Peace In Your Speech

Welcome to Day 3 of Insight Timer’s 7-Day Inner Peace Challenge. Today with davidji we will discover the power of speech. We’ve been blessed with this ability to effectively communicate and express ourselves to the outer world. Speech is the true voice of our soul that passed through the filter of everything you’ve been taught, and everything you’ve experienced. It is one of a kind. Our speech holds magnificent power. In this practice, davidji will teach us to work with this power and develop a more mindful approach to speech, an approach that will help us communicate our true nature in every situation by taking a pause and inviting reflection.

Transcript

Hello,

This is davidji with Insight Timer and welcome to day three of the inner peace challenge.

The theme for today's challenge is peace of speech.

We have been blessed with the ability to make sound from our mouth and to flow it out into the world.

Our civilization has gifted us language and we get to use that in so many ways to sing,

To chant,

To convey really important information,

To ask for what we need,

To set boundaries,

To encourage others,

To laugh,

To cry,

To connect us and to communicate what's going on inside,

To tell others how we feel and even to comfort others.

Our speech expresses the true voice of our soul but it must pass through the filter of everything we've ever been taught,

Through the filter of everything we think we are.

Your voice is distinct,

It's not like anyone else's.

Your words are built from a lifetime of your own unique vocabulary,

The way you speak,

The tone and volume of your voice,

Your cadence of the words you place together.

Your voice is essentially your persona.

You've crafted it over the years,

Woven it into your behaviors.

It's filled with dreams and hopes and desires,

Your disappointments,

Heartbreaks,

Failures,

Your successes and achievements.

A long list of wins and losses,

It contains the energy of a lifetime and it holds magnificent power.

No one but you knows what you really mean or what you have left unsaid.

No one knows what you're thinking or how you feel until you speak it and words like actions can have meaningful consequences.

We've all said kind words to another and observe the healing power of their ripple and we've all said hurtful words that we wish we could take back and felt their impact on our life.

Words don't just come out of our mouth,

We choose them.

We can be clever or casual,

Direct or ambiguous.

We can paint them with anger or with sweetness.

We get to choose what those words will be and how we will deliver them.

We've all said the perfect thing in the perfect way at the perfect time and it feels really good and there are those times where we felt overwhelmed,

Tired or triggered and words left our lips that don't actually connect or communicate what our needs are in the moment.

We misspeak,

We aren't impeccable with our words,

We hide the truth,

We gossip,

We hold grudges and then lash out.

In some cases we even scorched the village with our harsh tone or words when all we wanted to do was make a point,

Express how we felt or tell someone what we needed in the moment.

But if we can take a breath before we speak,

Just one breath,

We can choose the energy that our words convey.

Meditators have an advantage here because we are comfortable with a little bit of silence before we speak since we spend so much time in that space of stillness and silence.

We know that having a consistent meditation practice cultivates patience and we have all felt the world slowing down around us just a little bit from our daily practice.

We can be more thoughtful,

More reflective,

We know how to pause and breathe and allow the next moment to unfold with greater clarity.

We know that we transform the world by transforming ourselves and transforming our speech into a kinder,

More compassionate,

More loving expression will impact everyone we interact with,

From our loved ones to acquaintances,

Workmates and random people we meet for the first time.

But we can all benefit from a few reminders now and again.

And that's what the inner peace challenge is all about,

Reminding ourselves that sometimes being right is overrated.

At your funeral,

No one is going to stand up and say,

And they were right so often,

But they will talk about how you flowed peace and kindness with your words and actions.

Our peace rests within and if we want a more peaceful world,

We get to be that peace and ripple it out into the world with our speech.

So let's explore that a bit.

There's a great teaching.

It's originally been attributed to Socrates who lived around 400 BC,

Which means it's been a thread that's been woven through at least the last 24 centuries.

Socrates referred to this teaching as the three questions or the test of three.

In the Quaker tradition,

It's referred to as the three sieves,

Like sifting flour.

And my dear teacher,

David Simon,

Referred to it as the three gates.

Here's how it works.

Nothing can flow into you unfiltered,

But before it leaves your lips,

You should go through a process of passing it through multiple gates to see if it's worthy of making it to this divine land outside of us.

When you are just about to speak,

First ask yourself,

Is it true?

Whether you read it,

Whether you receive it from someone else,

Or whether you just make it up in your head or come to some rational determination,

Ask,

Is it true?

If it's not valid,

It does not pass the first test and it does not proceed to the next gate.

If it's gossip or based on falsehood,

Or if you realize that it isn't even true,

Why would I put it out there into the manifest?

Think of all the drama,

Effort,

And energy we apply in this direction that just does not serve us.

And obviously doesn't serve anybody else.

We can choose to just let it go and not put any more attention on it.

But if it does ring true,

We proceed to the next gate.

At the next gate,

We ask the question,

Is it kind?

That should be the perfect filter for anything that leaves us.

Sure,

We can rationalize that there are things we need to express that are not in fact kind,

But certainly we can do that in a kind way.

Establishing boundaries,

Leaving a job or relationship,

Providing bad news,

Giving someone constructive criticism,

All can be done kindly.

So why not infuse kindness into all speech,

No matter what the content?

So asking yourself,

If I flow this out into the world,

Is it kind?

Or can I express the truth in a kind way?

So important.

If it's true and it's kind,

Proceed to gate three,

Where the question is,

Is it necessary?

Or as Socrates said,

Is it useful?

I've often used the question,

Does it improve upon the silence or does it add value to the moment?

Something might be true and it might even be kind,

But if it doesn't improve upon the silence,

How important truly is it?

How necessary is my flowing these words out into the world if they add no value?

We get to make that assessment right before we speak.

If it's just not necessary to bring it up or to bring it into the manifest,

Then just let it go.

We probably end up with more peaceful speech,

Less gossip,

Less harsh words,

Less throwing shade on someone,

Less lying.

This is truly the path to peace of speech.

How amazing is that?

The three sieves,

The three questions,

The three filters,

The test of three,

The three gates,

Choose whichever name you like.

But for now,

It might make sense for us to spend some time and stillness and silence together to reflect upon this.

So let's settle in and take a long,

Slow,

Deep breath in.

And as you exhale,

Allow your eyes to gently float closed.

And as you settle in,

Ask yourself,

Is there a conversation that I've been playing over in my head,

What I've recently had or need to have or have been putting off?

And if I filter my response through the three gates,

How does it transform into a more peaceful expression of speech?

Is it true?

Is it kind?

Is it necessary?

Reflect upon that right now.

UD sponsored byPakt Len logged in as a Cameraman.

And now take a long slow deep breath in.

And let that go,

Open your eyes,

And write down that thing you need to say.

Write down that conversation that you've been putting off and pass it through the three gates.

Is it true?

Is it kind?

Is it necessary?

And maybe as you look at it,

As you've written it down,

You can see kinder ways to express it.

You can upon looking at it,

Really tell if it is in fact true.

Sometimes when we move things from our mind to our speech to a piece of paper,

And there it is in the tangible reality in the bold light of day,

We can suddenly realize,

Perhaps I don't really need to speak it at all.

So let's roll into our peace practice for the day.

Right after you send a text,

A DM,

An email,

Right after you hang up the phone or walk out of a room or leave an interaction,

Ask yourself,

What did I just leave behind?

In the ancient teachings of Ayurveda,

There is an internal digestive fire known in Sanskrit as Agni.

We get the words,

Ignite,

Ignition from this Sanskrit word.

If our digestive fire is burning brightly,

It consumes whatever exists and it leaves behind sweet,

Vital nectar known as Ojas,

O-J-A-S.

If our inner fire is weak,

It leaves behind toxic residue known as Amma,

A-M-A.

Think of the last meal you had.

Ideally,

You ate natural,

Unprocessed foods in a fully present state,

And if our physical Agni is burning brightly,

Then it cooks that food,

Digests and metabolizes it.

Everything we ingest gets absorbed,

All the nutrients contained therein flow into us,

And ideally,

If everything is working correctly,

Once we've absorbed all those nourishing elements of the meal,

We let go and release what no longer serves us.

What's left over from this meal is the most concentrated form of nourishment,

And we call this divine essence Ojas.

But if our physical Agni is not burning brightly but rather sputtering like wet leaves on a bonfire,

Then what's left behind is not Ojas but Amma,

Or toxic residue.

The same is true for our emotional Agni,

Our emotional digestive fire.

Think of the last interaction you had with someone,

A conversation,

An exchange of energy,

Or a transaction.

If your emotional Agni is burning brightly,

Then we pay attention to the other person's words and emotions.

We listen attentively.

We communicate consciously.

We flow our words through the three gates.

We craft our response thoughtfully and show up fully present.

Then once all the information has been ingested,

Absorbed,

And digested,

Ideally,

If our emotional Agni is burning brightly,

What's left behind is emotional Ojas,

Sweet,

Vital,

Emotional nectar.

If we are hurried,

Impatient,

Letting our emotions rule our tone,

Speaking harshly,

Not fully present,

Constantly checking our device,

Or disconnected from the other person's emotions,

Then most likely the result will be Amma,

Toxic residue.

The opposite of Ojas.

Whether or not we leave behind Ojas or Amma is a choice.

We know it in our gut,

And in every moment we truly have a choice of how we want to show up.

Today's peace practice,

And all throughout the week,

I encourage you,

After the fact,

To ask yourself,

What did I just leave behind?

If you've left behind Ojas,

Sweet,

Vital nectar,

Party on.

Good job.

Reinforce it and celebrate.

But if you realize that you've left behind some Amma,

Some toxic residue,

This is the chance to go back and shift the trajectory.

Apologize.

Reconnect.

Call a time out.

Make a better choice.

Forgive yourself,

And commit to Ojas over Amma.

Remember we transform the world by transforming ourselves.

So today,

Let's commit to Ojas,

Sweet,

Vital nectar.

Thank you for joining me today on the Insight Timer Inner Peace Challenge.

May you have a beautiful day of peace.

Reviews

I was divinely guided to this message this morning. Just what I needed, thank you Davidji. 🙏💕

Beautiful meditation. I will play this one to my children 🤗

I love the three gates concept. I will use it as filters in my spoken responses in all I do.

What a wonderful teaching! In a world that is so full of chaos at the moment this small practice is an opening for beautiful kindness that is deeply needed. Thank you for sharing.

The distinction between Ojas and ama - what we leave behind from conversations- was useful. The whole practice is very helpful.

There is absolutely wonderful wisdom here. Thank you for sharing it. Namaste.

Thank you for the lesson today🙏🏻
Day 3 the inner peace challenge .

Thank you so much Davidji. I felt the need to come back to your guided meditation tracks after starting your course on breath. It is so interesting, I live so far away (in Cyprus) but you are one of the closest people to me. My mother in law has lost her husband and brother (+6 more close relatives) in the 1974 war and she suffers from back pain a lot. I massage her back and remembering your advices motivate her to breathe deeply and slowly and compassionately to the points where she aches. She says it hepls and finds similarities in the practice with faith.
Hugs and kisses loaded with love 👋🏽❤️🌙

As always, thanks David. There’s so much power in the words we speak. I appreciate you. 🙏🙏🙏

As always very enlightening, serving to awaken me to my speech whick I often used to pick and choose, to control who was let in. I find this more aware and thoughtful while far less emotionally exhausting.Mindfulness required on my part!.
🙏

Outstanding! Such words of wisdom, and truly words to live by. Namaste

Thank you for your kindness and for sharing peace into people’s heart.

Amazing thank you for these 3 gates: true, kind, necessary🙏

Could meditate with this everyday , much love to you David and thank you

There is no one like David G. Love you David. Thank you David.

Love Davidji-his voice, his wisdom, his calming energy.

Excellent reminder to pause before speaking. Could have used this reminder before the meeting I was just in, but I forgive myself and will be sending an apology 🙂

I am really enjoying this series on Peace. So many good reminders. Thank you 🙏🏻🕊

As always, great teaching with an amazing peaceful voice, Namaste 🙏

Wonderful! I’ll be sharing with my public speaking class 🙏