The Fullness of Silence

“We need silence to be able to touch souls.” Mother Teresa

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

The Value of Silence (taken from Wayne Dyer and interspersed with writings from other wise folks):

• There’s a momentary silence in the space between your thoughts that you can become aware of with practice. In this silent space, you’ll find the peace that you crave in your daily life. You’ll never know that peace if you have no spaces between your thoughts.
• The average person is said to have 60,000 separate thoughts per day. With so many thoughts, there are almost no gaps. If you could reduce that number by half, you would open up an entire world of possibilities for yourself.
• For it is when you merge into the silence and become one with it, that you reconnect to your source and that peacefulness that some call God.
• I urge you to demand more and more time for silence in life. One of the most effective ways to bring this about is to make meditation a daily practice. And remember, there’s no such thing as a bad meditation. At first your thoughts will take off, trying to convince you that this is a waste of time, that you should be out there being productive, and that you’ve got so many other things to do.
• When you are out “doing things,” remind yourself to breathe, drop your shoulders and bring your attention, your Mindfulness, fully and simply to whatever you are doing. Begin caring for yourself, making time to go beyond the business and distraction of a monkey mind and step gently into a warmer, fuller more curious way of being.

Become the observer to all this inner chatter. Eventually you’ll be able to move to the gaps between thoughts and notice how peaceful you felt in that silent gap when you emerge from it.

When you’re at peace, you radiate a different kind of energy than when you’re stressed or depressed.
The more peaceful you become, the more easily you can deflect the negative energies of those you encounter. Your meditation practice keeps you immune. Furthermore, your sense of peace will bring others into harmony with you. Studies have been done to measure the serotonin levels of those in the vicinity of a large group of meditators. It is higher.

An evening inventory can show us how our meditation practice is working in our lives: Good intentions, good thoughts, and good acts are there for us to see. Even when we have tried hard and failed, we may chalk that up as one of the greatest credits of all. The pains of failure are converted into assets—out of them we receive the stimulation we need to go forward. Pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress, and emotional turmoil precedes our serenity. Calm seas do not make a good sailor—embrace the gifts that challenges can bring.

“…Meditation is in reality intensely practical. One of its first fruits is emotional balance. With it we can broaden and deepen the channel between ourselves and God as we understand him.” – AA 12 and 12

“True joy does not come from acquiring new gadgets or starting another steamy romance, but from being present with your life. Through slowing down and being present with your world, you are more open to the suffering around you. Your heartstrings can be pulled by the simplest things: a puppy waiting to be adopted or a beautiful flower just beginning to blossom. While you may have previously walked right by those things, now you are open and available to your world. You feel an inherent richness and tenderness.” Awakened Heart

From Lodro Rinzler – The Buddha Walks Into A Bar . . .
“The common denominator for all spiritual seekers is that they increasingly realize that the materialistic
goals and addictions of their culture are like salt water. The more they drink, the thirstier they become – because more is never enough.”

Bill Guggenheim – Hello from Heaven
“The goal is not to make thinking go away, but to slow it down. To de-energize and diffuse the analytical mind so that it comes to rest in its natural container. When you see which of your thoughts are restless and which are driven by fear, you no longer need to react to those thoughts. You don’t have to believe them or disbelieve them. You just let them be. You just take a deep breath and watch the pendulum swing back and forth until you find your center. And then you rest in that stillness, in that peace. Once you are there, you no longer desire to be anywhere else. Once you are there, you cannot be attached by your thoughts – or anyone else’s.”

“We are becoming more restless, more impatient, more more demanding, and more insatiable, even as we become more connected and creative.” Margaret Wheatley – The Three Difficulties

To restore sanity and capacity to our daily lives:
1 – We notice the behavior.
2 – We try something different.
3 – We commit to practicing that new behavior until it becomes natural.

“Sit down and be quiet. You are drunk and this is the edge of the roof.” – Rumi

“The Wise Man believes profoundly in silence — the sign of a perfect equilibrium.
Silence is the absolute poise or balance of body, mind and spirit.
If you ask him: ‘What is silence?’ He will answer: ‘It is the Great Mystery! The holy silence is His voice!’
If you ask: ‘What are the fruits of silence?’ He will say: ‘They are self-control, true courage or endurance, patience, dignity and reverence.’
Silence is the cornerstone of character.”
– Ohiyesa, Wahpeton Santee Sioux

How do you fill your bucket? One drop at a time.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
The great arises out of small things that are honored and cared for.

Heart of Recovery website – fcheartofrecovery.com