"Contemplating is receiving." (St. John of the Cross) What we receive in prayer is the Spirit, who makes all creation new, moment by moment. It is the Spirit who rebirths us within the caves of our hearts. The case is a metaphor for this silent withdrawal, this going away to be alone, to listen, to gestate the Spirit, to rebirth ourselves. The reborn self is the child of wisdom born in solitude.
When I started the practice of
"no preference," a special
quality of mind began to grow—
a unique understanding and
affirmation of the way things
are— and I discovered something
extraordinary: the heart of
stillness sits perfectly balanced in
the middle of chaos. This is the
true dwelling place of the soul.
~ from ENDURING THE SACRED MOUNTAIN by David A. Cooper