Silence

I am most surely not trying to persuade anyone to leave their faith of choice. I am only trying to persuade us to let silence, or stillness enter our faith. I was Roman Catholic Christian for most of my life. I was always looking for peace that never came. I finally left, not out of disgust, but out of defeat. The peace that surpasses understanding was so fleeting that it was nothing more than a tease. It was at that time that I started immersing myself into mindfulness meditation. I call the peace that I find there “Zen,” however, it does seem very much like the God of Christianity as well. I cannot stress enough, the utter value of meditation, especially silent meditation, is the one true path.

I call it meditation, you might like to call it silent prayer, contemplation, reflection, enlightenment practice, presence, or some other spiritually significant name that makes you happy. To me, These all mean the same thing. When we focus on the present moment in our meditation, we begin to discover an element within us and around us that is pure. Furthermore, it is never, and I mean never judgmental or condemning. This is not the faith of your youth where Santa Claus is making a list and checking it twice… naughty or nice and all that nonsense. This is the truth. We cannot keep living this way. We are often harder on ourselves than we are on anyone else, because most people don’t tell you what’s really wrong with them. But we sure know what’s wrong with us, and we have to be the worst people ever, right? No. When we go deep into silence, we discover that we are loved like we are literally the only person that has ever lived.

I try to make a multicultural spiritual study with my life, but it has simply come down to silence. If we can slow down to the pace of the universe, we should find it. Earlier, I called this silence the peace that surpasses understanding. It does surpass understanding. Not much can be said of it that it doesn’t say itself. And it does speak, communicate rather, and doesn’t say much but a few words to inspire peace and kindness in our hearts. Our SPMI friends may find this powerfully because of their need. It does seem apparent to me that this stillness, this silence, comes more profoundly to those in need.

Sincerity is key here. Letting go of material attachments, ego attachments, maybe even emotional attachments, is a good way to start. If you’ve been attracted to Buddhism, I would suggest some guided meditations from Thich Nhat Hanh. If you’re more Christian in mindset, I’d look up the YouTube videos from Richard Rohr and the Center for Action and Contemplation. If you’re kind of a blend of these or something else, perhaps you’ll like Eckhart Tolle. I trust these teachers much, they are fine way to start. Of course, you won’t need them as much once you find true silence. It’s worth it.

See, silence is golden. We need silence like we need water. It is essential to our growth, especially spiritually. When we neglect our need for silence, we starve ourselves of God. We can’t let ourselves starve because we’re angry, or fearful, or envious. We have to let go of our little plans for life, and immerse ourselves in peace. Some of us are so angry and frustrated by life that we spend all of our possible quiet time devising ways to get back at the world for its cruelty. If we spent even 20 minutes every morning just dedicated to sitting quietly and just breathing, without TV, without music, without the news or social media, we would soon discover that we really aren’t alone at all.

Bless all of you.