Cultivating awareness is an essential discipline for being in the moment. As awareness deepens we become more receptive; we gradually discover the life process and move from the quantified aspects of things to their qualities. We perceive ourselves less as observers and more as integral parts of the process. Awareness leads to the sure knowledge that we are creatures among creatures and that the earth is always aware of our presence. Awareness cannot be realized without solitude and silence. Solitude enables us to become aware of the boundaries of the self, to experience aloneness as a prelude to the experience of at-one-ness. To be silent is to let go of that fear which drowns out every kind of awareness. Silence leads us into mystery. Silence means stilling self-reflexive chatter and adopting an attitude of listening. Listen to the silence of the earth -- it is deafening. Listening to the silence of earth brings us into communion with every separate being -- a blade of grass moving in the breeze, an ant walking across a leaf, the eagle hovering high overhead, water flowing slowly from a hidden spring. One becomes an ear so that all might become music.
There is a desire beneath all surface desire. It is this primary desire that you must uncover and fulfill. When in deepest silence, ask yourself: what is my deepest desire? You will inevitably discover one answer, and one alone. Your deepest desire is to unite your will with God's will. Your deepest desire is union with God... Your deepest desire is to be a co-creator in the image of God. No other desire will fulfill your potential. All other desires are symptoms of the fundamental desire for union with God.