Today's Saying: Being quiet is our natural being. We naturally speak from silence, not just speak. When we speak from speech, this violates the natural order. We can talk of practicing quiet, for most of us have forgotten the joy of silence. Very little in modern societies encourages or values quietude. Moderns fear quietness inside and outside. So, we need to challenge ourselves to be quiet. We will be glad we did.
Wisdom Quotes
All men's miseries result from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.
*Blaise Pascal (b. 1663)
I am content and at peace. As a child lies quietly in its mother's arms, so my heart is quiet within me.
*Psalm 131.2 (GNT)
Wisdom Story
A talkative disciple goes to his Spiritual Teacher. He asks, "Teacher, how may I find God?" The Teacher replies, "Would you please just be quiet?!"
Contemplative Musings
Imagine you have a radio on. Several stations are coming through clear. You are trying to listen to all the stations. So, you find yourself moving from one to the other in haste. While listening to one station, you are thinking of the next. While you are listening to one station, you are thinking about the previous. You do this day after day, month after month, and year after year. Would you call that sanity? Or insanity?
Imagine someone comes to you and says there is a more enjoyable and efficient way to listen to your radio. "What, you mean I can let go of this jumping from station to station?" "Yes." Would that revelation be a relief? Obviously. Then, why do most persons ignore the wisdom in simplifying the mind? Quieting down? Learning stillness? Enjoying solitude?
Habitual unquiet is resistance to quiet. I do not simply speak of an outer quietness - we can never escape exterior noise. I speak principally of inner silence that is a restful, awake abiding in the atmosphere of Grace: mysterious and enlivening.
A Spiritual Exercise
Sit alone for five to ten minutes. Get in a comfortable sitting posture, with hands folded in your lap, or lie down with hands folded on the chest, stomach, or resting beside you. Close eyes or keep them partially open, looking slightly downward. Smile a slight smile. Say a prayer, like, "Beloved, I am here to enjoy being with You." Breathe naturally, following the breath in and out. You may wish to place more concentration on the out-breath or keep it the same. Recognize bodily sensations and sounds. Be alert to the coming and going of thoughts. Keep smiling. Resist nothing that arises. Cling to nothing that arises. Keep smiling. End the time with a blessing for the benefit of all beings. Here is one such blessing -
May all beings be joyful May all beings be well May all beings be peaceful May all beings be safe May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature May all beings be loved, feel loved, give love May all beings be free of suffering
*Brian's book, An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major online booksellers or the publisher AuthorHouse. The book is a collection of poems based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
