July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)

Anne Strader

Summer Blessings, dear friends! Looking back over past issues of Friends of Silence, Nan Merrill's words on "freedom" from two years ago seem even more appropriate for today, given the current devastation and grief so prevalent in our world:

"Freedom is very much in our hearts and minds these days. But freedom is just a word, a concept; an ideal until we will it in our individual lives. We cannot have outer freedom, however, if inwardly we are imprisoned by our fear and all its negative companions. Yet blessed are we who choose to face our fears, one by one. . ."

May we so choose as we meet together in the silence of our innermost being. May we project strength and love outward to our suffering planet and all its inhabitants. As Nan went on to say, "Silence is the golden key that helps us open our heart-gate wider and deeper toward freedom: thus, we bless the world."

As we are liberated from our fear

Marianne Williams | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
~ by Marianne Williams

The freedom to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances

Victor Frankel | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
Everything can be taken from an individual, but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.
~ by Victor Frankel

When you realize "I am," you become free

Robert Adams | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
"I" is the first pronoun. The second pronoun is "am." When you realize "I am," you become free. This is called "Being." Not doing this or being that. Just plain Being. I AM.
~ from SILENCE OF THE HEART by Robert Adams

I'll give up greed for freedom

David Edwards | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
Once you start to see through the myth of status, possessions, and unlimited consumption as a path to happiness, you'll find that you have all kinds of freedom and time. It's like a deal you can make with the universe: I'll give up greed for freedom. Then you can start putting your time to good use.
~ from NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR ILLUSIONS by David Edwards

You are free before the sun of the day

Khalil Gibran | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)

You are free before the sun of the day,
and free before the stars of the night:
And you are free when there is no sun
and no moon and no star.
You are ever free when you close
your eyes upon all that is.

~ from LOVE LETTERS IN THE SAND by Khalil Gibran

The freedom of Truth

Adyashanti | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
If you are not only to taste freedom but to be freedom, you have to have an absolute fidelity to Truth, and you have to be wedded to this fidelity forever. If freedom is going to be a living and ongoing experience, the human part of you has to keep fidelity with Truth and be committed to living in that Truth. As soon as you break your fidelity to Truth, you kick yourself out of the freedom of Truth.
~ from EMPTY DANCING by Adyashanti

Only the freedom that drives the risk matters

Paula D'Arcy | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)

There is no protection against adversity.
There are no guarantees.
What you have is yourself, made
in the image of something very great,
the Greatest thing.
You have yourself, and
the particular circumstances of your life.
What you create
is your measure of love.
What you create
is up to you.
We choose what we will risk.
But only the freedom that drives the risk matters.

~ from A NEW SET OF EYES by Paula D'Arcy

The true experience of freedom

Paulo Coelho | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
The true experience of freedom is having the most important thing in the world without owning it.
~ by Paulo Coelho

To multiply a loved one's freedom by all the freedom we can find in ourselves

Rainer Maria Rilke and Eric Torgersen | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
This is guilt, if anything is guilt: not to multiply a loved one's freedom by all the freedom we can find in ourselves. We have, in loving, only this one task: to let each other go. For holding on is easy for us, nothing we need learn.
~ Rainer Maria Rilke in DEAR FRIEND by Eric Torgersen

Non-attachment is freedom

Maitreya | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)

Attachment is the loss of freedom . . .
Non-attachment is freedom . . .
Our destiny is to be free.

~ by Maitreya

Play offers freedom from the tyranny of habit

Gwen Gordon | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
Play is our contact with our love for life. It brings us back into our joy at being alive and shows us where our freedom is. Play moves us out of our fixed mindsets: it offers freedom from the tyranny of habit, freedom from the mundane and ordinary, from the rational and need to know and be in control. It's freedom from rigid identification with race, class, gender, and even species.
~ by Gwen Gordon in "EarthLight" - Vol. 13, No. 3

Taking time to relax is important in our search for freedom

Oonagh Shanley | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
Often I advised parents that their children needed time to think, to just be -- picking flowers, fishing (for crabs) or admiring glorious sunsets, painting their own images in the firmament as they watch the clouds race by. Little ones are so receptive and thrive on these enriching experiences. Respect for life and every living creature can be instilled into their hearts. All the while I had been giving this good advice, I had been starving my own needy soul with a diet of too much hard work. Taking time to relax is important in our search for freedom: it’s one of the easiest and most delightful ways to feel in touch with the intelligence of the cosmos.
~ from THE VOICE OF SILENCE by Oonagh Shanley

The only pathway to the deepest form of freedom

Regina J. Dekker | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
Being authentic is the only pathway to the deepest form of freedom. It means opening to Spirit, mustering courage to move through the challenging process of our life's conditioning. We may encounter surprises and ultimately experience astounding revelations when we uphold our vision to live authentically. Returning to my authentic self, I find freedom.
~ by Regina J. Dekker

The only pathway to the deepest form of freedom

Regina J. Dekker | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
Being authentic is the only pathway to the deepest form of freedom. It means opening to Spirit, mustering courage to move through the challenging process of our life's conditioning. We may encounter surprises and ultimately experience astounding revelations when we uphold our vision to live authentically. Returning to my authentic self, I find freedom.
~ by Regina J. Dekker

To see this is to be made free

Teilhard de Chardin | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
The world is filled with the Absolute. To see this is to be made free.
~ by Teilhard de Chardin

When you are interiorly free

Henry Nouwen | July/August 2010 (Vol. XXIII, No. 7)
When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom, whether you know it or not. . . . A free man or a free woman creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell. Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements, and obligations that we often wonder what is expected of us. But when we meet a truly free person there are no expectations, only an invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our own freedom. Where true inner freedom is, there God is.
~ Henry Nouwen, thanks to James Dolson