The silence in which I live has opened my ears and eyes to the suffering of the world. In silence, you begin to hear the note of pain that informs so much of the anger and posturing that pervade social and political life. Solitude is also a teacher. Yearning makes the heart deep and makes you vulnerable. Silence and solitude strip away a skin and break down that protective shell of heartlessness which we cultivate in order to prevent ourselves from being overwhelmed by the suffering of the world that press in upon us on all sides.
O Highest Wisdom, who circles the great circle, who envisions the whole world as one living path, you have three wings. One soars above the sky, another moistens the ground with sweat, while a third flies everywhere at once. O Wisdom, we sing your praise.
Everybody has had transcendent wisdom break into the mind. When you’ve wracked your brain with a problem for a long time and then, for some reason, you’ve stopped struggling, and then all of a sudden you got an "Aha! That’s it," where does that come from? Wisdom has broken through.
Wisdom is an attribute of the soul and unfolds naturally as the soul manifests through the personality. Knowledge can be taught; wisdom is loving understanding or knowledge illumined by love.
Virtue comes through contemplation of the divine as well as through public service. The one is incomplete without the other. Power without wisdom is tyranny; wisdom without power is ineffective.
Loving communication implies prayerful surrender to the word of God speaking in ourselves and others. Out of this respectful openness there emerges the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent. When we do have to say something, we do so wisely and moderately, and to the appropriate person. In persistently trying to see the other against the background of the Sacred, we preserve inner peace.
~ from WORDS OF WISDOM FOR OUR WORLD by Susan Muto
Warm greetings and deep peace to you, dear friends of silence. As we approach this season of awe and joy, we look around at our wounded world and wonder, "Where is peace today?" It can be so very difficult to find, when all around us we are witnessing the chaos of natural disasters, wars and conflicts. We must turn within; there is much truth in some of the catch-phrases used today, like "Peace begins with me" and "Be the peace you wish to see in the world." Peace is our divine birthright: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you . . ." Let us turn within, we lovers of silence, and claim peace for ourselves, for only when each of us is peace can there be peace in the world.
As one progresses on the path, one seeks silence more and more. It will be a great comfort, a tremendous source of solace and peace . . . Here finally is the place where you need neither defense nor offense -- the place where you can truly be open. There will be bliss, wonder, the awe of attaining something pure and sacred . . . This is the peace that seems to elude so many.
