Sacred Stillness

After last week’s post, a friend suggested that I write more from my heart instead of sharing others words all the time. I love the wisdom of my teachers so much that I often resonate with their words and want to share them here.

But for this blog, I will take her advice and talk more about stillness and silence and its importance in our lives.

I think of the verse in the Old Testament, “Be still and know that I am God,” a phrase from Psalm 46:10.

And the words of Jesus about praying in private so we can be in a place of listening to the divine, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6)

In the words of Hazrat Inayat Khan, the Sufi master, “Through the silence of nature, I attain Thy divine peace. O sublime nature, in thy stillness let my heart rest”.

As a response to trauma, fear, and despair, which are endemic in our world, we tend to fill our lives with distractions: music, talking, news, TV shows, and movies. None of these things is terrible, but they can often distract us from that still, small voice.

What can we practice to remind ourselves to listen? What kinds of unnecessary things can we let go of or could be done much less to have time for silence?

I love this quote from Mirabai Starr, “The more you turn inward, the more available the sacred becomes. When you sit in. silence and turn your gaze toward the holy mystery you once called God, the mystery follows you back into the world. When you walk with a purposeful focus on breath and birdsong, your breathing and the twitter of the chickadee reveal themselves as miracles. .” (Mirabai Starr, Wild Mercy)

In her new book, Ordinary Mysticism, she discusses the importance of her morning practices. She notes that even though she absolutely doesn’t have time in her busy life, she still takes that time because it sets the tone and intention for the rest of the day.

I resonate with her words. Every morning, I also make an effort to spend time in gratitude, remember all my beloveds and my mycelial connection to the all in all, and aspire to a life dedicated to service. I pray part of a prayer that Hazrat Inayat Khan shared, “Use me for the purpose thy wisdom chooses.” and I chant the Hebrew word, Hineni (hee-nay-nee), which translates as “Here I am.”

One of my favorite practices is called Khilvat in the Sufi lexicon. It is an extended time of silent meditation, usually in a beautiful natural setting. I also find value in fasting during that practice. Removing all distractions, even talking and eating, is genuinely transcendent.

I deeply treasure a walking meditation to a place near my home, which I call my ‘Sit Spot.’ I share that space with tall trees, vibrant plants, animals, and a beautiful creek burbling, reminding me of the beauty of acceptance and surrender. Once, it generated a surrender poem about how the creek doesn’t need to go back, doesn’t want to go back, can’t go back, and neither can I.

Even in this spinning, intrusive culture, we can and must find every opportunity to be present in the stillness and the silence and listen for guidance from that still small voice. Holding that sense of silence on the breath, perhaps even noticing those brief moments of stillness between the in and out breaths, can be a practice of remembrance in every moment.

Knowing that stillness is indeed Divine creates an opportunity to truly be grounded and open to the light of guidance.

And when we infuse ourselves and our souls with that radiance, we can be a lamp in the darkness. We can radiate that light to all those who suffer and need to notice the stars sparkling in the dark night.

This is our work. That is why we arrived here at this time and place. Chief Arvol Lookinghorse, the chief of the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota tribes, said, “Know that you yourselves are essential to this world. Each of us is put here in this time and in this place to personally decide the future of humankind. Do you think you were put here for something less? Do you think that the creator would create unnecessary people in this time of terrible danger?”

Look into your own life. Consider what is getting in the way of your ability to spend time in stillness and silence. What distractions could you reduce or even let go of? See if you can set aside time, even if it’s only a few minutes, to be still and silent and hear that still, small voice.

As I was contemplating this blog post, drifting into an afternoon nap, the leaf blowers started up outside as they are wont to do. And I slipped into this poetry I share with all of you to end this post.

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Intimate Silence

I had a dream…

All the leaf blowers wound down to silence.

All the cars and trucks, motorcycles, and work vans – every vehicle slowly
pulled to the curb and turned off. And none of them ever started again.

Airplanes, helicopters, and drones – landed safely, shut down and would never start again.

All weapons ceased to work. Even tools like knives, spades, axes – if raised in violence crumbled to dust.

Motorized tools of all kinds stopped and wouldn’t start again.

Amplifiers and microphones failed.

And finally…

When every noise making invention of the crazy human animals fell silent…

In the intimate, sacred stillness
A sabbath rest,
A potent dark seed trembling…

Everyone, everywhere, human and more than human
Took a long, deep breath
Let out a relieved and grateful sigh…

And then…

The singing began.

Of course, the birds started it.
Then other creatures took up the song.
The stars, clouds, moon, and sun smiled and tapped out the rhythm of day and night.
The oceans and rivers filled the low end with gurgles and tides.
The animals contributed their beautiful melodies.

And finally,

Sobbing,

The humans began

To harmonize.