicated...

Wanted to post this as well, from someone else

I would define silence as the end of questioning. A place and time axis where things just ARE. Where there's sound but not the kind that has to raise its decibel-head to get heard. In this arena of silence there are different frequencies, different timbres, different rhythms, different tonal qualities. Each according to its need of being. This is what I define as non-competitive sound. And this silence cannot be loud or intrusive or nauseating or distancing or uncomfortable because the perceiver of this silence is NOT hearing what he wants to hear but what IS. The qualities you mentioned are the projections of a cluttered mind. A mind that wants to see things as it sees fit and NOT as they are.


I thought the topic had promise if not just delete again...Last edited on Sat May 24th, 2008 01:03

[Lunar Loops]

SWILL once visited a monastry set on a hillside in County Waterford (for some inexplicable reason he is intrigued by monks....a strange habit you may say.....sorry poor joke). There are several chapels located in the complex of buildings and one of these requires total silence. When SWILL entered, there was nobody else in there and when the big heavy wooden doors closed behind him, he could actually 'feel' the silence. It was an incredible feeling where he could literally almost feel the silence draped over his body with some weight (but not unpleasantly so). Is SWILL making any sense at all? Possibly not, but it is an experience he will not foget (and no, he didn't feel he was in the presence of the divine).

[BuffaloBoobs]

Swim has been interested in experiencing absolute silence. Swiy reminded swim that he must swing by Minneapolis to visit Orfield Labs--'the quietest place on earth.' Of course he plans on experiencing this without the 'aid' of light.

For those interested, here's an article on Orfield Labs:
http://www.audiojunkies.com/blog/902...h-orfield-labs

[sweetsweetmary]

Silence: the physical act of believing you are in a state of no sound

2. The recognition of no sound

3. Reaching a level where different decibels of sound can be felt, by not listening to sound, all while creating a clear mind as you not clutter the silence with thoughts.

[Shampoo]

Swim spent some time in an anechoic chamber once. He could hear the movement of blood around his skull, and hear the sloshing of fluid in his ventricles. His heartbeat was loud and he could hear the stretching movement of his lungs. His inner dialouge raised to a volume of almost indescribable proportions. A truly bizarre experience. He has since been determined to return under the influence of a psychedelic magnifying glass.

[stoneinfocus]

the disappearance of your ego and physical senses, to the absolute possible maximum.

Reputation Comments on this post:

nice definition

[sweetsweetmary]

Originally Posted by Shampoo

Swim spent some time in an anechoic chamber once. He could hear the movement of blood around his skull, and hear the sloshing of fluid in his ventricles. His heartbeat was loud and he could hear the stretching movement of his lungs. His inner dialouge raised to a volume of almost indescribable proportions. A truly bizarre experience. He has since been determined to return under the influence of a psychedelic magnifying glass.

Would SWIM say that he began to hear life as how could one hear nothing since one is alive, just that life might have sounds that radiate at a different frequency like sonar.

[Shampoo]

He certainly heard the functions of life. He does not see these as the fundamental hum of electron spin or some cosmic force, but rather the mechanical whirring of a physical existence. Perhaps the noise we experience in the echoic world are partially the result of the amalgamated physical functions of life. How many decibels of sound do 6.6 billion human hearts make if simultaneously beating?

Reputation Comments on this post:

haha nice point

[sweetsweetmary]

Originally Posted by Shampoo

He certainly heard the functions of life. He does not see these as the fundamental hum of electron spin or some cosmic force, but rather the mechanical whirring of a physical existence. Perhaps the noise we experience in the echoic world are partially the result of the amalgamated physical functions of life. How many decibels of sound do 6.6 billion human hearts make if simultaneously beating?

Well on psychadelics SWIM has noticed visual beems from a tv be exactly what they are visual beems. So if the earth has a humm SWIM would say that is noise, and that noone except for the deaf can experience complete silence. But even a deaf person would have to work for it, maybe be taken into space shot out of a aircraft and clear his mind as he is floating!

[big-lester]

At my school we have completely silenced rooms (for recording music) and they say that some people can't stand the sound of complete silence. They start to hear things and they become very loud. They hear rithmes, sounds, people and frequency's.
Swim finds it very trippy to take mushrooms or other psychedelics in silent darkness. He will hear the most psychedelic music in his head and may alter it in any way he likes. I fing silence very neutral and very calming.

[Panthers007]

Deep underground in a twisting, turning, narrow-crawl-on-belly cave in upstate New York. Far from any sources of either light or sound. Not even the dripping of water from stalactites. Pure silence & zero light source. Only your own thoughts to disturb the nothingness.

Reputation Comments on this post:

mirror :-)) -I know, what you mean, bro.

[sweetsweetmary]

Originally Posted by Panthers007

Deep underground in a twisting, turning, narrow-crawl-on-belly cave in upstate New York. Far from any sources of either light or sound. Not even the dripping of water from stalactites. Pure silence & zero light source. Only your own thoughts to disturb the nothingness.

NOw this interests SWIM, SWIM has visited a cave and during the tour the lights were shut off. The tour guide said that if one were to stay in the cave for a week one would lose their mind. What is this due to. Is this due to the norm being dark and quietness and anything else is now not reality, so being put back into reality would create a doubt in the fact that it really is what it is, or is it just too many thoughts because there is nothing to do. Reminds swim of the movie with Tom Hanks when he get trapped on an island. SWIM thinks he might have had a volleyball friend too.

[stoneinfocus]

Originally Posted by stoneinfocus

the disappearance of your ego and physical senses, to the absolute possible maximum.

Yes, thanks, although I wanted to add, that one wouldnßt have to be dead to achieve this.

Silence is thus relative and it weren´t only, if the word silence wouldnßt evne exist, as it is a convention of a living, always relating part of the nature/universe, and everthing can never be complete, by the nature of this cage.

When I see a wood, which built itself up in several ten thousands of years and the corcodiles do and birds are flying throug it, like their million years old genetic code has made them, I see all the colors and feel my own gentics in resonance with things and all this sense combines in me to endless silence and the resting infinity of dark space.

Reputation Comments on this post:

Your recent posts, inc this one are not making much (if any) sense, please take more care with your posting.

[Panthers007]

Bongo recalls a time when the headmaster of his school summoned him into his office. He had, at first, been planning to yell at Bongo for his obvious experimentations (and the majority of the body of the school) with psychedelics. But several staff told him he was fucked in the head to try that. They, too, were venturing forth - or had. So...

Headmaster warned Bongo not to look into a mirror while tripping. "I used to buy sacks of Peyote through the mail back in the 1950's. And looking at yourself in a mirror was dangerous! You'll see things you're not ready to see!" Bongo tried not to chuckle and thanked him for his concern.

I think the concept of losing the mind in a place where nothing else exists is similar. Many people are not ready to see that which truly composes the human psyche. We go to Church and learn of God. We go to schools and learn of "facts" we later find to be useless - or outright lies. We go to work, and find dissatisfaction. But we are brought up to believe we are all good, God-fearing Christians here in Atheist America.

Now, in the Cave, we find for every positive is a negative. For every dream, there is a nightmare. For every wish, there is a fear. So the tour-guide may well have been doing a service to many in the group. Sensory deprivation is a psychedelic experience. Read these forums and you will find that many found out that not all is bliss deep inside. It's all or nothing.

[stoneinfocus]

I refer silence as to be in total harmony with your sourounding and your inner self.

I think inside you, it´s all fine, it´s silence, as soon as any related "outside" issue is encountered and perfectly served(=the opposite of silence, but it is silence, in a way of, like twoewaves extinguishing themselves by their amplitude).

The rational approach and experience´s use in recognizing/healing
psychological and emotional laesions, and permanently adapting to and changing, is another issue itself, can silence be had, by just turning of the noise

I´m not saying that psychedelics were the onyl way in reaching this silence and peace for some time, it´s always there, but psychedelics might give you an inside in recognizing and describing them, so what is an experience or a truth, when not recognized and can´t be described, or even recall, in any way? It´s as good as lost.

Vice Versa, one could teach oneself to recognize the silence, and use it better, experience it better.
...the fat get fatter, the slim get slimmer, the gap opens and understanding and empathy of each party diminishes, as polarisation increases- the ones in the middle, will swim in nowhereland.-And where is your silence, where is that of the conflict?

[sweetsweetmary]

Originally Posted by Panthers007

Bongo recalls a time when the headmaster of his school summoned him into his office. He had, at first, been planning to yell at Bongo for his obvious experimentations (and the majority of the body of the school) with psychedelics. But several staff told him he was fucked in the head to try that. They, too, were venturing forth - or had. So...

Headmaster warned Bongo not to look into a mirror while tripping. "I used to buy sacks of Peyote through the mail back in the 1950's. And looking at yourself in a mirror was dangerous! You'll see things you're not ready to see!" Bongo tried not to chuckle and thanked him for his concern.

I think the concept of losing the mind in a place where nothing else exists is similar. Many people are not ready to see that which truly composes the human psyche. We go to Church and learn of God. We go to schools and learn of "facts" we later find to be useless - or outright lies. We go to work, and find dissatisfaction. But we are brought up to believe we are all good, God-fearing Christians here in Atheist America.

Now, in the Cave, we find for every positive is a negative. For every dream, there is a nightmare. For every wish, there is a fear. So the tour-guide may well have been doing a service to many in the group. Sensory deprivation is a psychedelic experience. Read these forums and you will find that many found out that not all is bliss deep inside. It's all or nothing.

Wow very very interesting. Love hearing things like this. So this is what Mckenna speaks of with dark silent mushroom experiences. It's like a drug combination. SWIM has heard that silence and Ketamine can be a mind warp as well and can understand why after reading some insights. SWIM has never got down to the nitty gritty when it comes to silence and prefers music or visual stimulation and has always wondered why. Does this make SWIM less of a good person or normal? Should SWIM enjoy silence more then external stimulation? Is this an inbred instinct? And sure SWIM knows that Silence is for sure a word, and describes a thought. But aren't forums exactly that, a place to put words that describe thoughts that are supposed to be real life. Everyone knows this is all bullshit, but stimulation is key right? Maybe wrong, but what would be the point of writing anything at all if not, believe SWIM he has thought long and hard about silence and the meaning behind it and has come up with, Without silence there is no stimulation, so the word silence had to exist, but the meaning of silence is beleived, probably not lived, but the believing in living of silence is for sure to create a psychadelic experience, or at least a different one then most are used to. This reminds SWIM of Plato's writings (especially the cave)

Well I always thought this was Plato but maybe this is Stephen Dunn
He climbed toward the blinding light
and when his eyes adjusted
he looked down and could see

his fellow prisoners captivated
by shadows; everything he had believed
was false. And he was suddenly

in the 20th century, in the sunlight
and violence of history, encumbered
by knowledge. Only a hero

would dare return with the truth.
So from the cave's upper reaches,
removed from harm, he called out

the disturbing news.
What lovely echoes, the prisoners said,
what a fine musical place to live.

He spelled it out, then, in clear prose
on paper scraps, which he floated down.
But in the semi-dark they read his words

with the indulgence of those who seldom read:
It's about my father's death, one of them said.
No, said the others, it's a joke.

By this time he no longer was sure
of what he'd seen. Wasn't sunlight a shadow too?
Wasn't there always a source

behind a source? He just stood there,
confused, a man who had moved
to larger errors, without a prayer.

So anyway confusion comes with change, confusion can bring insanity (as we know it) and life is life. Silence and all. But one question SWIM would love to end with is, when sleeping is silence observed. Is this what creates lucid dreaming? SWIM would love to know if the brain can litteraly shut down outside stimuli while sleeping and create the psychadelic silence which in turns creates the dreams. Wonder if cavemen had dreams, So does SWIM?