A stillness, a healing quiet comes over the landscape

In the early evening we see the stars begin to appear as the sun disappears over the horizon. The light of day gives way to the darkness of night. A stillness, a healing quiet comes over the landscape. It's a moment when some other world makes itself known, a numinous presence beyond human understanding. We experience the vast realms of space overwhelming the limitations of our human minds. As the sky turns golden and the clouds reflect the blazing colors of evening, we participate for a moment in the forgiveness, the peace, the intimacy of things with each other.

November 2013 (Vol. XXVI, No. 10)

Quiet Greetings, dear friends, and blessings of the Silence to you all! We come again to the topic that brings us into being, encircles us, and holds us all together as one. Silence is blessed in our noisy, clamorous world, but it is so much more than just the absence of noise. It is a quality in inner stillness, a purposeful turning of our attention to that inner voice that longs to be heard, a listening attitude so that we may apprehend whatever the Beloved would have us hear. We come together in Silence as one in the One; even though we may not be consciously aware of it, our Spirits are nurtured and blessed to be together in gratitude for the gift of Silence and the gift of this widespread community of souls.

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The silence of the forest is my bride

I live in the woods out of necessity. I get out of bed in the middle of the night because it is imperative that I hear the silence of the night, aloud, and with my face on the floor, say psalms, alone, in the silence of the night... The silence of the forest is my bride and the sweet dark warmth of the whole world is my love and out of the heart of that dark warmth comes the secret that is heard only in the silence...

~ from DANCING IN THE WATER OF LIFE by Thomas Merton, thanks to Gary O’Guinn
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Silence is that place just before the voice of God

Silence is that place just before the voice of God. It is the void in which God and I meet in the center of my soul.

~ Joan Chittister
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One unknown voice of sacred Silence

I have faith ... that one unknown voice of sacred Silence will prayerfully proclaim the advent of an everlasting light during the darkest night ...

~ "I Have Faith" in POEMS OF OTHER WORLDS by Richard Bachtold
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This night-shattering dawn

How quiet –
This night-shattering
Dawn.

~ Ronald Willis
Ronald Willis silence

Silences are the only scrap of Christianity we still have left

True experience always comes about in withdrawal "from the crowd." The original, true and proper attitude of the mind is, as Heraclites says, that of "listening to the truth of things..." Our journey into the territory of being should be made in silence, with wondering, wide-open eyes. The fullness of truth and reality is revealed only to those who attain to a silence which covers every aspect of their beings, or who, in other words make their basic attitude toward the whole of being one of delicate and reserved courtesy... For anyone who wishes to hear what is true and real, every voice must for once be still. Silence, however, is not merely the absence of speech. It is not something negative; it is "something" in itself. It is a depth, a fullness, a peaceful flow of hidden life. Everything true and great grows in silence. Without silence we fall short of reality and cannot plumb the depths of being. Kierkegaard, who was acutely aware of this, once made the profoundly true statement: "Silences are the only scrap of Christianity we still have left."

~ from GOD IS WITH US by Ladislaus Boros
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Silence foreshadows and houses that fertile consciousness of Being

Silence foreshadows and houses that fertile consciousness of Being (the unitive state) within all of us. Progressively, silence calls us into this awareness, until at some point we live in it, or realize it lives us. Then, each leaf, flower or bud reminds us of that Heart or Reality or Void in which we all have our life and being.
~ from A WAY WITHOUT WORDS by Marsha Sinetar
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Draw alongside the silence of stone

You have traveled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.

~ from TO BLESS THE SPACE BETWEEN US by John O'Donohue
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Loneliness transforms to aloneness

Loneliness transforms to aloneness in silence.
~ Dolores Fruiht
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I will come to you in the silence

I will come to you in the silence,
I will lift you from all your fear.
You will hear my voice,
I claim you as my choice,
be still and know I am here.
I am hope for all who are hopeless,
I am eyes for all who long to see.
In the shadows of the night
I will be your light,
come and rest in me.

~ from "You Are Mine," Sheet Music by David Haas, arr. by Mark Hayes, Hope Publishing Company
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Putting an end to exterior chatter

Those who neglect silence bring only a distracted heart and a preoccupied mind to their prayer and, instead of deriving new strength from it, they only offer God a heart full of trifles. Intimate conversation with God is easily stifled if you do not first put an end to exterior chatter; yet, if you love silence and keep it well, your heart will be a temple where God will dwell and become known to you there.

~ St. Julia Billiart in WOMEN OF VISION compiled by Dorothy M. Stewart, thanks to Nancy Bock
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Silence incurs and things become clear

As I pray for life's lessons, Silence incurs and things become clear. This silence leaves no doubt. Assumptions are not needed. Paths are paved with care and concern. Spirits speak in this silence of righteousness. They know my worries and they direct me to destinations of understanding, compassion, and faith. Then, as if from a deep sleep, I wake with the feeling of serenity. A feeling of hope overwhelms me, and I know I've been touched by hands of unconditional love. Confidence exudes from me as I approach my day. Many ask, "How do you find humility...?" I easily respond, "In Silence."

~ Antonio McKinney
Antonio McKinney silence

Silence is power

In silence and solitude you will come to meet the Beloved of your heart. For Silence is power, the power of the Divine Lover blessing and transforming you. Seek always the Eternal Flame ever shining in your heart, and let yourself be nourished and refreshed in the Silence.
~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill silence

When I am silent

When I am silent, I fall into that place where everything is music.
~ Rumi
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A stillness, a healing quiet comes over the landscape

In the early evening we see the stars begin to appear as the sun disappears over the horizon. The light of day gives way to the darkness of night. A stillness, a healing quiet comes over the landscape. It's a moment when some other world makes itself known, a numinous presence beyond human understanding. We experience the vast realms of space overwhelming the limitations of our human minds. As the sky turns golden and the clouds reflect the blazing colors of evening, we participate for a moment in the forgiveness, the peace, the intimacy of things with each other.

~ from THE GREAT COMMUNITY OF EARTH by Thomas Berry
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November 2012 (Vol. XXV, No. 10)

"Is there enough silence for the Word to be heard?"

Greetings, dear Friends of Silence! As I write to you today, we’re receiving the blessing of gentle, much needed rain here in Texas; and the grateful earth is giving us a lovely, soft gray day in return. It feels natural and desirable on such a day to allow ourselves to be cradled in silence, to take a “time out” from our busy lives and sink into the warmth and comfort of quiet time spent in communion with the Divine Center we cherish deep within ourselves. May we all receive the gift of such days, when we can allow the Great Silence to wrap itself around us like a soft robe as candlelight warms our surroundings; and may these blessed days of silence leave us refreshed and strengthened to return to the world in tranquility and joy!

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Silence is absolutely imperative

Talking about connecting to a higher power: Whether we think of that higher power as God, or whether we think of that higher power as just our own inner wisdom, silence is absolutely imperative to get there...

That is where we always find our deepest wisdom.

Our activities in the world are really important. Being active helps us to gain skills and helps us to gain knowledge and build relationships.

But wisdom always comes out of silence. 

~ Catherine Torpey, New Morning Treasury, thanks to Liz Stewart
Catherine Torpey New Morning Treasury silence

She does not talk back

The waves of mind
demand so much of Silence.
But She does not talk back
does not give answers nor arguments.
She is the hidden author of every thought
every feeling
every moment.
Silence.
She speaks only one word.
And that word is this very existence.

~ from MY SECRET IS SILENCE: Poetry and Sayings of Adyashanti
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Silence is the training ground

Silence is the training ground for the art of listening. Engaging the silence may be one of the most important and productive things you can do for spiritual deepening.

I know for us compulsive, productive, extroverted types, this is a tall order. The bottom line is -- it's worth it. But we have to believe that it really matters. In our culture, silence and stillness have been equated with wasting time, doing nothing, being lazy. NOT TRUE. Think of it this way -- the silence of meditation is not the silence of a graveyard; it is the silence of a garden growing.

~ from OPENING YOURSELF TO THE GUIDANCE OF GOD by Linda Douty
Linda Douty Opening Yourself To The Guidance Of God silence

Silence speaks

Silence speaks, the contemplatives say. But really, I think, silence sorts. An ordering instinct sends people into the hush where the voice can be heard.
~ from VIRGIN TIME by Patricia Hampl
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Silence before God

Silence before God has deep significance: in the quietness of the soul the individual sinks into the central fire of communion. In the circle of worship the most personal elemental chords of life receive their deepest stimulation... In the silent act of breathing and in the unspoken dialogue of the soul with God, solitary as these are, deep communion can be given.

~ Eberhard Arnold
Eberhard Arnold silence

All sound arises out of Silence

All sound arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. All thought arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. The universe arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. Suffering arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. The unbounded spaciousness of Silence, filled with the clear light of Awareness, dissolves the roots of pain and sorrow. Take refuge in Silence and know unshakeable joy.

~ Kalidas (pen name of Lawrence Edwards)
Kalidas silence

Silence is a doorway

Silence is a doorway
into the heart of reality;
to cultivate a silent heart
is to discover your deepest truth.

~ from LUMEN CHRISTI…HOLY WISDOM by Nan Merrill
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In the stillness of the quiet

In the stillness of the quiet, if we listen, we can hear the whisper of the heart giving strength to weakness, courage to fear, hope to despair.

~ Howard Thurman
Howard Thurman silence

Let me seek the gift of silence

Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude, where everything I touch is turned into a prayer: where the sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is all in all.

~ from THOUGHTS IN SOLITUDE by Thomas Merton, thanks to Gary O’Guinn
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What is the point of silence?

But what is the point of silence? The point was, we learned, not mere silence, not silence to preserve some sort of order, but something much greater. In silence the idea was to recollect ourselves, to place ourselves more squarely in the presence of God than we would if people were talking to us all the time. We could pray, we could meditate, we could contemplate. . . . Silence was broken, of course, by people doing things they could not control -- coughing, sneezing, short periods of recreation, the sounds of work being done . . . But all of this merely emphasized the silence rather than disturbing it. Sounds could never absorb this silence; nothing could order it around. It concentrated itself, and from it all else flowed. Silence could never be silenced.

~ from THE TULIP AND THE POPE: A NUN’S STORY by Deborah Larsen
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Two silences

There are two silences. One silence I choose to keep when I need to hear a word that will heal, instruct, or console. The other silence comes when I have heard something so powerful, so real, that words, spoken or written, would only diminish its power.

~ from ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE by Marv and Nancy Hiles
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Silence is the tree

Silence is the tree that bears the fruit of peace.
~ Unknown, thanks to Susan Morrison
Unknown silence

This is where silence has brought me

Now, standing by the shore, I am as filled with awe and thankfulness as on that January afternoon. In this moment, I am sustained by a sense of wonder and peace, humbled by life, and respectful of it, connected to the planet and her people, and to something much greater than myself, an invisible essence for which I have no language. I live in its mystery, content to let it be revealed. I do not have to name it. It is enough to know its truth.
 
This is where silence has brought me.
 
~ from LISTENING BELOW THE NOISE by Anne D. LeClaire
Anne D. LeClaire Listening Below The Noise silence Buy on Amazon

Silence is absolutely imperative

Talking about connecting to a higher power: Whether we think of that higher power as God, or whether we think of that higher power as just our own inner wisdom, silence is absolutely imperative to get there...

That is where we always find our deepest wisdom.

Our activities in the world are really important. Being active helps us to gain skills and helps us to gain knowledge and build relationships.

But wisdom always comes out of silence. 

She does not talk back

The waves of mind
demand so much of Silence.
But She does not talk back
does not give answers nor arguments.
She is the hidden author of every thought
every feeling
every moment.
Silence.
She speaks only one word.
And that word is this very existence.

Silence is the training ground

Silence is the training ground for the art of listening. Engaging the silence may be one of the most important and productive things you can do for spiritual deepening.

I know for us compulsive, productive, extroverted types, this is a tall order. The bottom line is -- it's worth it. But we have to believe that it really matters. In our culture, silence and stillness have been equated with wasting time, doing nothing, being lazy. NOT TRUE. Think of it this way -- the silence of meditation is not the silence of a graveyard; it is the silence of a garden growing.

Silence speaks

Silence speaks, the contemplatives say. But really, I think, silence sorts. An ordering instinct sends people into the hush where the voice can be heard.

Silence before God

Silence before God has deep significance: in the quietness of the soul the individual sinks into the central fire of communion. In the circle of worship the most personal elemental chords of life receive their deepest stimulation... In the silent act of breathing and in the unspoken dialogue of the soul with God, solitary as these are, deep communion can be given.

All sound arises out of Silence

All sound arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. All thought arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. The universe arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. Suffering arises out of Silence and dissolves into Silence. The unbounded spaciousness of Silence, filled with the clear light of Awareness, dissolves the roots of pain and sorrow. Take refuge in Silence and know unshakeable joy.

Silence is a doorway

Silence is a doorway
into the heart of reality;
to cultivate a silent heart
is to discover your deepest truth.

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