Shouts From Down Under

Is silence really deafening? Expectation brings tinnitus eh?

I have a friend who is profoundly deaf. She has a pair of cochlear ear implants now (bionic ears), but when I first met her, she didn't have those and you could shout next to her and it wouldn't attract her attention. I once honked the horn of the car when driving past her on the street, and realised my foolishness when she totally ignored the signal. In her small 2 bedroom unit she had a door bell that operated a flashing light, not the standard audible buzzer.

So, that all seems well and good. She taught me some Auslan (Australian Language for the Deaf) but I've forgotten most of it, and don't see her much these days.
But something she said once sounded very strange. Impossible even. She used to baby sit some children of another friend of ours. And she made a comment about her house one day. She said "It's so quiet there".
Now how could a profoundly deaf person, who couldn't hear a bomb go off next to her, know that someone's home was "quiet"? And it is. It is a quiet home. More like peaceful.

There is noise that's inaudible. I'm convinced of this. Spiritual noise perhaps, if I could go that far. Where was it the other day, probably Facebook, or on this site maybe, where someone put forth a fun little exercise.

If you sit quite still and think of the follow three scenarios

1. Imagine in your mind that you are saying nothing. You are keeping silent. No talking. No thinking of anything even. Just silent.
Do this, and your mind WILL be silent. You can't hear any "voice" in your head.
2. Now imagine yourself whispering. Saying something very quietly.
You can HEAR a voice whispering in your head. Quietly
3 Now imagine a nasally loud voice speaking a sentence such as, "Hello mate, how's life treatin' ya, in the big smoke, eh?"
Can you HEAR this voice saying that in your head? Hear it like it's really speaking?

What a strange phenomena. No wonder some of us really do feel like there's voices in our head. Maybe that's where our writer's voice comes from? We just write down the conversations and story we hear being spoken inside our minds. If that story ceases, then we have writer's block. Maybe then we need to speak with our own voice and make stuff up.

Here's a link to help with a moment or two of writer's block, or that deafening silence incident. You'll be right. You'll get over it. Just imagine being before a firing squad and if you don't keep telling some good lies, they'll yell fire and then do so. So keep talking flat out. Or think about lots of viral videos you could make.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/auhome/article-2708734/The-10-viral-videos-time-not-f...

Then there's good old VSauce for more inspiration. Some fascinating stuff on here for writers and such-like.



Maybe I could reccommend an excellent poem, by Ghostranch , about one subject mentioned in Michael's lengthy language video. (Hang-man @ 5:43)

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Sometimes silence might merely happen because we are trying to do something the wrong direction. Select reverse and suddenly you'll see how effective your efforts might be. Like doing up or undoing a stormwater / sewerage cap.



Sparky

Featured as part of my signature, the video below is here to raise awareness of Carly, who thrives despite the difficulties of severe Autism. Watching and learning about her may change how we think of these people, and how we treat them.