This Week's Quotation:
Silence is not only the absence of sound, but the presence of deeper meaning.
~ Rev Kieran Mardle-Moss, Universal Unitarian
The Quiet Voice
Rev. Berry Behr, Interfaith Minister
Our bodies work differently depending on the environment we’re in. We adapt, for instance, by finding our sea legs when we are on a ship, and then finding our land legs when we reach solid ground again. Both can take a little time and patience. When life has been noisy for a while, it may be hard to stop the mind from galloping. Our spiritual practice provides a great strategy for these times, and yet there are times when meditation is elusive.
I hadn’t realized how habituated my mind had become to a constant state of alertness. Then I heard a sermon by Rev Mardle-Moss of the Universal Unitarians. The reverend helped reframe my concept of stillness, or silence, by reminding me of the aim of spiritual practice: listen to what you hear as well as to what you don’t hear. He said the often toxic noise of the world is an invitation to be fully present, and this applies to people of all faiths and none. Through Stillness, we are invited to discover our natural state of awareness and connection with all life. When we connect with that awareness, we transcend to a place where we can meet all souls, beyond the noise of the world.
In times of stress and conflict, holding stillness within can be a powerful tool to both maintain our own integrity of purpose, and navigate the fraught relationships in the earthly situation. Perhaps Stillness is the same essence as Love. In Stillness, there is no judgement, conflict or unkindness, there is only Being. Is that not similar to Love? In Buddhist terms, inner Stillness gives rise to right action, which emerges from a place that seeks the wellbeing of all life.
The Quiet Voice within, our vertical communication channel with God and the Angels, needs us to listen deeply both to what is being said and what is not being said. It needs us to be present to the deeper meaning of our lives. It’s a gift we can access daily.
Thanks, Berry, for your emphasis on the necessity for stillness as we engage in our spiritual work. Much of my work involves engaging with the news and other media as a way of inviting human beings to return to the Truth of Being, the Truth of Love. When the noise of the world becomes too intense I simply turn off the sound of my radio or TV and spend a few moments in the silence of Being, reminding me of where my radiant invitation to the world comes from and empowering it with stillness.