silence

‘Silence is the first language of God.’

This is really simple (you can feel the but coming), but simple does mean easy and it definitely does not mean shallow. Actually simple can be really hard to keep simple, because before you know it a very simple thing can become a complex and intricate thing (like this sentence). Simplicity is a constant effort, like pruning a topiary. It’s a simple lollipop tree, but to keep it like that takes constant effort.

And that is precisely what the core is of all spiritual disciplines. Effort. Now just to make it clear effort is rather different from works, works expect a reward or compensation but effort implies a deliberate striving towards God, a conscious seeking or an intended action.

Silence is the King of all spiritual practices. And the one we need most. Deepak Chopra once said that if you chose only one thing to do to live a long and healthy life, then chose to spend time regularly in silence.

When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Lam 3:28,29 msg

Yet silence is the furthest thing from us. At any given time most of us, have a cell phone, an mp3 player or radio either on us or around us. We race so quickly that we leave our selves behind. Jesus walked at around 3km an hour someone once told me, but how we love to outrun him.

‘Hurry is not of the Devil, it is the Devil’ – CG Jung

Spending time in silence (simply) says:

Here I am God.

Change me as you will.

Form me.

I can’t. You can.

Silence show our dependence on God, our submission to his will and purposes. It shows physically the intention of our hearts.

Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God, And also obedience. Ps 65:1 msg

After a while you will begin to develop a lifestyle of silence, a constant awareness of the still peace of God that fills the spaces around you and inside you. It is a quiet waiting for God, waiting to see what he is up to, so that you can join him.

...In returning and rest you shall be saved; and in quietness and hope shall be your strength... Isa 30:15 mkjv

So how do I do this simple yet complex but very necessary thing? Here is one way, a very old way, which I happen to like.

1. Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.

2. Sit comfortably on a chair, feet on the ground, back straight.

3. Let all thoughts flow through you letting them go as soon as they pop up. Don’t try and block them. This is impossible.

4. Then return your heart gently to God. Use a word such as ‘holy, welcome, peace etc’ as a kind of a bookmark to guide you back to God. Gently say the word in your mind when you catch yourself in a thought and return to the silence. You can also use a mental image, or some movement in your body (such as your breathing or heartbeat) to guide you back.

5. Try and do this for 20min or build up to 20min a day. Use a cell phone alarm or some soft timer.

6. It doesn’t matter how many thoughts you have, or many times you need to ‘refocus’. There is no such thing as a good or bad time in silence. Because it is God that is the one touching your heart, seeing your intention. The power is never in the practice, it is in God’s hands.

7. Take note of how your life and your reactions to others change over the next few months.