In order to listen to God's silence we must escape the din of distractions that normally deafen us to it. Being deafened to the silence within as well as the silence without is corrosive to God-hearing. To be silent is to so empty oneself of the din of transitory distractions that one becomes fully receptive to the silence that always and everywhere underlies them. Silence is that state of spiritual sensitivity in which seekers make themselves available to the silence of God's voice.
~ from SPIRITUALITY OF THE HANDMAID, by Kerry Walters
One way of moving beyond words in meditative journaling is by becoming attentive to the silence before, beneath, and between our words, both as we write and as we read back to ourselves what we have written. This allows us to become more attentive to the silence into which our silence sometimes leads us. Where we feel our writing taking us into the Silence, we simply go there and allow ourselves to be in the Silence, "letting the words flow to silence... "As we become aware of something stirring in the silence, we record it, "letting the silence speak to the word..."
"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"
Blessings in and of the Silence, dear friends!
In silence and solitude you will come to meet the Beloved of your heart. For Silence is power, the power of the Divine Lover blesswing and, in the depths, transformin gyou. Seek always the Eternal Flame ever shining in your heart. And let yourself be nourished and refreshed in the Silence.
We are all joined in the holiness of the mind that God created. I therefore never consider myself alone in the silence. I'm 90 and live alone in a four room house surrounded by open space. I have no T and have always luxuriated in silence. The exterior silence is here. The i8nterior silence is a work in progress.
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.
Begin each day anchored in stillness, taking nothing for granted, open to whatever the coming day's gift may be. Listen to the silence for ten minutes or so and realize how filled it is, filled with the breath of God! Su8ch silence wants to draw from you a quiet prayer that leans on that presence and seeks to harken to it throughout the day.
~ from RISE UP WITH A LISTENING HEART by the Monks of New Skete
For sheer adventure, exploring the inner space of the human spirit has to equal the exploration of outer space. Inner space holds a realm of existence not readily apparent when we are in the grip of the strident external world. A powerful launching vehicle for the discovery of the realm within is silence. It is in the vessel of silence that inner transformation can occur.
