stillness

Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains

Morihei Ueshiba | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

There is an art to wandering

Cathy Johnson | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

Now I will stop and be wholly attentive

Annie Dillard | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

The seed begins to germinate in aloneness and in silence

June Singer | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

Learn to be still in the midst of activity

\Indira Gandhi | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

~ Indira Gandhi

Love your way into the depths of my being today

Macrina Wiederkehr | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

We cannot expect answers from God after only five minutes of silence

J. Heinrich Arnold | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

I found I had less and less to say

Soren Kierkegaard | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

To survive in the world

Andrew Harvey | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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

~ Andrew Harvey

Go lightly

Frederik Lehrman | July-August 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 7)

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
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