Sounds of Silence

Many of my friends were concerned about me coming to spend a week among the Benedictine sisters for my spiritual direction program.  They were not concerned with what I would learn: the doctrine or the scope of the program.  They weren't concerned about my being away for a week.  They were concerned because they knew I had a day of sacred silence to live through on Wednesday.  Silence. Anyone who knows me knows I am loud and I love to laugh.  And yet, while my friends laughed at the notion of me being in silence, it was the part of the week about which I was most excited!  My mind and soul were craving a respite from the constant noise of life.  

The noise surrounds all of us.  It may look or feel different to us each, but we all have it.  Whether it's demands of family or work, the hustle and bustle of our to-do lists, the conversations or arguments we had with a loved one.... Whatever it looks like, there is noise that penetrates and keeps us from finding focus on what matters.  The noise keeps us from true inner peace and calm. If we don't know how to find times of silence, the noise can easily keep us from being centered and keep us from union with the holy in our lives.  That said, silence can be scary. It allows time for reflection.  For emotion.  For facing realities we haven't wanted to face. But silence is also healing.  When done well, it's not lonely and isolating, but a time of comfortable solitude.  It can be about finding our harmony within the natural world.  It can be about sharing the deepest parts of ourselves with God.  It can be a time of meditation, contemplation, restoration, and holiness.  

My day of silence was very holy.  It was done not simply for the sake of being silent, but out of the embracing of Benedictine values and the understanding that to truly hear others in spiritual direction, we have to hear ourselves.  We have to put aside the noise and see what's at work in us.  Our day of silence was begun with a community gathering of prayer and meditation where we shared our anxieties and expectations around the day ahead.  And then we were led into silence in a most beautiful way as we remembered Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God."

What did I do with my day?  I spent as much time as possible laying in the shade of a tall tree.  I listened to the world and sounds of nature around me.  I read.  I prayed through crayons and markers.  I let the noise within me bubble up and out.  I let go.  I embraced.  I remembered.  I healed. When morning came, I was almost afraid to speak again.  The sounds of silence had be a profound reprieve from the constant churning chaos within me. The first voice spoken into the day felt like a crashing cymbal into the comfortable peace that had been found.  I found myself wanting to linger in the quiet longer, soaking in God's goodness.

Wondering how you can ease yourself into some focused silence?  Try using Psalm 46:10 as a guide into quieting your soul.  Whether for a day of silence or just a brief time of meditation and calm, this is an effective and beautiful way to center yourself.  Slowly speak aloud, chant or whisper each line four-five times before moving to the next line.  Be ever aware of your breathing and a calming presence within you.

Be still, and know that I am God

Be still, and know

Be still

Be. 

May you find the sounds of silence in your soul to be a blessing to be experienced again and again.