“Be Still and know that I Am God.”  Psalm 46

“The only language God hears is the silent language of love.” St. John of the Cross

“The sound of silence.”  Simon and Garfunkel

What is the value of silence for you?

When was the last time you experienced silence?  Deliberately.

What role does silence play in your spiritual practice?

During my time at Iona, I was reminded of the spiritual significance of silence.  There the silence is experienced naturally and accidentally, as Iona is so isolated from modern-day machinery and noisemakers.  Within minutes one can be soaking up the sacred stillness of sky, ocean, rocks, and beach.  Silence is also experienced supernaturally and intentionally, the services in the Abbey fostering and atmosphere of the quiet that is so essential for contemplation. 

But we don’t live in serene places like Iona.  Rather, most of us make our homes in settings that rage against the sacred space of silence that is so conducive to contemplation.  And so, we must be intentional about the practice. 

Certainly, we can find ourselves in settings that are naturally silent, where we experience the presence of God without even trying.  Like when we take a walk in nature, for example.  But often-times we must be purposeful in creating the time and space to be in silence.  And that’s OK, because even Jesus did that, as He intentionally would separate Himself from the noise of the crowds in order to experience intimate communion with God. 

Though there is no one “technique” that must be pursued to experience contemplative silence, there are some obvious actions that we can take that are conducive to putting us in that space. 

First, we must desire the silence.  It must be a desire for the Divine that becomes a longing in our hearts and souls.  In order to have that Divine desire, we must be open to the workings of the Spirit.  In turn, the Spirit will enable us to recognize its value.  What is it that would help you to not only see, but embrace the value of silence?  Perhaps consider a time when you experienced the benefits of silence surrounding you.

Next, we must create the time for silence.  Isn’t it incredible how we become slaves to time?  How time controls us?  Or how we can find time to do the things that we really feel we want or need to do?  By recognizing the value of silence, we will create time to be silent.  This might require a bit of a sacrifice on our part, like waking up a half hour earlier, or taking fifteen minutes out of our day to walk away from the demands being made upon us.  Hand in hand with making the time to be silent is creating the space.

Jesus invites us to go into our closet—a quiet place—to pray.  I don’t think he meant that literally.  I believe He was simply saying that there should be someplace where we can be alone with God.  Do you have a place like that?  And if not, what would it take to create it?

And finally, it is beneficial to have some type of little ritual that marks the transition from what we have been doing, to the silent contemplation that we are entering.  That ritual doesn’t have to be complicated.  In fact, it can and should be quite simple.  Merely closing one’s eyes, sitting in a different position, taking a few deep breaths, or playing some soft, sacred music if need be may be enough. 

But to Be in silence is not merely to eliminate the external noise, but to muffle the internal as well.  And that is so very difficult.  For we have a constant stream of consciousness bombarding us from this miraculous organ called the brain.  It does so much for us that is so incredibly wonderful.  But it also assaults us with a constant stream of thoughts that we find impossible to avoid.  Like a tree full of chattering monkeys, or a hive of bees, the brain is constantly buzzing and even screaming at us.  And that is why it is so essential for us to intentionally devote ourselves to a practice that at least muffles and maybe even mutes that noise.  And that, dear friends, is the benefit and blessing of contemplation. 

In the next few blogs I’ll delve further into this practice.  But for now I leave you with this from Eckhart Tolle, in my opinion one of the best modern-day sources on this topic of contemplation.

“To know yourself as the Being underneath the thinker, the stillness underneath the mental noise, the love and joy underneath the pain, is freedom, salvation, enlightenment.”