Friends, the wise tell us that God abides in silence -- that God speaks in the silent serenity of the heart. Let us not speak of silence; rather, let silence speak to us of God.
Together, let us enter through the door of serenity, the silence of our heart: a heart that is free, peaceful, quiet and calm, a heart that is one ... a heart so large and wide it embraces God of all and the all of God, the God who in silence speaks all languages, the God who in silence speaks in all creatures, the God who in silence speaks one word: the God who speaks of Love.
The child has an inner life, born in the sacred and pointing toward an unknown destiny. Our task is to nourish this inner life, to bring this precious crop to spiritual harvest.
~ from GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT by P. Zaleski and P. Kaufman
According to a Talmudic legend, an angel escorts the soul from its abode in heaven into the tomb and there unites it to the embryo. The angel tutors the new being in the mysteries of the world, transporting it to heaven and darkness to see the heights and depths of creation, revealing to it the ways of beauty, truth, and goodness, disclosing the potential of its future life on earth, even to the time and place of death. As the child matures within the womb, it ponders the wonders it has seen. Then, at the instant of birth, the angel touches the child on the mouth, erasing all memory of these marvelous revelations.
~ in GIFTS OF THE SPIRT by P. Zaleski and P. Kaufman
