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Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Attract Good Fortune in the New Year through 'Silence' and the Practice of Soft Speech

It’s been a week into the New Year 2008. The past week, I have been struggling with what will be my first post for the year. I want to write about something special, something that touches deep and will bring good for the rest of my life. I actually had a problem deciding what to write, especially after a rather difficult 2007. My main concern is how to make 2008 a better year than the last. I somewhat panicked cos some Feng Shui foreseers say 2008 may not be quite fortunate for those born in my ‘animal’ year (which is the year of the sheep, likewise with those born in the year of the rabbit and horse). But I do not choose to believe them. They said year 2007 would be a lucky year, and looked what transpired. 2007 was not that fortunate for me, after all.

I BELIEVE my fate lies in my hands.

So while struggling the past week, I did a bit of rethinking, and reading here and there. I came across something that struck a cord within. It was some articles I read on the virtues of silence, calmness in adversity and ‘soft speech’ and how these can bring you inner peace and wealth, in all sense of the word.

Wagging Tongues and Loudness Brings Bad Fortune

At the start of 2008, instead of feeling energized, I had actually felt tired and spent after a stressed-out 2007. I suddenly realized why I felt this way – I have actually been talking too much the past year. As far as I can remember, the past year was really a bitch! (pardon the language). Never before had I spent so much energy bitching, gossiping, resenting and basically just complaining, complaining, complaining. Come to think of it, I was basically a raving lunatic the past year for reasons only known to me. I spent so much energy wallowing in self-pity and resentment. For trivial reasons, I shouted at my colleagues and screamed at the kids. No wonder, I felt so tired. Believe you me, the law of attraction was hitting me right between the eyes, and I still couldn’t figure out why things just went from bad to worse simply because I was too busy bitching and being angry. And worst, alongside all the anger and resentment; my position at work suffered and my finances just went down the drain. My debts were piling, and money that should have come my way, never came. By year’s end, I knew I had to rethink my handle on things or lose control of my life.

The articles on silence and ‘soft speech’ caught my eyes 3 days into the New Year. And at that moment, just the very thought of silence and soft speech brought a sense of calmness over me. And, think, if I were to actually practice silence and soft speech on a day to day basis, will it not be highly possible that I can have inner peace, serenity and attract good fortune? It’s been barely 5 days into this practice of silence, and I try to talk less and low. My heartbeat seems calmer. I was not angry at the waiter for forgetting about the breakfast I ordered this morning. Is it coincidence that I received just today the 5k that someone owed me nearly 2 years ago? Maybe it is, I don’t know yet.

Silence is a Virtue

Silence is a virtue, indeed. One thing is for sure, we can stay out of trouble if we just keep our mouth shut. Use wisely in everyday life, silence is an excellent tool in daily conversations and to make negotiations work our way. But many of us fear silence. We find silence awkward, uncomfortable. And to break the awkward silence, many of us make the mistake of opening our mouths and making even more mistakes. This happens often in business negotiations. Some Asian cultures have used silence as a business tool to their advantage.

As pointed out by Tim Berry in his post using_silence, silence is one of the most powerful tools in conversation, and, perhaps more to business negotiations. “…sometimes a Japanese person will win concessions from an American simply by not fearing silence. For example, the American breaks what seems like an awkward pause by lowering the price, thinking that the silence is disapproval. The Japanese person, however, was simply respecting the importance of the offer.”

In business, in order to make effective presentations, one of the tips given by Guykawasaki is "don't overwhelm the audience. Be entertaining but use moments of silence, soft speech, and slow cadence."

On a personal level, Roy Posner on gurusoftware said “If we speak too much, these energies are squandered, which tends attract corresponding negative results from the field of life. However, if we conserve our energies through reduced speech - or, better yet, by completely remaining silent - the energies are fortified and strengthened, which tends to attract sudden and abundant good fortune from the world around us.”

From my own experience, I believe this last quote to be true. When one bitches, rants, and raves, one drives away all positive energy and attract in its stead bad vibes and unfortunate events. The law of attraction, remember? Therefore, if we conserve our energy by keeping silent, the inner peace and spiritual harmony and goodness we feel will infuse into the space of life around us and attract more good vibes and abundance of good fortune.

In silence, you are more in contact with your own reality by calming the senses and controlling the mind. There is a voice that you can hear in that silence, the voice of your own soul. You will feel the Divine presence when silence reigns.


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