Inner and Outer Silence
“Silence means rest, rest of body and mind in which we become available for him whose heart is greater than ours. That is very threatening; it is like giving up control over our actions and thoughts, allowing something creative to happen not by us but to us.”—Henry Nouwen in You are the Beloved (Convergent 2017).
Nouwen reminds us that silence allows us to still the outside world around us, which often becomes so noisy that we cannot hear God’s voice of love right beside us. But there are still a sizeable group of voices that speak to us inside of our heads that deafen the voice of the God of love that also lives inside of us.
Some people can calm the committee in their heads by staying in silence in the practice of centering prayer or a silent retreat. Others need a routine of doing or movement to quiet this committee, such as praying a rosary or walking a labyrinth. Some read, and others play a musical instrument.
For me, writing is the form of prayer that stills the committee in my head. Sometimes as I write, it is as if these loud and varying voices that sit around a conference table in my head stop speaking as if each individual is silently in prayer. Perhaps their prayers allow me to hear the “still small voice of God.” The God of my understanding rarely shouts and most often whispers.
Writing, for me, is turning my life, my hands, my fingers, my mind over to something greater than myself.
This is what we are attempting with all our spiritual practices. We are trying to hear the voice of the God of love and become part of that voice of the God of love in our world.
Later, I then listen to the professional committee members who live in my head to go back and check for grammar, style, and spelling.
Joanna. Joannaseibert.com
Silence for many with busy households during this pandemic has become extremely rare. From them we learn how precious is the gift of the “still small voice.”
Joanna joannaseibert.com
Thank you for support our camp and conference center, Camp Mitchell, on top of Petit Jean Mountain, by buying this book in the daily series of writings for the liturgical year, A Daily Spiritual Rx for Lent and Easter. All of the proceeds from the book go to Camp Mitchell. If you like this book, could you take a brief moment to write a recommendation on its page on Amazon? https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Spiritual-RX-Lent-Easter/dp/0578425130/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=joanna+seibert&qid=1620904788&sr=8-3
More thank-you’s than we can say!!!
