Entering the Silence

Wouldn't it be wonderful
to be able to become so quiet, so still, so silent,
that we could hear the sacred presence

Surya Das (1)

In my last blog, I reflected on the 'Gift of Silence'. The silence I refer to is not simply the absence of talking or outside noise, although that helps. We need to learn to cultivate an inner stillness of heart, mind and soul if we wish to experience the presence of God. While this wisdom is common to all faith traditions, we need to find our own doorway into the inner silence of our souls. As St Mother of Teresa of Calcutta once said:

We need to find God, and (God) cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, and grass – grow in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.

Fortunately, we are not the only person who may struggle to silence our constant internal chatter. For example:

St Francis de Sales suggested sitting in silence with a relaxed and open attitude to the Divine Presence within you and in your surroundings. Easier said than done. I find my busy mind soon runs off in all directions!

The Curé d'Ars, St Jean-Marie Vianney, gave his mind something to focus on. He would spend hours sitting quietly in Church doing nothing other than gazing at a symbol of God's Presence (eg a Cross or Icon or the Reserved Sacrament). As a result, he began to see everything in a different light as he became an open channel of Divine love and light to others. Isn't that something we all would wish to be – I know I do. But do I have the will and discipline to give my spiritual practice the time and focused energy it requires?

Thomas Keating, and many others, have used the breath as a tool to experience God's presence within. They allowed the stillness to soak into their being, as they would “fall into the arms of God, focusing on the presence of the eternal” who is “Closer...than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet”(3). While the method sounds simple, from my experience, it is not that simple!.

Kim Boykin refers to 'my' struggle in his book Zen for Christians. (4). He suggests a more structured way of using our breath in meditation. We start by silently counting our in-breaths and the out-breaths. Our first in-breath is '1'; our first out-breath is '2', and so on until we get to 10, then we start back at 1 again. When we realise our attention has wandered off (as it will), we take note of the thought or mental conversation that had captured our attention, before continuing to count our breathing again, starting at 1. (3)

What Kim is suggesting is that there are no shortcuts. While the Bible suggests we “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28). The One who is “over all and through all and in all” (Eph.4:6). In the end, there is nothing we need to do – but 'be', and 'be aware'– and 'be open' to the Divine Presence. Who is always within us and around us as promised by the Prophet Isaiah:

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength...

Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you;
and will rise up to show mercy to you.

Blessed are all those who wait on God.(Is.30:15,18)

 

May you find blessing in your 'returning' each day to your spiritual practice. In your learning to 'rest' and 'trust' in the stillness, and in your learning to 'wait' on the One who is closer to you than you are to yourself.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey

Phil

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(1) Dass, Surya , Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Personal Spiritual Life, Random House Books, 2007.p. 364.

(2)Thomas Keating, OCSO: For a World Re-Centered in Prayer https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/francisclooney/blog/thomas-keating-ocso-and-saving-grace-prayer

(3)Bob Holmes https://contemplativemonk.com/breath-prayer/

(4) Boykin, Kim, Zen for Christians: A Beginner's Guide. Available at Amazon.