While we may forsee the OUTWARD APPEARANCE of peace upon a people or nation, it is the UNDERLYING THINKING that must change to create a true and lasting peace. To change the conditions of our outer world, we are invited to ACTUALLY BECOME the conditions of our desire from within. When we do so, the new conditions of health or peace are mirrored in the world around us. To bring Peace to those whom we love in this world, we must first BECOME that very peace in our thoughts, feelings, and bodies.
In the concert hall, each motionless listener is part of the performance. The concentration of the player charges the electric tension in the auditorium and returns to the playLIer magnified. I like the fact that "LISTEN" is an anagram of "SILENT". Silence is not something that is there before the music begins and after it stops. It is the essence of the music itself, the vital ingredient that makes it possible for the music to exist at all. It's wonderful when the audience is part of this productive silence.
~ Alfred Brendel in "The New Yorker" 4/1/96 thanks to B. Stockard
