Thousands of years ago, Elijah discovered revelation (the voice of the Lord) comes as a still, small voice.
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
1 Kings 19: 11-12
If this is true, do we put ourselves in a position to hear a still small voice?
I live in an area where people are predominantly religious, and where we have very similar core ideas about what a person should aim for in religious pursuits (of which personal revelation is near the peak). I have noticed a few things in my life (and watched others do similar things).
- Listen to the radio or other music suppliers (e.g. CDs, MP3s, streaming systems), seeming without regard to music styles, lyrics, genres, or underlying messages
- Plug ears with headphones
- Noise source could be audiobooks, scriptures, inspiring talks, music, or something else entirely
- Turn up the volume loudly in cars
If our focus were to receive inspiration (whether you are religious or not), it seems that always having a noise source gets in the way of that. Whether you believe in God, what Elijah found is true: life-changing insight comes in the quiet times.
So I propose the following as a hierarchy of goodness of noise:
- Silence (or as close as you can get)
- Inspirational words or music
- Self-help words
- Entertainment-focused words and music
Silence (or as close as you can get) may be an airplane or a city street or falling rain. Pure silence is more ideal than sounds, but not always achievable. Noise cancelling headphones with only the noise cancelling running help achieve this end.
Inspirational words or music are focused on making you better as a person by focusing on growth toward eternal goals. These are words that raise your vision toward something better, and music that calms and pushes you from deep down.
Self-help words are focused very much in the here and now. These are things that may be sold as “life hacks,” quick fixes, or “10 things you can do to _______.” Self-help is essentially religion without deity. (Religion is intended to make you a better person by focusing your sights on the divine. Self-help is intended to make you better by focusing on what humanity has already proven it can do.)
Entertainment-focused words and music are purposely last. These are meant only to entertain. Entertainment is an often-needed respite from the stresses of life. However, knowing that specific books, podcasts, music, etc. are entertainment and not progress-promoting will help you recognize a balance to strike.
I’m not attempting to argue for vows of silence in your ears. What I am arguing is you are making a conscious choice when you stick in the headphones and turn them on. You’re making a choice when you listen to sports radio all day. You’re making a choice when you listen to the news (falls under entertainment, btw).
You’re choosing to forgo revelation, inspiration, the voice of the universe (whatever you call it) if you aren’t willing to enjoy silence.
You’re choosing to forgo eternal growth if you aren’t discerning about whether the self or the divine is more important.
You choose to forgo all improvement if you’re only willing to be entertained.
Take some time to be silent. Think deeply (scary, I know) about this. You might argue a few points here and there. In the end, we’ll probably agree on the largest points.