Finding a Quiet Place in the Midst of the Noise

Posted on Oct 19, 2016

This past July I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by Helen Palmer, one of the early teachers of the Enneagram in our country.

I uncharacteristically got a front row seat, as I had heard that, at 79, she was winding down her teaching engagements after over 30 years teaching. This likely would be my first and last opportunity to hear her speak. Helen appeared small, with a softer and yet commanding voice. And even though I had a front row seat, I was continually distracted by the loud voice of the presenter in the room next to us. I found myself getting annoyed. “Why is she talking so loud? Why isn’t anyone doing anything about it? I can hardly concentrate on Helen, and she is only about 3 feet away from me. I can’t get up and do anything about this.”

At this same time Helen was talking about the many ways that we get activated in our lives and how our brains are wired to bring our attention to our reactive thoughts and feelings.
She talked about the need to grow our ability to find that quiet place inside our bodies. She also invited us to notice where in our bodies our reactivity was occurring and to notice that as well.

As I did the practice, with her encouragement, I did notice that there were moments when I no longer heard the woman with the loud voice next door. I got quiet inside along with a feeling of peace. The woman next door was still talking when I opened my eyes to hear more of what Helen had to say, but she was a lot more in the background for me. No longer “ruining my experience.”

While this was a very real experience, I couldn’t help but think that it also was a metaphor for so much of life; how the political news, the latest natural disasters, the neighbor mowing next door, or something my husband did or didn’t do, all can be the noise that triggers my response, and keeps me from being able to be present in the now. Yet when I keep bringing myself back to the quiet place in my body, there is greater softness, and the reactivity lessens.

What are the noises in your life that trigger reactive thoughts and emotions? Where is the quiet place in your body that you might go to more regularly?

I invite you to try this practice on a regular basis. We are always going to have things that get to us, but we can also cultivate a greater capacity to be in the quiet places.