Silence is Golden

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When I was young and often heard the phrase "silence is golden," my immediate reaction was to think, "yeah, and boring, too." Sometimes my mind is still on that page----and I leave silence before I am able to experience some of the "fruits" it has to offer. Thomas Keating has said, "Silence is a great common denominator between people and also between us and God. God's first language is silence. Everything else is a poor translation. It is by entering into silence that we are best able to hear God"(Thomas Keating, 2009, Divine Therapy & Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps, pp. 151-152, Kindle Edition). I have an impatient mind, and it does not like to wait in the silence until it is able to hear God. What my mind often does instead is wander off track chasing one trivial thought after another. And so, because I cannot "perfectly silence" my mind, I often quit trying.

For over a year now I have been involved in a contemplative prayer group as part of practicing my program of recovery. This is how Keating describes this type of prayer: "By contemplation we mean communion, resting in the presence of God beyond feelings, particular acts of the will and concepts. That state we call contemplation. It is a movement from concentration to receptivity, from conversation to communion. It does not mean that we no longer converse with God at other times or in other forms of prayer, but we have a new capacity to be present with God and to commune with Him in silence"(Thomas Keating, 2009, Divine Therapy & Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps, pp. 146-147, Kindle Edition). Thus, I have started trying to sit still and listen for God again. Only now I have learned there is no right or wrong, perfect or imperfect way to do so. I have learned to accept the trivial stream of thoughts that continually wander through my consciousness, to acknowledge them, and to re-direct my attention back to silent receptivity.

At this point you may be wondering "why bother?" The 11th step most recovery groups follow suggests using prayer and meditation on a daily basis in order to be in contact with God (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2001). That is my personal answer to the "why bother?" question. Keating offers additional information that also helps answer this question: " The Divine Indwelling is a loving presence of God within us. It is unconscious to us in the beginning of the spiritual journey. As it becomes conscious, it gives us a signal as to where true happiness is to be found. When that happens, it reevaluates the importance that we gave to all of the other sources of happiness that we hoped or expected would bring us gratification. They are substitutes for God when we do not experience his presence" (Thomas Keating, 2009, Divine Therapy & Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps, p. 150, Kindle Edition). Seen in this light, contemplative prayer is a way to have conscious contact with God---something that gives me the happiness I sought to find many other ways through the years, most of them unhealthy. I think the founders of AA realized that their drinking was a form of spiritual bankruptcy with alcohol being used to fill the "emptiness" associated with not being in a spiritual relationship with God.

So, the key "take home" points about today's topic are:

* We need to be in conscious contact with the God of our choosing

* Doing so keeps us from fruitlessly, and sometimes harmfully, looking elsewhere for "happiness"

* Contemplative prayer is a way of sitting in silent communion with the loving presence of God that is within each of us (Keating, 2009)

* Consider getting comfortable with silence so your mind can be open to experiencing the loving presence of God

Please comment and share your ideas about using silence to come in conscious contact with God. May God bless and keep you.

Note: Contemplative Prayer group meets on Monday afternoons from 5:30-6:30 PM at Christ Episcopal Church at the corner of Fountain and Themis.