Exploring "silence".

If we wish to internalize general semantics, we must develop a conscious awareness of "silent levels"--that part of existence that is pre-verbal, life "before" we apply words to it to think or talk about it. Try this:

Allow your verbal thinking to become still. Allow yourself to become
aware of your surroundings this very moment. Experience the sounds,
smells, sights, and temperature; sense the position of your body, the
touch of your clothes against your skin, experience your feelings and
sensations in real time--without thinking or speaking words.

Thus, we become aware of what Alfred Korzybski called the "silent," "un-speakable" or "objective" levels. J.S. Bois invented "WIGO" (What Is Going On). Stewart Holmes used "Reality 1."

With awareness of silent levels, we are less likely to let words dictate experience, rather than the other way 'round: we can avoid letting our definitions and verbal expectations override our observations and experience. Awareness of "silence" also helps increase energy and reduce pain as we become more aware of posture and movement, etc. The following articles and excerpts offer useful insights:

On the Un-Speakable Objective Level, Alfred Korzybski

When to "Keep Still," Irving J. Lee

Zen and the Abstracting Process: The World Turned Upside Down, Stewart Holmes

Silent Knight: Protecting Yourself with Silence, Dennis Reuter

Charlotte Schuchardt Read on Sensory Awareness, Charlotte S. Read, interviewed by Louise Boedeker

Sensory Awareness and Total Functioning, Charlotte Selver