The Sphere of Silence

I found this website dedicated solely to the way of silence and for those interested in knowing the creative force it unleashes – to know it and to master it.

The Sphere of Silence (SOS) is a way out, a respite from the noise outside ourselves and inside us so that we can listen to our souls and their deepest aspirations. It is a way of untangling the complicated knots we put on the ropes of our lives so that we may become simpler and our crooked lives made perfect.

In The Sphere of Silence is a book written by Vijay Eswaran.

The practice gives you a one-hour format for listening to yourself and giving full attention to what is current and important to you.

GROUND RULES

The best time to practice the Sphere of Silence is in the early morning hours, before the chaos of the day begins. But it can be practiced at any time of the day which is convenient to you.

• You must maintain absolute silence during this period and focus completely on what you are doing.
• No form of external communication during the period is allowed. No phones, laptops, and TV, etc.
• If you break the silence or get distracted by external stimuli, then you must start the process all over again.

PATH OF DUTY

The Path of Duty is the setting of goals for each day and the next day, spending time to look back at those set the previous day. The time spent on doing a ‘post-mortem’ of the achievements of the last day helps in the analysis of actions, and also in articulating who we want to be. All of these must be written down in the journal for keeping records and looking back. “The purpose of the post-mortem is to look into the mirror, to see who we really are,” says Mr. Eswaran.

Past (10 mins)
Here we analyze our activities from yesterday. Map the success or progress rate of the tasks planned and identity reasons for failure.

Present (10 mins)
This is where we plan for today and list down our activities for the day.

Future (10 mins)

• Here, we plan our short term goals and list down tasks for tomorrow and the immediate future.
• Then, we plan our mid term goals and list down tasks and activities for the next week or ten days.
• Finally, we prepare our long term goals and list them in order of what we plan to achieve in the next year and beyond.

PATH OF KNOWLEDGE

The Path of Knowledge seeks to build the short-term memory of the human mind. By doing this, the mind’s ability to retain facts is said to improve drastically. “Memory is a tool we require every day and this is in the Path of Knowledge,” according to the author, who believes that memory is required to achieve continuity in thought process. All great leaders, he points out, have an excellent memory and are able to recall facts effortlessly.
We dedicate this slot to the enrichment of the mind.
We can read a non-fiction book, listen to an educational cassette, CD, or read essays and articles that help enhance our knowledge.

• The first 5 minutes are dedicated to going through the notes we have taken the previous day on the subject, to refresh the mind.  
• The next 10 minutes are dedicated to seeking knowledge by reading a book or listening to the audio source.  
• The last 5 minutes are meant for us to summarize what we have learned from the reading or listening.

PATH OF DEVOTION

The Path of Devotion is the time taken to converse with the Almighty. It is a 10-minute reflection on the outcome of the discussion that one chooses to have with the Lord. Pray, seek, and ask Him questions in your heart that need answers. The beautiful thing about this process is that your answers will come to you in some form or another.

The atheist is not excluded in this Path. The author suggests for the atheist to commune with morality and goodness. “I would add another ‘o’. Instead of God, I would use well.”
Your 10-minute reflection here should also be written down.

This process gives us a structured process to explore, learn, think and discover our inner selves.

To learn more about In the Sphere of Silence visit Vijay’s website here.