There are few things
more important in life than learning—yes, learning—to be silent. A wise person
knows when to be silent and not speak. An even wiser person knows how to practise
silence. Why? Well, in the words of the British historian, essayist and philosopher Thomas Carlyle, 'Silence is deep as Eternity.' That is so true, for when we penetrate the Eternal Now, beyond all the noise and commotion, there is perfect stillness and silence.
The poet Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow wrote of there being an inward stillness:
Let us, then, labor for
an inward stillness, —
An inward stillness and an inward healing;
That perfect silence where the lips and heart
Are still, and we no longer entertain
Our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions,
But God alone speaks in us, and we wait
In singleness of heart, that we may know
God's will, and in the silence of our spirits,
That we may do God's will, and do that only!
An inward stillness and an inward healing;
That perfect silence where the lips and heart
Are still, and we no longer entertain
Our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions,
But God alone speaks in us, and we wait
In singleness of heart, that we may know
God's will, and in the silence of our spirits,
That we may do God's will, and do that only!
The Bible has a lot to say about the
importance of silence. Here are just a few of its verses on silence:
There was silence, and I heard a voice. Jb 4:16.
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak. Ec 3:7.
The Lord is in his
holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. Hb 2:20.
Be still, and know that I am God. Ps 46:10.
Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord. Ze 2:13.
Those five verses on
the importance of silence are just a few such verses in the Bible. There are
many others. The important thing is this: there is a direct connection between
the practice of silence and coming to know and experience God. Now, who or what
is God? Some theological abstraction? Yes and no. For starters, the Bible tells
us that God is love (1 Jn 4:8). Listen to these words: ‘Dear friends, let us
love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves
has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God,
because God is love’ (1 Jn 4:7-8). The Bible also tells us that God is
Spirit, that is, the very spirit of life (Jn 4:24). Another way of
understanding the spirit of life is as pure Being. All things come from the One Source
of all Being. God is pure Be-ing—the self-existence and self-consciousness of life itself—and we have our be-ing-ness in God. ‘For in him we live and
move and have our being' (Ac 17:28).
So, if you think that God is a giant man 'up there' or 'out there', some supra-personal Being with a face, body, arms and legs and genitalia, you are horribly mistaken. In short, God is love, life, truth and power—and the very ground of our being. The English metaphysician and judge Thomas Troward referred to God as undifferentiated Consciousness
So, if you think that God is a giant man 'up there' or 'out there', some supra-personal Being with a face, body, arms and legs and genitalia, you are horribly mistaken. In short, God is love, life, truth and power—and the very ground of our being. The English metaphysician and judge Thomas Troward referred to God as undifferentiated Consciousness
Here's an Eastern story.
A king went to see his spiritual advisor and said, ‘I am very busy. In a single
sentence, how can I reach union with God?’ The king’s advisor said, ‘I will
give you the answer in a single word—silence.’ The king said, ‘But how do
I attain silence?’ The advisor said, ‘By meditation.’ The king was puzzled. ‘And
what is meditation?’ he asked. ‘Silence,’ said the advisor.
You see, silence
means going beyond words and thoughts. Silence is all about be-ing as
opposed to do-ing. Silence is letting be … and letting go.
Now, here’s what I consider to be the best advice I ever heard on the
subject—and it comes from Dr
Norman Vincent Peale:
Sit still, be
silent, let composure creep over you.
That's all you have to do. It’s that simple.
First, sit still. Let the body remain as motionless as possible. Be
conscious of your breathing, and perhaps the beating of your heart. Be
aware—just be aware, no more than that—of any bodily sensations, external
noises, and thoughts and feelings you may experience. Whatever happens … SIT
STILL. That is the only 'doing' thing in the whole procedure. That means not
moving or making a sound. The poet and playwright T S Eliot wrote of the
'still centre' or 'still point' where the true reality is to be found. Yes,
stillness is indeed the name of the game.
Secondly, be silent. Note that word ‘be’. It is not something you
do—it is the total absence of doing—but something you are. What
are you? I will tell you. You are be-ing-ness itself. An inlet
and an outlet of life’s self-expression, that's what you are. Just be
… and be silent. Say nothing—and that includes nothing interiorly to
yourself. Silence is more than saying nothing. It means remaining as motionless
and quiet as possible. Don't try not to think (because then you will think). Simply be as still and quiet as possible--and then you will simply forget to think.
Thirdly, let composure creep over you. The most
important word in this third instruction—indeed, in the whole advice—is ‘let’.
It is something entirely passive. Again, it is not something that you
do. It is something that happens of its own accord—as soon as you
remove the barriers to its happening. Once you sit still, and are silent,
composure will creep over you. Merriam-Webster defines ‘composure’ as ‘a calmness or repose especially
of mind, bearing, or appearance’. Here are three other words that mean more-or-less the same thing:
equanimity, serenity and imperturbability.
Sit still. Be
silent. Let composure creep over you. Let this happen to and
in you many times a day if necessary.
Remember—sit ... be ... let. It's as simple as that.
