Listening to Sacred Stillness: Many Silences, One Stillness

Many Silences, One Stillness

People sometimes ask me about the difference between stillness and silence. I believe there are many silences, but one stillness.

We know the silence of “dead air”when there is supposed to be audio but there is not. There can be silence when something we said to be funny or profound is not received that way.

I know the silence which arrives when I reach a certain level of anger. Even though I grow more talkative as I get angry, there is a point of silence when I swallow it all. I stop talking as the anger and frustration boils within me. That is silence without stillness.

There is the silence of nighttime in a place far from other people. Whether a rural house or a cabin in the woods, the silence can be unnerving for some people.

We may experience silence when everyone else has gone to sleep. That silence may be broken if we find a table or the corner of a desk with one of our toes.

Some people find silence disconcerting. They may experience silence as oppressive while stillness as calming or comforting.

We may employ silence as a tool or a force. When events happen which seem to be beyond our comprehension we may put silence to work.

It can be that silence is something we use to mask what we think or how we feel. We may be diplomatic or intimidated and choose to remain silent.

My contemplative practices are not about being silent. I am not practicing hiding my feelings or ideas. It is not that I am trying not to let anyone know what is going on within me.

Contemplative life is not about the many silences, but the one stillness.

We practice listening and opening ourselves to sacred stillness.

Listening to the One Stillness

Many of us try to find a silent place to sit when we practice listening to sacred stillness. It can help us get started to surround ourselves with quiet and calm.

Some of the most powerful experiences I have had with stillness have been in noisy locations. I remember seeing people find stillness surrounded by others in airport terminals.

Early in my practice of centering prayer one of my teachers suggested I pray in a particularly chaotic place. It was a strong reminder our stillness comes from within us, not from our surroundings.

Silence can help us as we listen for sacred stillness. Some of us, though, place a great deal of importance on the silence around us. We may find it impossible to listen to stillness unless we have almost perfect silence.

Some people can get distracted by even the smallest noise.

Our contemplative practices are not about finding the deepest, best silence. We are not evaluating or cataloguing the silences we experience.

We listen to sacred stillness. There is one stillness which we find in each of the various places we listen. Some days we may barely graze the surface of stillness. There may be days when our listening takes us deep into the heart of stillness.

Each time we listen is a new adventure with lessons of its own.

My practice of listening to sacred stillness does not depend on the quality of silence I experience. For me, contemplation is not about what I hear or do not hear.

Contemplation is being open and listening to sacred stillness. Our listening does not depend on the quality or type of silence around us while we listen.

Assessing the silence around us while we are listening is just one more distraction.

How We Listen to the One Stillness

Our listening to sacred stillness is not like listening to a podcast. We do not turn stillness on like background music we play while we also do something else. Listening to stillness is not the same as being part of a conversation which may fade in and out.

We do not interrupt and we are not thinking about what we will say next. Stillness does not run along on a separate track in the background.

Listening to sacred stillness requires our unfocused attention.

We are not concentrating on finding stillness. Contemplation is not our relentless listening in pursuit of stillness. Distractions are not enemies we are trying to destroy.

Our listening to stillness is about letting go of what distracts us. Some of those distractions might be noises which break the silence. Many other distractions beneath the surface disrupt the stillness within us.

We practice listening to sacred stillness by not paying attention to what distracts us. As we let go of what diverts our attention at deeper and deeper levels we discover stillness.

One stillness flows through us whether we are experiencing silence or not. We may experience stillness as coming and going, but it is always with us.

As we practice listening we realize stillness is with us whether we are distracted or not.

Why We Listen to the One Stillness

A practice of listening to sacred stillness can be inconvenient. It takes us time and effort to practice listening well.

There may be times when we plan to listen but just do not feel like it very much. We might have other things we feel we need to do. Practicing listening is not always our passion.

We listen to the one stillness because our lives depend on it. When we do not take time to practice listening we can approach life from the wrong direction.

Listening to sacred stillness is what helps me live from my center.

I often need to be reminded I am not the most significant thing in the universe. Listening to sacred stillness helps bring me back into right relationship with spiritual life.

We hear many silences, and one stillness.

How will we listen to the one stillness today?

Why will we listen to the one stillness this week?

[Image by Sarah McDevitt]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and leadership coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.