Happy Silence Day

Silence Day is the name the follower of Indian spirituality master Meher Baba gave to his practice of commemorating July 10th of each year. By maintaining verbal silence for twenty-four hours, he hoped he and fellow followers would be able to inwardly reflect in ways they could not verbally. We know it's hard to stay silent all day, so to commemorate Silence Day, we at Joseph Nogucci would like to offer some tips for meditation to help your practice of self reflection.

1) Start with the breath. Breathing deep slows the heart rate, relaxes the muscles, focuses the mind and is an ideal way to begin practice.

2) Stretch first. Stretching loosens the muscles and tendons allowing you to sit (or lie) more comfortably. Additionally, stretching brings added attention to the body.

3) Try using a candle. Meditating with your eyes closed can be challenging and cause your thoughts to wander. Lighting a candle and using it as your point of focus allows you to strengthen your attention with a visual cue.

4) Don't stress. This may be the most important tip, no matter what happens during your meditation practice, don't stress about it. This includes being nervous before meditating and angry afterwards. Meditation is what it is, and just do the best you can at the time.

We hope you take some time today to focus on your thoughts and reflect upon yourself and your actions. Have a wonderful Silence Day!