I find that sitting down to read a great book also has a calming effect in my life. Well-written words that create a picture in our minds of another time and place can remove us from our current situation and allow us quiet time of being somewhere else. Sometimes the wisdom shared by the author can the key to solving our current problem or situation.
Other sources of the quieting effect can be to take a walk, work out at the gym, to take the family pet out for an exercise run, gardening, working with a hobby; and the list goes on and on. The key is to intentionally settle on an activity that allows you to slow down from your normal pace and take a time away that gives you the opportunity to see your world and your life from a different vantage point. It is also important to make sure it becomes a regular part of your routine so that you don’t skip it when you get too busy.
Several articles ago, I shared the understanding that there are subsonic and ultrasonic sound-waves that are found in the natural world. Places like the forest, where the wind breathing through the leaves of the trees produces these ultrasound waves. A walk on the beach exposes us to these ultrasounds that the constant wave action produces. If we take the walk on the beach barefoot, we get even quieter as the grounding that occurs adds another component to this quieting. A waterfall or a burbling creek also produces these healing and quieting sounds.
These ultrasound and subsonic sounds have been demonstrated to have healing and quieting qualities. When stimulated by these ultrasound waves, cells within our nasal passage produce a nitrous oxide that has the effect of slowing our heart rate and lowering our blood pressure. A slower heart rate and lower blood pressure help the rest of our body slow down and quiet down. By the way, harp music produces these ultrasound waves too, so it is easy to understand the mechanism of why the harp music is so calming.
Consider planning your daily routine with a specific time for quiet. I can remember when I first started sharing my music online, an old high school friend of mine, on Facebook, told me that he did not appreciate my music because he didn’t want to be calmed. He had always considered himself a “rock star.” He said he was always looking for ways to “ramp up.” I can remember thinking, “How sad that he doesn’t know how to give his body and spirit a time of quieting.”
It has been observed through many sources that people who are always stimulated eventually reach levels of fatigue and burnout that become pathogenic. Heart issues, hypertension, adrenal fatigue, psychological troubles, and many more have been diagnosed in people who have not been able to slow down from time to time to rest their minds, bodies, and spirits. Many disease conditions can be directly or partially attributed to overstimulation and lack of rest or quiet. It has also been observed that people who work extra-long hours to get ahead end up working less efficiently and are much less creative.
At first you may think you don’t have the time to implement the quieting effect into your life. However, as you experience the difference it makes for your mind, body, and spirit, you will find the benefits make it all worth wile. A very wise man once wrote:
“In quietness and in confidence
is your strength.”