The Sound in Silence

How many of us have heard the sound in silence? What sound, you may ask, could there be in silence? To me, it is the sound of life, AUM or OM, the voice for the Holy Spirit.
For many decades, I’ve been chanting the mantra OM. I’ve had a tattoo of the Sanskrit symbol on my left wrist since 1984. I was even given the spiritual name, Hari Om, by Baba Hari Das in the early ‘90s. Intellectually, I’ve understood the significance of the Word and its spiritual vibration; all sounds are contained in one sound which is the sustainer of the universe. But I finally heard it, in a still setting that left me both bewildered and blessed.
I was on a walk with my two bob-tailed Manx cats, Baba and Olive, in the woods across the street from our farm, when I noticed how really quiet and still everything was. There were like no sounds- no insect or bird activity, the wind wasn’t blowing and no cars could be heard from the county road down below. That is when I sat down on a log, with both cats beside me, just to listen. I must say how cool it is to take cats up in the big woods, where they would normally be too afraid to go alone. I’ve been taking them since they were quite young and they get as excited about their walks as dogs do. I have to be tactful when to use the W word. But now they too could feel the stillness. I truly couldn’t believe how quiet it all was. I can’t remember the last time I ever experienced anything like this kind of quiet; it was almost haunting. I flashed on this kind of stillness as being the predecessor of some possible unforeseen event about to occur, like maybe an earthquake! However, the cats seemed relaxed and already tuned into the divine vibration. As I closed my eyes and concentrated, I realized that this quiet stillness was becoming quite deafening. As I really listened and listened deeply, I began to hear a faint tone or note, as a circle of blue light began emerging in my forehead. I knew, from studying Yogananda’s lessons, this circle of blue light to be the spiritual eye- a blue circle, ringed in gold, with a white star in the center. I was far from the center, but I was seeing the blue. Then I began to hear what sounded like a symphony of celestial beings toning a myriad of notes that all blended into one mighty chord. I knew I was hearing the sound vibration of life, which is everywhere, if we are just still enough to hear it.
My experience didn’t last long, as my over-active ego began wondering where the cats went. But it was long enough to leave me feeling really blessed. Standing alone among the tall cedar trees made me realize I was in a church like no other- Natures’ church, where you can finally hear and feel OM.