“Silence: Transcending All and Uniting All, in Spirit.”

Dear Friends

Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote, “The aim of the contemplative life is not to teach a person to say prayers, but to live in God.” That last phrase “to live in God,” is really our objective or purpose and is the very heart of our teaching here at ACT.

So let us pay attention to what silence is, and when we are told: “be still….” What it really means. Be still – not, do still. It does not require that we try or force ourselves. Our intention then, or purpose, is not to enter into the Silence for any specific reason but to experience IT. And the IT I refer to is God.

Jesus said: “Take no thought….,” in other words, take no human thought. He went into that silent inner place frequently to “listen.” In the silence we are directed when we put aside all human thought and issues; and without expectation, just BE.

It only really becomes meaningful when we partake of It; when we find It in the silence. And this silence of which we speak, is available to all at any time and any place. In mindfulness, at any time, we can find ourselves on ‘holy ground.’

In “A Course in Miracles,” we read: “Be still and listen to the truth today. For each five minutes spent in listening, a thousand minds are opened to the truth and they will hear the holy Word you hear.”

You see, whenever we become still; whenever we commune with truth in the silence, it is not for ourselves, but for all. And continuing with “A Course in Miracles,” we find the words: “Let every voice but God’s be still in me.”

In many teachings, the core is Silence. And the examples I have shared with you are to illustrate this; all coming back to the admonition of Jesus to “go into the closet and shut the door…….” Although we are in this busy world and the rapid, noisy way we live in it seems normal, more and more, there is an emerging desire for stillness, for peace, for the silence. It calls to each one of us.

And what is interesting is that we cannot bring this silence of the kingdom into the world; we connect with it, partake of it, in consciousness. The more we practise being still, even for short spells during the day, the easier it becomes. There is no effort and no expectation. Silence…. The deep, deep, inner Silence is not distracted by the noises of the world. It is far beyond that. It dissolves language barriers, and territorial boundaries, and age differences. It pays no heed to culture or human opinion. It needs never to compare or compete; in fact it is a new language.

Be still; and partake in the universal language of Silence.

In closing……..

 Within everyone is the Secret Place of the Most High. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?” Within everyone is that inner chamber where dwelleth the High I AM. “I said, ye are gods, and all of you sons of the Most High.” That is the way the Christ speaks, but He speaks only to the Christ in you. Christ comrades with your Christhood. Christ communes with your Christhood.

When you have let go of all desire, wish, want, and every thought that concerns yourself, when you have abandoned all temporal things and given the attention of your heart to the Eternal Spirit, you will be in the place of revelation and understanding.

 H.B Jeffery – The Spirit of Prayer

 

Bountiful blessings,

Mallory