BLESSINGS be with you all through these summer days, friends! May we each take time in the Silence to value the gifts of one another ... time to nourish our own fragile places; we will, thus, encourage peace in our wounded world.

For God alone my soul in silence waits.
~ Anonymous
Anonymous silence

Entering into silence is like stepping into cool clear water. The dust and debris are quietly washed away, and we are purified of our triviality. This cleansing takes place whether we are conscious of it or not: the very choice of silence, of desiring to be still, washes away the day's grime.

~ from MEDITATIONS ON SILENCE by Wendy Beckett
Wendy Beckett Meditations On Silence silence Buy on Amazon

The journey to the self is hard work, not so much because of its periodic intensity, but because it demands superhuman honesty and a lot of attention... But the unconscious had spoken:

Can you really walk what you talk?
Why are you afraid to live your passion?
Can you live from your heart and not be afraid of who you are?
Can you create out of your flesh rather than your intellect?

Live what you know! There are no obstacles that can't be overcome on this journey!

~ from SONGS FROM THE MOUNTAIN by Djohariah Toor
Djohariah Toor Songs From The Mountain silence Buy on Amazon

Silence is an intriguing concept. Only silence enables us to hear. But silence is a very noisy thing. When we finally start to listen to our own garbled selves, as well as to others, we discover how full of static our hearts and minds really are. Silence, the time of coming to inner quiet, is the only chance we have of coming to inner quiet, is the only chance we have of coming to serenity.

~ from IN A HIGH SPIRITUAL SEASON by Joan Chittister with thanks to Pat Prescott
Joan Chittister In A High Spiritual Season silence Buy on Amazon

Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys to restore your link to the source of life. Breath in and let yourself soar to the ends of the universe; breath out and bring the cosmos back inside. Next, breathe up all the fecundity and vibrancy of the earth. Finally, blend the breath of heaven and the breath of earth with that of your own, becoming the breath of Life itself.

~ Morihei Ueshiba
Morihei Ueshiba silence Buy on Amazon

There is an art to wandering. If I have a destination, a plan -- an objective -- I've lost the ability to find serendipity. I've become too focused, too single-minded. I am on a quest, not a ramble. I search for the Holy Grail of particularity and miss the Chalice freely offered, filled full and overflowing.

~ from ON BECOMING LOST by Cathy Johnson
Cathy Johnson On Becoming Lost silence Buy on Amazon

At a certain point you say to the woods, to the sea, to the mountains, the world: Now I am ready. Now I will stop and be wholly attentive. You empty yourself and wait, listening ... you wait, you give your life's length to listening.

~ from TEACHING A STONE TO TALK by Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard Teaching A Stone To Talk silence Buy on Amazon

The work of art that emerges where we leave the place of interiority and reenter the visible world may be something tangible or it may take the form of a special kind of life, a life that is in itself an art. The sharing or the communication, in whatever form that may take, is the essence of the creative act. But the seed begins to germinate in aloneness and in silence.

~ from SEEING THROUGH THE VISIBLE WORLD by June Singer
June Singer Seeing Through The Visible World silence Buy on Amazon

Learn to be still in the midst of activity and to be vibrantly alive in repose.

~ Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi silence Buy on Amazon

O Loving Being! O Playful Creator! Love your way into the depths of my being today so that whatever I do will be a prayer, whether it be making bread or boiling water, visiting the sick or mowing the grass... May it all be an act of love and a feast of leisure. In all that I do, may I remember that I am a tabernacle of the Holy Mystery, a place where You dwell. May my moments of quiet listening at your feet lead me out again into the marketplace joyfully, gratefully, without complaining.

~ from SONG OF THE SEED by Macrina Wiederkehr
Macrina Wiederkehr Song Of The Seed silence Buy on Amazon

We cannot expect answers from God after only five minutes of silence... Meister Eckhart emphasized the importance of the listening heart that listens to God alone ... that God desires nothing more than a heart that detaches itself in silence from everything and turns and listens.

~ from DISCIPLESHIP by J. Heinrich Arnold
J. Heinrich Arnold Discipleship silence Buy on Amazon

I found I had less and less to say,
until finally, I became silent,
and began to listen.
I discovered in the silence,
the voice of God.

~ Soren Kierkegaard
Soren Kierkegaard silence Buy on Amazon

To survive in the world, you need spiritual strength, you need solitude.

~ Andrew Harvey
Andrew Harvey silence Buy on Amazon

Go lightly, simply.
Too much seriousness clouds the soul.
Just go, and follow the flowing moment.
Try not to cling to any experience.
The depths of wonder open of themselves.

~ Frederik Lehrman
Frederik Lehrman silence Buy on Amazon

Perhaps the reason angels can fly is because they take themselves lightly.

~ G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton silence Buy on Amazon

When there is stillness in the motion of our days, life's mysteries are revealed.

~ Chinese adage
Chinese adage silence

May you
Learn to be at home with yourself without a hand to hold.
Learn to endure isolation with only starts for friends.

For,

Happiness comes from understanding unity.
Love arrives on the footprints of your fear.
Beauty arrives from ashes of despair.
Solitude brings the clarity of still waters.
Wisdom completes the circle of your dreams.

~ from SPIRIT WALKER by Nancy Wood
Nancy Wood Spirit Walker silence Buy on Amazon
KNOW your own inner peace and the beauty in Silence.
BE that peace and beauty you are.
~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill silence