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This is the time of year where people reflect and project about the kind of upcoming year that they want to have. And as I think about this upcoming year, what keeps surfacing for me is that I'm being drawn to spend more time practicing silence. 

I have to admit that I’m not super excited about practicing silence more. There are a lot more fun things to do! At the same time, I know it will be good for me.

Silence is a practice that will change how I show up in the world. Whenever I have consistently practiced silence in the past it has always brought about more peace in my life. As I practice silence this year I also anticipate being more present, and open to others and reality. 

The practice of silence isn’t limited to the absence of sound. It can also be experienced as emptiness, awareness, nothingness, formlessness, and spaciousness. [1] Also, I sometimes experience silence as stillness, just being, and as a gap or a void.

Practically, I think more silence means less noise from sources like social media, and TV, but primarily it means being aware of the debilitating noise in my head and not engaging it. Practice, practice, practice is the only way to go when it comes to silence.

I frequently engage in obsessive thinking and I know it impacts my overall well-being. I feel better on days where I practice being aware of my thoughts and my breath or different ways of being centered. When I’m silent it feels like a homecoming which I believe is mysteriously divine. By grace, I am being drawn to silence this year and by grace, I will experience it.

We all need a break from ourselves occasionally and one way to do that is by practicing silence. I’ve seen it over and over again in my life and in the lives of others, that practicing silence in one way or another saves people from themselves. We’re often our own worst enemies when it comes to our obsessive thinking and that only adds to our suffering and the suffering of others.

It’s often said in contemplative circles that “silence is the language of God” (Rumi) and it’s true as far as I can tell. If I want to be infused with divine meaning, purpose, and inspiration I have to do my part by being silent first.

In John O'Donohue’s excellent book “Anam Cara” he encourages us to approach silence and solitude with a measure of positive expectation. The divine connection that takes place in silence is a mystery. Out of silence, if we are open to it, may come our saving grace.

Quotes 

“Silence needs to be understood in a larger way than simply a lack of audible noise. Whenever emptiness—what seems like empty space or absence of sound—becomes its own kind of fullness with its own kind of sweet voice, we have just experienced sacred silence.” — Richard Rohr [1]

“Without some degree of inner and even outer silence, we are never living, never tasting the moment. The opposite of contemplation is not action, it is reaction. We must wait for pure action, which proceeds from deep silence.” — Richard Rohr [2]

The silence of the Creator is thunderous,

Drowning out everything else,

And hiding in endless creativity.

—Thomas Keating, “Out of a Stone”

…silence is not absence, but presence. It is a “something,” not a nothing. It has substantiality, heft, force. You can lean into it, and it leans back. It meets you; it holds you up. — Cynthia Bourgeault [3]

“To be still is to be conscious without thought. You are never essentially, more deeply, yourself than when you are still.” — Eckhart Tolle [4]

Guided Silence Meditation

I want to invite you to practice silence, a little bit. There are so many ways to do it and I'm going to suggest one of the many ways that work quite well for me. To prompt you a little bit and to help you get going, try a practice just for a minute or so. 

Sit comfortably. 

Close your eyes. If you'd like. 

Relax, your shoulders. 

Relax, your chest. 

And become aware of your body… (pause)

After you scan your body with awareness gently tell your body to be still… (pause)

Now become aware of your thoughts. You probably already have some thoughts going on. Become aware of your thoughts, just observe them. (pause)

Gently say to your mind, be still. (pause)

If you want to continue doing this, you could set a timer for a few minutes or maybe even 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes and just go back and forth. Relax. Your shoulders, relax your chest. Become aware of your body. Tell your body to be still. If thoughts start to arise, become aware of your thoughts. Be with them and gently tell your mind to be still. And just keep rotating between relaxation body stillness and mental stillness. 

May you (and I) be willing to be silent this year. 

Take good care,

Rod

Footnotes

[1] Richard Rohr - https://cac.org/sacred-silence-2020-01-09/

[2] Richard Rohr https://cac.org/silence-the-great-teacher-2020-01-07/

[3] Cynthia Bourgeault, Thomas Keating’s The Secret Embrace (2020)

[4] Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, page 256

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash