Dana:

Silence feels like oppression. Silence feels like my throat is full of words and I am choking on them. My chest starts to feel heavy and I start sweating.  My eyes water and I cannot move. The words are swimming in my brain and have no way out. There is no space for them outside my body. At least it feels like it. These are the feelings of the times I’ve been silenced–  by my own perception of who I am, when I feel like there is no space for me, when my brain has finally found the words but everyone around me keeps talking.

I can sense the tingles in my left pinky and how my heart beats 

Silence, when it is a choice, is healing. It allows your body to receive, to listen, to connect, to perceive. When I think about silence, I immediately think about the present time – in my body and the environment. I can sense the tingles in my left pinky and how my heart beats. And with this awareness, it allows me to be more conscious of how I interact with my environment and the people surrounding me.