Silence audiobook

Some years ago I used to walk my dogs with audiobooks in my ears, P.G. Wodehouse especially. It was great fun, though I think I must have looked a little strange laughing my head off while walking down the street with my dog on a lease. Then I started to leave the audiobooks behind. Why? Because I realised that I wasn't really there, I wasn't noticing my surroundings, not the birds, the flowers, or hardly even my dogs. That's in a way what this book is about, our need to fill every minute with noise, and why silence may sometimes be better. Perhaps not Thich Nhat Hanh's best book, but pretty good just the same. It seems like I can always find something in everything he wrote.

The author's words are like water that flows and refreshes me daily. I have been reading this for 10 days. I tried to silence my mind as it suggests, and it was equally difficult as doing a plank. Indeed this is a discipline and an exercise i must learn as a habit. As i want to nourish my body, my mind and soul needed much more silence than i thought as i learned that i must be preoccupied. I wake up and I smile for the another 24 hours today. I breath in and breath out. I enjoy listening to the birds. I breath in and breath out. What a gift to live one more day.

I’m a Christian who believes “all truth is God’s truth”. In other words, there is beauty, truth and wonderful things to learn from all sorts of people. Even Buddhist monks.Maybe especially Buddhist monks?*This book has been my “spiritual” reading for the last few weeks, as I read a couple of pages in the evening before sleep. Its a nice practice and usually I’ve been reading works by Christian saints but I came across this one on sale and thought, why not? Now, reading a few pages each night means I never caught any over-arching flow of the book. But every night there was some paragraph or sentence to think about.The world is a loud place. Our inner world, full of fleeting thoughts and cluttered ideas, is itself a loud place. This book is all about being mindful - clearing the space in our minds and worlds through silence to be the people we were meant to be.I suppose the best thing about this book is that it is practical. I’ve noticed that lots of the books I’ve read by Christian saints of ages past tend to be written for people living as monks. And more contemporary books on Christian living are so shallow as to be useless. This book is written by a Buddhist monk, but it has spiritual depth and is written for normal people. There are Christian books that do combine depth with practicality (two recent ones are Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren and Embracing the Other by Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Graham Hill) and I’m sure other religions have their own spiritual garbage as well. Overall, I found this book thoughtful.*I made the comment above “maybe especially Buddhist monks.” As an often cynical Christian, I feel despair at looking at the way nationalism and white supremacy have infected so much of Christianity in America. We drape the cross in the flag with no realization of our own idolatry. For too many (and again, apologies for being cynical) Christianity is reduced to a set of beliefs. So we believe Jesus rose from the dead and think this belief puts us in some special, God-favored group. Theological conservative Christians are quick to argue Jesus is not “just” a teacher, which I would agree with. Yet, he is ALSO a teacher. We’re called not just to “believe” (as in assent) but to “follow”. All that to say, what if Buddhist monks (and others) are living more Christ-like lives than Christians are? Jesus noted that those seen as religious outsiders by his fellow first-century Jews were entering God’s presence ahead of them. The times and labels have changed, but what if the principle is the same? What if whole swaths of Christians are patting themselves on the back for defending their rights and possessing right belief (and never reading a Buddhist book!) while totally missing the way of Jesus?I’m fully on a tangent now (and kind of thankful no one will read this). Thankfully, God is love and even loves hypocritical Christians who don’t get it. And to be honest, the older I get, the less I think I “get it” too. But, I like books like this that make me think and change.

If you’ve read any of Thích Nhất Hạnh’s books, then you’ll have a general idea of the kind of advice he gives. Stemming from his meditation and mindfulness, he offers powerful and yet extremely simplistic insight into how important it is to be in the moment, to tune in with the breath, to seek out the silence and just be. Although he often doesn’t change in what he is saying or offer different material, there is always something so soothing about reading his words. Even if we already know it and know what we have to do, that doesn’t mean we don’t need to read these lessons often and be reminded of them. If you’re looking for a little less noise in your life, I’d really recommend this book.

'Time is life', this quote from the book will go up as a poster on my wall.The book talks about how Silence is not its mundane definition - the lack of sound. It illuminates the reader's mind by introducing 'Real Silence', the kind that calms or stills your mind by creating a void of thoughts. I love the author's use of the term, Radio NST (Non Stop Thinking), a problem that we are all are constantly plagued with. The act of NST loosens our grasp on both our physical self and consciousness.We all have our own ways to be happy, however, the author enlightens us to a simple fact that breathing in and out while realising our breath brings us back to the present, making it the easiest way to be truly joyful. This book is a quick read which will reveal some truths that will impact you deeply. Happy reading!

If your dreams aren't coming true, you might think that you need to do more, or think and strategize more. In fact, what you might need is less noise coming from inside and outside. Silence is a kind of magic formula that helps cultivate deep listening and mindfulness, transforming a situation and our lives on a breath. So much to love about this book.

4 ⭐️I was ready for a good start to the year, but I have to say this book amazed me. There is beauty calling to us every day, every hour, but we are rarely in a position to listen. The basic condition for us to be able to hear the call of beauty and repond to her it is silence . .. There's a radio playing in our head, radio station NST, non-stop thinking . Our mind is filled with noise and that's why we can't hear the call of Life, the call of Love.I find the description of the NST radio, always buzzing in the head, very apt. So relatable.I think that reading this book in december/january is particularly appropriate, as the ending/beginning of the year is when we write down our New Year's resolutions and goals, and this book invites us to take a step back and consider whether perhaps we are not doing too many things together with the sole purpose of saying "done with this task, let's move on to the next one".We must remember to stop and breathe to clear our minds and to fully enjoy each achievement. We need to learn to turn off radio NST, it's not good for our health to consume from our own consciousness.

Is it oddly ironic that I opted to listen to an audiobook recording of a book titled "Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise"? Regardless, Thich Nhat Hanh confirms what I was already aware of, but too "hooked" to let go of, and that is the fact that we - as individuals and as a society - are perpetually inundated by noise. Not just sound, but the "head traffic" of texts, emails, social media, alerts and reminders, and more. We're approaching a point when we are incapable of being comfortable with the notion of pure silence, now more agitated by the absence of noise than the presence of it. This book serves as a gentle and positive reminder that silence is always available to us, and our best opportunity for reconnecting with True North, with a sense of sanity and goodness, is to unplug and be fully present. The book is not just for Buddhist practitioners, by any means. Like much of Thay's work, it is designed for you to apply to any spiritual journey, or the lack of one. It's just a guidebook for embracing the discomfort of silence, so that it no longer remains uncomfortable. So that we can clear our minds and liberate ourselves from the distractions and detours that we allow and are imposed upon us.It's a book that will make you want to experience a meal without the distraction of your favorite magazine or Facebook on your phone. It'll make you want to take a walk in nature without your iPod, and perhaps devote one full day - or at least a few hours each week - to Noble Silence, a practice which allows you to drop the shackles of society and social behaviors and just be present with yourself and the natural sounds around you, rather than the veneer of protection that our chosen distractions and noises so often represent. This is an invitation to restore a bit of sanity into our 21st century lives. I hope to accept that invitation.

¿Qué es saber estar en silencio? ¿Poder alejarse del mundo un instante? Thich Nhat Hanh, un maestro del budismo intenta conciliar el ajetreado mundo con la paz interior que cada una y uno de nosotros puede sentir si sabemos escuchar al silencio. En 7 capítulos nos va adentrando en la práctica y la necesidad de saber alejarse del mundanal ruido, y al término de cada uno de esos capítulos un ejercicio práctico para saber cómo encontrarnos con nuestros propios silencios. Esto para poder encontrase con los propósito más escondidos dentro de nuestras conciencias. Ha sido una lectura reveladora el descubrir el poder de la calma -incluso investigando en torno a la meditación- para ponerla en práctica en este final de año que tiene de todo menos de tranquilidad. Una lectura que permite reencontrarte, quizás. contigo misma o mismo y que nunca está demás hacerlo.

Mindfulness but with examples and exercises from a man that exudes peace through the paper

Thich Nhat Hanh's Silence is subtitled The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise. Just reading this book reminded me of the importance of taking time to sit in silence and stillness, and so I did.

In this book, Thich Nhat Hanh explains how important of silence, of solitude. Silence is very powerful sound. I will quote some my favorites sentences in this book. "If we can silence within ourselves, we can hear 5 true sounds: the sound of wonder of life; Sound of the One Who Observes the World - the sound of listening; the Brahma Sound - om; The sound of Rising Tide - voice of Buddha; the Sound That Transcends All Sounds of World." "How mindfulness is the practice that stops the noise inside so we could look deeply and find out who we are and what we want to do with our life. We have to give ourselves enough space and quite to become free. Silence allows for deep listening and mindful response, the keys to full and honest communication. If we haven't listened deeply to ourselves, we can't listen deeply to others."... You should read it, practice and experience by yourself. The hardest part for me to practice deep listening and right speech. Especially with my closest ones: my parents, my lover, my daughter, or the people I hate... I try practicing everyday, every moment; I will nourish the noble silence in my classes and in my work place. I think I want to buy a bell with pleasant sound to invite my daughter enjoy breathing with me. Two my favorite verses (I and my daughter usually read it aloud in mornings, I feel happy about that) and these are in English:1. "Waking up this morning I smile. Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me. I vow to live them deeply and learn to look at everything around me with the eyes of compassion."2. "Breathing in, I see myself as a flower. Breathing out, I feel fresh. Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain. Breathing out, I feel solid. Breathing in, I see myself as still water. Breathing out, I feel reflecting things as they are. Breathing in, I see myself as a space. Breathing out, I feel free."

Thank you Thay for continuing to teach me for all these years. One day, perhaps, I'll get there. Because of you, I keep trying. No one has taught me more about love, peace, mindfulness . . . true spirituality.