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I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of quiet lately, and how to make room for it in this increasingly loud world.

Here’s why:

Every woman I know struggles with doing it all. And this is actually a wonderful struggle, to be the most vibrant, soulful, change-making people around. Still, there are moments, weeks, months that slip by when the cacophony of the push forward, drowns out the realm of spirit, the door to which is often deep quiet.

This begs the question, is it really possible to be refined, ethereal wunderkinds? Can I, scratch that, can we be (and winningly) super spirit moms, writers, entrepreneurs, practitioners, spouses, activists, friends, ad infinitum? The answer is yes, though there is a contingency here, and that contingency seems to me to be making room and stepping in to said quiet.

The irony is that inside of quiet, there are all of kinds of sound and activity. But the sound is much subtler, much more energetic, or as Suzuki Roshi puts it, “more real.” It can be as obviously rhythmic as experiencing one’s own heartbeat, or as spontaneous as the song of the divine muse. The key is in getting quiet enough to separate the onslaught of external noise from the fountain of internal sound, and gasp, in choosing to stay with and place preference even on the most hectic days, with the sound of spirit.

How odd that the establishment of quiet is indeed what these deeper intonations, these peals of spirit’s bell rely on. And how beautiful! Carole Maso told me many years ago at a writing workshop in Bennington, Vermont that if I wanted to be a writer I had to suffer the loss of not being other things. I realize too that the same applies to the spiritual journey, or in other words, the journey inside. We must be willing to quite regularly suffer the loss of distraction and noise, in order to welcome the sound residing in quiet, to absorb the rich sacred chorus within.

I am hearing now as I type, a voice calling me not to write any more words here. It is a steady gentle urging to make room for you all to step into quiet. Have a go at it, super women. Realize and hear for yourselves, over and over again, the kaleidoscopic symphony inside—noiseless, potent, essential. Enough said.

Maggie Lyon is a writer on wellness and spirituality, and a holistic lifestyle consultant. Hailing from Northern California, Maggie first studied Feminist Studies with Bettina Aptheker at UC Santa Cruz before transferring to Mills College where she graduated with a BA in Creative Writing. In 2002, she earned her Masters Degree in Education from Teachers College, Columbia. A practicing Zen Buddhist and Iyengar yoga practitioner since the age of 16, Maggie also drew on her training in nutrition, intuitive healing, energy medicine, and natural health to found Lyon Lifestyle in 2009. She is devoted to supporting women in connecting inwardly, empowering themselves, and thereby transforming their lives. Along with her monthly blogs, Maggie also writes regularly for Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation. A mother of two young children, Maggie lives and practices quietly in New York City. Friend her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @MaggieLyon .

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