Love is my chosen food

Love is my chosen food, my cup
holding me in its power.
Where I have come from,
Where'er I shall go,
Love is my birthright,
my true estate.

January 2005 (Vol. XVIII, No. 1)

"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"

A blessed New Year, dear fiends! Winter is a natural season for seizing moments, if not hours or days, of solitude seasoned with silence. Here we come closer to eternal truths as we keep company with our indwelling Divine Guest. Here, we hear Love welcoming us home.

The vocation to solitude

Vocation to solitude: To deliver oneself up, to hand oneself over, to entrust oneself completely to the silence of a wide landscape of woods and hills, or sea, or desert; to sit still while the sun comes up over the land and fills its silences with light. To pray and work in the morning and to labor in meditation in the evening when night falls upon that land and when the silence fills itself with darkness and with stars. This is a true and special vocation. There are few who an belong completely to silence, let it soak into their bones, breathe nothing but silence, feed on silence, and turn the very substance of their life into a living and vigilant silence. [Yet each of us is blessed when we offer our silence to the world as we can.]

~ from THOUGHTS IN SOLITUDE by Thomas Merton
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Solitude is not necessarily physical isolation

A state of being alone, of inwardly directed consciousness, solitude is not necessarily physical isolation. In solitude, a person claims value for one's self as a free being. The value found in turning inward is the value of self-determination and responsibility. We find self-worth in solitude, in the core of our freedom. Solitude is necessary for spiritual and professional growth; solitude gives us the ability to face ourselves, others, and God.

~ S. Anna Polcino
S. Anna Polcino solitude

Let nothing disturb thee

Let nothing disturb thee,
nothing affright thee;
All things are passing;
God never changeth;
Patient endurance
Attaineth to all things;
Who God possesseth,
In nothing is wanting;
Alone God sufficeth.

~ St. Teresa's Breviary
St. Teresa St. Teresa's Breviary solitude

Winter solitude

Winter solitude --
In a world of one color
The sound of wind.

~ Basho
Basho solitude

Within me an invincible summer

In the midst of winter
I discovered within me
an invincible summer.

~ Camus
Camus solitude

The deeper one goes into spiritual solitude

If you are truly called to a solitary lifestyle, eventually celibacy must follow. Solitude invites the presence of God, a presence which so consumes the soul, there is no lover energy available for an intense human commitment to intimacy. The deeper one goes into spiritual solitude, the lighter one travels. But it is not for us to divest ourselves -- at our own willed choosing -- of the things that are necessary for life within society. It is for God to strip us, often painfully, of them at a time when God knows -- if we do not -- that we must go more lightly into this Heart of Love.

~ from SILENT DWELLERS by Barbara Erakko-Taylor
Barbara Erakko-Taylor Silent Dwellers solitude

The desert is a place of solitude, silence, simplicity

In desert spirituality, the desert is considered a place of solitude, silence, simplicity, and peace; a place of blessing. It is where the focus is on God -- where we meet Goad and God meets us and disarms our hearts, a place that promises transformation and strengthening; a testing ground that requires us to make choices.

~ Janet Chisholm
Janet Chisholm solitude

Alone in silence with thousands of others

When I retreat at home, I am alone in silence. And I am also with thousands of others around the world, sitting quietly, all of us bonded together in our effort, our solitude, and our prayers. Each moment of the day, thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, are sitting in strong concentration, deepening awareness not only for themselves but for everyone. We are opening our hearts, alone but all-one, joining others throughout the centuries in timeless realms. We dwell in unknown realities singing a song of the revelation of the divine.

~ from SILENCE, SIMPLICITY, AND SOLITUDE by David A. Cooper
David A. Cooper Simplicity, Silence, And Solitude solitude

Learning to be alone in solitude

A person must learn to be alone in solitude, to listen in one's heart to the wordless speech of the Spirit, and to discover the truth bout oneself and God. Then their word to others will be a word of power, because it is a word of silence.

~ Kallistos Ware
Kallistos Ware solitude

We become a mountainside shelter, a place for others to be in God

Prayerful awareness can lead us into solitude, which is where God calls us. It is from within this solitude we encounter the indwelling God. We could say that by fully and fearlessly embracing our solitude before God that we are enabled to become fully and fearlessly present to others. If our being in God is real, we may become as a mountainside shelter within which others may feel encouraged to continue their own dialogue with the Holy One. Thus, as we are in God, we become a place for others to be in God.

~ Max Woolaver in "Presence" (May 1996)
Max Woolaver Presence solitude

The independence of solitude

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but great are those who in the midst of the crowd keep with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson solitude

Physical solitude does not separate us from others, but spiritual isolation

For a full day and two nights I have been alone. I lay on the beach under the stars at night alone....Beauty of earth and sear and air meant more to me. I was in harmony it, melted into the universe, lost in it, as one is lost in a canticle of praise, swelling from an unknown crowd in a cathedral. I felt closer to humankind, too, even in my solitude. For it is not physical solitude that separate us from others, not physical isolation, but spiritual isolation.

~ from A GIFT FROM THE SEA by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
Anne Morrow Lindbergh A Gift From The Sea solitude Buy on Amazon

Sought solitude

I grew up in this forest and I knew
These giant trees when they were nothing more than
Than slender saplings swaying in the wind;
Sought solitude, delighted in the lore
Of nature, who became my teacher first;
Walked down trails where sun and shadow meet,
Through silence softly tucked about the days;
Traced the twists and turns of every creek.
Stepping lightly through the after-glow,
Amid the falling flakes of silver white,
Belonging to the moment and the mood,
Another little creature of the night,
With quickened breath, ears attuned, who stood
... Sensing God within this winter wood!
 

~ Grace E. Easley
Grace E. Easley solitude

Only solitude can provide the depth for universal friendship

Only solitude can provide the depth for universal friendship. Those who can be solitary have withdrawn their projections and are innately nonviolent. They have broken with the crowd, and their communities do not become rival crowds in their turn. Solitude gives us the transformational insight that all things are held together in the boundless, open community of God. To be friends with one another is only seeing what we are in God together. This insight is the criterion of all genuine holiness.

Holiness demands courage. The courage born of holiness.

~ from COMMON GROUND by Laurence Freeman
Laurence Freeman Common Ground solitude Buy on Amazon

December 2004 (VOl. XVII, No. 11)

'Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"

Peace be within you, dear friends! How do we learn to experience a true, lasting peace without an opposite? Listening in the Silence and heeding the Indwelling Word of Peace through love, not fear, seems a blessed beginning. Pass PEACE on ...

Find some time each day to sit quietly in peace

If we want to live like a feather on the Wind, we must strive at least once a day to taste the peace of paradise that dwells within us.We need to find some time each day to sit quietly in peace, in stillness, savoring the mystery of God within us.Such silent sitting will not only prepare us to find "eternal rest" at the time of our death; it will help us find infinite peace in the midst of the problems of life.

~ FEATHERS ON THE WIND by Edward Hays
Edward Hays Feathers On The Wind peace

For peace to be real

Each of us has to find our own peace from within. And for peace to be real, it must be unaffected by outside circumstances.

~ Mohandas K. Gandhi
Mohandas K. Gandhi peace

Peace always begins within each of us

Peace always begins within each of us. Our ability to create in the world depends on our ability, first, to work to create peace in our own lives. It's much easier to advocate peace on Earth than it is to be able to bring peace your own home. Or your own heart.

~ Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich peace

Let us pray for planetary peace

Let us pray for planetary peace ...

peace in every nation
peace in every town and city
peace in every neighborhood
peace in every home and family
peace in every heart

Grace and peace be with each friend of silence.
May our love and peace radiate out to the world.

May Peace prevail on earth!

~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill peace

O, Blessed Peacemaker

O, Great Peacemaker
You make your Home in our hearts,
as Loving Companion Presence.
In the Silence, we come to know You;
With unreserved, radical trust,
our path is made sure.
Bonded in Love, we become empowered
to serve with mercy and justice:
One with You
One with All.
Blessed are You, O Life of our Lives!
Hear our grateful prayer,
O, Blessed Peacemaker!

~ Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill peace

He wanted to be a peacemaker

Mattie Stepanik is a personal friend and one of the most remarkable young people I have known. He wanted to be a peacemaker and through his poems and own courageous example, he proves that finding peace within one's self can lead to harmony among families, communities, and nations. With wisdom and uncomplicated vision Mattie reminds us how easy it is to forgive others, to find something amazing even in the most trivial things, and to celebrate the little gifts of each day.

~ President Jimmy Carter in JOURNEY THROUGH HEARTSONGS by Mattie Stepanik (age 10)
Mattie Stepanik, Jimmy Carter Journey Through Heartsongs peace

If it doesn't matter to us how long it takes for world peace

He looked at me, standing up on the back of the room near the door, so tense, so close to tears, I was ready to open it and run out. "You held up your truth. Now go on holding up your truth. You want world peace right now. So don't be so optimistic, you might become complacent. You must take care of your aspiration to compassion. Just WANT to make these changes, just take it on with joy. If it doesn't matter to us how long it takes for world peace, we can have it right now, with complete joy."

~ from ALTARS IN THE STREET by Melody E. Chavis
Melody E. Chavis Altars In The Street peace Buy on Amazon

If we learn anything from the peace that is in us

If we learn anything from the peace that is in us, it is that it represents the highest good to which no only persons but whole people can be called, and we cannot be content with our own serenity and, at the same time, indifferent to the swirls of anger that threaten to rend the fabric of society all around us. To do so would be to make of ourselves hypocrites, content to save ourselves and lose the world.

~ Erick Koebell
Erick Koebell peace

The price that life exacts for granting peace

Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.

~ Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart peace

The Way is everything

The Way is everything. It's not a particular direction or a special way of doing something; it's a circle with no outside and no inside, just the pulsating of life everywhere. It excludes nothing. Therefore, as peacemakers working in the world, we exclude nothing. We'll pick and choose according to what's appropriate for us at a certain place and a certain moment. But we won't be attached to what we choose, for everything is the Way.

~ from BEARING WITNESS by Bernie Glassman
Bernie Glassman peace

This is the way of peace

This is the way of peace:
Overcome evil with Goodness,
Falsehood with Truth,
and hatred with Love.

~ Peace Pilgrim
Peace Pilgrim peace Buy on Amazon

Lo, peace is here

'Tis not in seeking,
'Tis not in endless striving
Thy quest is found.
Be still and listen.
Be still, and rink the silence
Of all around.

Not for the crying,
Nor for Thy loud beseeching
Will peace draw near.
Rest, with palms folded,
Rest with thine eyelids fallen --
Lo, peace is here.

~ Edward Rowland Sill
Edward Rowland Sill peace

Peace is a choice

The quality of life is in our own hands. But shaping it takes a spirituality of balance. "We should be peaceful in our words and deeds and in our way of life," Angela Foligno wrote. It was ancient spirituality, tried and true. And I understood it in a new way. I wrote,

"It's so true. Peace is a choice. If I didn't worry, didn't fear, didn't react negatively to things, I wouldn't be disturbed by them."

~ from CALLED TO QUESTION by Joan Chittester
Joan Chittester peace

The return to the root is peace

Be completely empty.
Be perfectly serene.
The ten thousand things arise together;
in their arising is their return.
Now they flower,
and flowering
sink homeward,
returning to the root.
The return to the root
is peace.
Peace: to accept what must be,
to know what endures.
In that knowledge is wisdom.

~ Lao-Tse
Lao-Tse peace

To work for peace

To work for peace is to work for life.

~ Henri Houwen
Henri Nouwen peace

Everyone in our family will benefit from our peace

Over the months, I kept on sending Boss a daily supply of tobacco, always wrapped in a page of BEING PEACE. One page at a time he came to like Thich Nhat Han. Every now and then, Boss even tried his best to meditate, but he was never able to stay awake early in the morning.

After eighteen months Bosshog is released from the grip of San Quentin and from the dependence on me for tobacco and BEING PEACE. Before he walked off the tier, he stood in front of my cell and together we recited what had become Boss's mantra whenever he was about to blow his top:

"Man, man ... If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace."

~ from FINDING FREEDOM by Jarvis Jay Masters
Jarvis Jay Masters Finding Freedom peace Buy on Amazon

Let us pray for planetary peace

Let us pray for planetary peace ...

peace in every nation
peace in every town and city
peace in every neighborhood
peace in every home and family
peace in every heart

Grace and peace be with each friend of silence.
May our love and peace radiate out to the world.

May Peace prevail on earth!

O, Blessed Peacemaker

O, Great Peacemaker
You make your Home in our hearts,
as Loving Companion Presence.
In the Silence, we come to know You;
With unreserved, radical trust,
our path is made sure.
Bonded in Love, we become empowered
to serve with mercy and justice:
One with You
One with All.
Blessed are You, O Life of our Lives!
Hear our grateful prayer,
O, Blessed Peacemaker!

November 2004 (Vol. XVII, No. 10)

"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"

Autumn blessings, dear friends. Silence is a cornucopia of gifts enhancing the well-being of our body's health, our mind's clarity, our soul's inner grown and our spirit's aspirations. Silence is a blessing to ourselves, to those around us, and to our Earth-home. May we remember to take respites each day for silence: the pause that nourishes and refreshes.

Enter into silence and let it drink you

Observing silence is a way to quiet the mind and create a place within yourself to receive language from deep levels of feeling. This receptive place where silence lives is found within the heart -- the spiritual heart. Meditative silence is like the luster of green summer grass; to appreciate this living silence, learn to listen attentively. Enter into silence and let it drink you.

~ from POETIC MEDICINE by John Fox
John Fox Poetic Medicine silence Buy on Amazon

Silence is where meaning comes from

Suppose one undertook the discipline of speaking only what one knew was given to speak? How quiet our homes, our churches and work places would be. Our society plays very loose with words, with talk; yet there is little silence, and silence is where meaning comes from.

~ from "Reflections on Simplicity" by Elaine Prevalle
Elaine Prevalle Reflections On Simplicity silence

The cultivation and improvement of inner silence

Outward silence is indispensable for the cultivation and improvement of inner silence.

~ Jeanne Guyon
Jeanne Guyon silence

Silent on the way to silence

Silent in the face of beauty
Silent in the morning light
Silent on the way of duty
Silent in the awesome night.

Silent on the way to silence
Where the Word unspoken dwells
Silent on the way to silence
Where the dear Beloved dwells.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous silence

Sitting without speaking

We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn. It seems only the old are able to sit next to one another and not say anything and still feel content. The young, brash and impatient, must always break the silence. It is a waste, for silence is pure. Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.

~ from THE NOTEBOOK by Nicholas Sparks
Nicholas Sparks silence

The silence of plenty

Loving for God is a loving gaze. This gaze is born of silence. Nothing is sought here. No thought or image are entertained. This gaze opens onto the divine essence and becomes absorption into divine plenty. The silence of plenty.

~ Daniel Lusch
Daniel Lusch silence

A little silence in a noisy culture is revolutionay

Silence is powerful; it must be approached with sensitivity. There are times when silence during a meal may be important, while at other times it may be a hindrance. Silence at meals is interesting to explore; many find it increases the energy obtained from the meal. But beware. A little silence in a noisy culture is revolutionary; you may learn to love it. If that happens, share your silence with those who also love silence.

~ from SERVING FIRE by Anne Scott
Anne Scott Serving Fire silence

How easily silence slips away

I am grateful for the Friends of Silence newsletter for allowing me a small moment to bring myself back to center, into the silence where all is as it should be. It's amazingly simple how we may find solace. It's even more amazing that, once having discovered this simple truth, I could so easily have allowed it to slip away. Thank you for providing my lesson today, in reminding me to stand in the silence of myself, connect with Source, and remember the importance of expressing my gratitude, internally as well as externally.

~ Stephanie Doty
Stephanie Doty silence

I weave a silence

I weave a silence on my lips.
I weave a silence into my mind.
I weave a silence within my heart.
I close my ears to distractions.
I close my eyes to attractions.
I close my heart to temptations.

Calm me as You stilled the storm.
Still me, keep me from harm.
Let all tumult within me cease.
Enfold me in Your peace.

~ David Adam
David Adam silence

Silence and shout that nearly cracked the universe

The venerated Chinese teacher Lin-chi, who died in the year 866, once interrupted the silence with a shout that was said to have nearly cracked the universe.... Breaking the silence can sometimes be a shortcut to cracking open the myteries of the universe. But for now, I'm quite content to sit here quietly. There is only the infrequent shout of a distant ocean wave to rise abo ve the regulated whisper of my own breathing. Soon, even these sounds fade.

~ from CAUGHT IN FADING LIGHT by Gary Thorp
Gary Thorp Caught In Fading Light silence Buy on Amazon

Silenced and shout that nedarly cracked the universe

The venerated Chinese teacher Lin-chi, who died in the year 866, once interrupted the silence with a shout that was said to have nearly cracked the universe.... Breaking the silence can sometimes be a shortcut to cracking open the mysteries of the universe. But for now, I'm quite content to sit here quietly. There is only the infrequent shout of a distant ocean wave to rise above the regulated whisper of my own breathing. Soon, even these sounds fade.

~ from CAUGHT IN FADING LIGHT by Gary Thorp
Gary Thorp Caught In Fading Light silence Buy on Amazon

We have to pay the price silence demands

Silence is precious; yet we have to pay the price it demands. Silence does not reveal its treasures until we are willing to wait in darkness and emptiness.

~ Olive Wyon
Olive Wyon silence

Silence is the doorway to the presence of God

We say silence is golden. Golden as in exquisite, valuable, rare. In the spiritual life, silence is even more: the doorway to the presence of God. But in today's noisy world, where is the holy quiet of silence to be found? Can you hear the silence in your life?

~ from "FMA Focus" thanks to Ethel Phillips
Fma Focus silence

There a two silences

In the Sahara one day, I climbed over a dune to descend into a deep bowl of sand. Sitting at the bottom I encountered for the first time absolute silence, stillness that is indivisible. For there are two silences: a silence can be no more than the absence of noise, it can be inert; or, at the other end of the scale, there is a nothingness that is infinitely alive, and every cell of the body can be penetrated and vivified by this second silence's activity.

~ from THREADS OF TIME by Peter Brook
Peter Brook Threads Of Time silence

Silence is the blended note of then thousand things

The silence is all there is. It is the alpha and the omega. It is God's brooding over the face of the waters; it is the blended note of the ten thousand things, the whine of wings. You take a step in the right direction to pray to this silence, and even to address the prayer to "World." Distinctions blur. Quiet your tents. Pray without ceasing.

~ from TEACHING A STONE TO TALK by Annie Dillard
Annie Dillard Teaching A Stone To Talk silence

I speak to you with silence like a cloud or a tree

I swear, there is in me no wizardry of words.
I speak to you with silence like a cloud or a tree.

~ Czeslaw Milosz
Czeslaw Milosz silence

Silence and the eloquent art of conversation

Silence is one of the great
and eloquent arts of conversation.

~ Thomas More
Thomas More silence

True silence is a suspension bridge built across the gullies of our mind

True silence is our search for God ... a suspension bridge that a soul in love with God builds across the dark, frightening gullies of its own mind, the strange chasms of temptations, the depthless precipices of its own fears that impede its way to God.

True silence is the speech of lovers. For only love knows its beauty, completeness, and utter joy. True silence is a garden enclosed, where alone the soul can meet its God.

~ from CELTIC NIGHT PRAYER by the Northumbria Community with thanks to Roger S. Smith
Northumbria Community Celtic Night Prayer silence Buy on Amazon

Silence is the folding of the wings of the intellect

Silence is the folding of the wings of the intellect to open the door of the heart.

~ from Catherine de Hueck Doherty
Catherine de Hueck Doherty silence

October 2004 (Vol. XVII, No. 9)

"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"

Blessed be, dear friends. Can you imagine your soul as Life breathing in a delicate, interconnected Oneness, a mutual dance of Wholeness with ALL that is? Who can answer the invitation to beome conscious of our soul's interbeing, interweaving, with the World Soul? In egvery moment, how we live, think, pray and act awakens our soul or allows our soul to sleep. A Great Awakener, activate our souls that we may embrace and answer our own unique divine Call. May gratitude become our soul-song!

The soul as a garden

When the prayer makers thought of the soul as a garden, they liked to picture in it the Creator setting a breeze into motion and the flowers of the soul to dancing. On a gray morning or a dark night, in late autumn or in barren years as much as in brighter times, the imagination of such dancing signals that divine activity is all around us, only waiting to be recognized. May the prayer and the dreams that goodness might displace everything that is flawed in the soul come to be realized for another dancing day.

~ from WHEN TRUE SIMPLICITY IS GAINED by Martin and Micah Marty
Martin and Micah Marty When True Simplicity Is Gained soul

You are in my soul to stay

I shall pray to seek You
with my whole heart ...
I dwell in Your Presence
even when my thoughts becfome devious.
It is too much to bear alone
when my eyes turn from You,
You are in my soul to stay,
my home is in Your Presence.

~ Dorcas Wildhagen
Dorcas Wildhagen soul

Our soul makes constant noise

Our soul makes constant noise, but it has a silent place we never hear. When the silence of God enters us, pierces our soul, and joins its silent sacred palce, then God is our treasure and our heart. And space opens before us like a fruit that breaks in two. Then we see the universe from a point beyond space.

~ Simone Weil thanks to Liz Stewart
Simone Weil soul

God is giving my soul a new chance to be good

I think God for waking me up. Every day when I wake up, it's like God is giving my soul a new chance to be good.

~ Sara Noa, age 7
Sara Noa soul

Each of us is a soul

Each of us is a soul. We have been told that we "have" a soul, but that's not the same thing. To have a soul would indicate that we are primarily an ego or a personality that in some way "possesses" a soul. Our essence IS the soul and all aspects of ego and personality flow from that essence. At its core the soul is pure, but habits, tendencies, and imbalances often obscure some of that inner light. Our spiritual work is to correct whatever shortcomings may be preventing the light of our sould from shining through.

~ from CLIMBING JACOB'S LADDER by Alan Morinis
Alan Morinis Climbing Jacob's Ladder soul Buy on Amazon

Stand up and show your soul

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like god in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire. To display the lantern of the soul in shadowy times like these -- to be fierce and to show mercy toward others -- both are acts of immense bravery and greatest necessity. Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it. If you would help to calm the tumult, this is one of the strongest things you can do.

~ Clarissa Pinkola Estes
Clarissa Pinkola Estes soul

My soul is not asleep

My soul is not asleep.
It is awake, wide awake.
It neithr sleeps, nor dreams, but watches,
its eyes wide open, sees
far-off things, and listens
at the shore of the great silence.

~ Antonio Machado
Antonio Machado soul

The soul fills the body

The soul fills the body,
as God fills the world.
The soul bears the body,
as God bears the world.
The soul outlasts the body,
as God outlasts the world.
The soul is one in the body,
as God is One in the world.
The soul sees and is not seen,
as God is seen and is not seen.
The sould is pure in the body,
as God is pure in the world.

~ R. Simeon Ben Pari in the Talmud
R. Simeon Ben Pari Talmud soul

The soul is the greening life force of the flesh

The soul is the greening life force of the flesh, for the body grows and prospers through her, just as the earth becomes fruitful when it is moistened. The soul humidifies the body so it does not dry out, just like the rain which soaks into the earth.

~ Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen soul

Touching a soul gently as when water drops upon a sponge

When Magdalena entered the room the next time, Inigo asked her for paper and ink. He had found the formula and did not want it to slip from his mind.

"In those who proceed from good to better, the good spirit touches such a soul gently and softly as when water drops upon a sponge, and the evil spirit strikes it sharply and noisily, causing disquiet as when water drops upon a stone."

~ from THE GOLDEN THREAD by Louis de Wohl
Louis de Wohl The Golden Thread soul

Each of us a needed part of the Universal Soul

Each of us is a separate and sacred being, a being made most real when it weaves itself into the pattern of all Being. The harmony of all Being includes each of us within it, and its health requires our individual effort. So we live; each of us a needed part of the Universal Soul -- each in all, and all in each, one pattern, one truth, one body.

~ from CYCLES OF RENEWAL by Robert E. Senghas
Robert E. Senghas Cycles Of Renewal soul

Soul is a quality of absoluteness in something relative

Like justness in a judge's decision, or beauty in a painting, soul is a quality of absoluteness in something relative. Understood profoundly, people are connected to the holiness of the world in such a way that they reveal a dimension of holiness in themselves, a dimension of depth that is absolute.

~ from THE SOUL AFLAME by Barbara Sproul
Barbara Sproul The Soul Aflame soul

The universe is in Soul

Soul is not in the universe,
on the contrary,
the universe is in Soul.

~ Plotinus
Plotinus soul

Our souls are going out dancing tonight

In 2000, while I was in the hospital for by-pass surgery, an old man called out for help each night. All the prayers for his comfort and quiet seemed to float away. One night I found myself saying,

"Old man, you are not going to be miserable this night. My soul is coming over and our souls are going out dancing!"

I don't have a rational explantion, I only know he was quiet that night, my soul uplifted. I believe our souls danced that night. The next day the old man died. Such is the power of Spirit in our lives.

~ in a letter form Jacqueline White, a Friend of Silence
Jacqueline White soul

September 2004 (Vol. XVII, No. 8)

Never let your work hold your spirit in bondage!

"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"

Peace and grace to you, dear friends! How we work, what we choose to do for our livelihood, what our service renders for our own well-being, for that of others and society, is deeply connected to our deep inner values: our very being. To spend time in silence and in prayer reflecting on our work in the world can bring insights, open the door to new possibilities, change our way of envisioning work. Ultimately, may our work be or become what we love and enable us to co-create in the great Plan of Love for Earth: our home.

When everything we do becomes a prayer

If we add up all the time we have spent in our life getting things over with, it may turn out to be half our lives. The monastic attitude is to begin deliberately and to do anything we do with an even, stately pace and with wholehearted attention. This is how master artisans, weavers, experienced farmers, and other sage laborers work. That way even difficult tasks can be done leisurely ande with joy, for their own sake. And then they become life-giving.... We pray that God may guide our actions. When we do our work in this way, then everything becomes a prayer

~ from THE MUSIC OF SILENCE by David Steindl-Rast
David Steindl-Rast The Music Of Silence work Buy on Amazon

Those who would be of great service

Those who would be of great service, remain silent;
they simply pour themselves out in all they do
unreservedly, confidently, peacefully.

~ Anonymous
Anonymous work

In order to make my own contribution

So long as space remains,
So long as sentient beings remain,
I will remain,
In order to help, in order to server,
In order to make my own contribution.

~ one of the Dalai Lama's favorite prayers
Dalai Lama work

God works for us by working through us as us

God is the silent Power behind all things,
always ready to pur int our experience that which we need.
God works for us by working through us as us.

~ TEACHING OF THE MYSTIC by Ruth Lambek
Ruth Lambek Teaching Of The Mystic work

A spirituality of work

A spirituality of work is based on a heightened sense of sacramentality, of the idea that everything that is, is holy and that our hands consecrate it to the service of God. A spirituality of work puts us in touch with our own creativity ... draws us out of ourselves and, at the same time, makes us more of what we are meant to be. A spirituality of work immerses me in the search for human community. I finally come to know that my work is God's work, unfinished by God because God meant it to be finished by me.

~ from THERE IS A SEASON by Joan Chittister
Joan Chittister There Is A Season work Buy on Amazon

My chief duty is to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble

I long to accomplish a great and noble task;
but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks
as if they were great and noble.

~ Helen Keller
Helen Keller work

The song that the world sings through us

The song that the world sings through us is to be sung into others:

Go into the world, go build cities, go discover cultures; go spread love, go give, go make magnificence, get and give light, save and join and piece together to form a whole. Gather the broken pieces, connect them; these are the things we have to work with.

Make like a map, a world where all things are linked together and murmur through each other -- a singing, a round, strong, clear song of total meaning, a language within language, responding each to each forever in the memory of each individual.

~ from THE HOUSE OF BREATH by William Goyem
William Goyem The House Of Breath work

We are transmitters of life

As we live, we are transmitters of life.
And when we fail to transmit life,
life fails to flow through us ...
And if, as we work, we can transmit
life into our work,
life, still more life, rushes into us
to compensate, to be ready
and we ripple with life through the days.

Give, and it shall be given unto you
is still the truth about life ...
It means kindling the life-quality
where it was not,
Even if it's only in the whiteness
of a washed pocket-handkerchief.

~ from "We Are Transmitters" by D. H. Laurence
D. H. Laurence We Are Transmitters work

The Inner Gate that leads to the great Work

Wend your way through the corridors of time,
not as passengers on a free ride
watching the seasons pass;
Rather, steady mindfulness quickens
the spirit, awakens the soul,
and opens the Inner Gate that leads
to the great Work so needed in these times.
Discover the joy of helping humanity
to reverence all Creation,
of offering your healing hands
in the restoration of planet Earth.
Discernment and discipline will cut through
impediments to action.

~ from LUMEN CHRISTI, HOLY WISDOM by Nan Merrill
Nan Merrill Lumen Christi . . . Holy Wisdom work Buy on Amazon

We've got a job to do

Fr. Joe's retort in answser to some enthusiastic piety of mine about the sanctity of community and its high purpose: "Good gracious -- we're not silly old monks mumbling prayers all day. We've got a job to do!" I realized how like him this was, how down-to-earth encapsulating his generous view of the ordinary. Every word he spoke was drawn from a deep well of generosity. He hade built it up over decades of contemplating people and loving them all without reserve. His gentle power spring from a straightforward assessment of the world and his job in it. That job was love.

~ from FR. JOE by Tony Hendra
Tony Hendra Fr. Joe work

The work we do in the world corresponds to the work that goes on within us

Each pereson, no matter how old, has an important work to do. This good work not only accomplishes something needed in the world, but completes something in us. When it is finished a new work emerges that will help us make green a desert place, as well as to scale another mountain in ourselves. The work we do inthe world, when it is a true vocation, always will correspond in some mysterious way in the work that goes on within us.

~ from CRY PAIN, CRY HOPE by Elizabeth O'Connor
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Service is the carying out of soul purpose

Service is one of the two main levers of evolution: one is meditation, the other is service. Service, of whatever kind, gradually distances you from yourself. As your service grows, expands outwards from yourself, you do not lose touch with yourself but you become less and less concerned with your own ego, your personality expression. Service is the impulse of the soul, the carying out of soul purpose.

~ Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme work

To contribute wisdom and experience to the young

How can we prepare for the most important years of our lives, the latter years, by thinking that we are going to shut down our engines? What have we done by limiting those persons who have the most to offer our society?

The eastern cultures know the secret. Elder members of society have mujch wisdom to share. The truth is that as one approaches the years beyond seventy, the veils of heaven are particularly open to the soul. This means that the individual has the opportunity to be of special service to humanity and can begin his or her most important work:

To contribute wisdom and experience to the young.

~ from A MESSAGE FOR HUMANITY by K. Martin-Kuri
K. Martin-Kuri A Message For Humanity work Buy on Amazon

The Inner Gate that leads to the great Work

Wend your way through the corridors of time,
not as passengers on a free ride
watching the seasons pass;
Rather, steady mindfulness quickens
the spirit, awakens the soul,
and opens the Inner Gate that leads
to the great Work so needed in these times.
Discover the joy of helping humanity
to reverence all Creation,
of offering your healing hands
in the restoration of planet Earth.
Discernment and discipline will cut through
impediments to action.

July/August 2004 (Vol. XVII, No. 7)

May you be blessed abundantly this summer season, dear friends! May you open your hearts to nurture your soul in silence each day; for WISDOM flows from the Heart of Divine Love to all who are receptive ... and the world is sorely in need of more Wisdom.

Wisdom is found by those who seek her

Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her.She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for she will be found sitting at the gate.She goes about seeking those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their paths, and meets them in every thought.

~ thanks to Carolyn Nicosia
thanks to Carolyn Nicosia wisdom

Wisdom leads to joy

Pleasure is one thing; wisdom is another.The first leads to sorrow, though pleasant at the time.The latter, though at first unpleasant, leads to lasting joy.

~ an Indian scripture
Indian Scripture wisdom

Wisdom has no limitations

Wisdomhas no limitations and embraces the profound as well as the simple.She can be found in the huts of the poor and in the palaces, in workshops and in lecture halls.She deals with the most profound speculations on the creation of the world and the very nature of God and even with the inability of men and women to come up with adequate answers to these great mysteries.Wisdom tells us to be attentive to her and to incline our ears to her understanding.

~ THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD by Wm. Meninger
Wm. Meninger The Temple Of The Lord wisdom

Wisdom is the application of spiritual laws

Ignorance of spiritual laws is bondage; knowledge of spiritual laws is freedom; application of spiritual laws is wisdom.

~ Evelyn Underhill
Evelyn Underhill wisdom

Wisdom rises from within us

There is a Wisdom that arises--sometimes gracefully, sometimes gently, sometimes awkwardly, sometimes fiercely, but it will arise to save us if we let it, and it rises from WITHIN us, like the force that drives green shoots to break the winter ground, it will arise and drive us into a great blossoming like a pear tree, into flowering, into fragrance, fruit and song ... in that part of ourselves that can never be defiled, defeated or destroyed, but that comes back to life, time and time again, that lives--always--that does not die.

~ THE BOND BETWEEN WOMEN by China Galland
China Galland The Bond Between Women wisdom

Wisdom is the art of living in rhythm with your soul

Wisdom is the art of balancing the known with the unknown, the suffering with the joy; it is a way of linking the whole of life together in a new and deeper unity ... Wisdom is the art of living in rhythm with your soul, your life, and the divine.

~ ANAM CARA by John Donohue
Anam Cara wisdom Buy on Amazon

A vision of wisdom

There came upon me an overshadowing bright cloud, and in the midst of it a Figure of a Woman, most richly adorned with transparent gold, her hairhanging down, and her face as terrible as crystal for brightness, but her countenance was sweet and mild.At this sight I was somewhat amazed, but immediately a Voice came saying, "Behold, I am God's eternal Virgin, Wisdom, whom thou hast been enquiring after.I am to unseal the Treasures of God's deep wisdom unto thee."

~ A FOUNTAIN OF GARDENS by Jane Lead (1670)
Jane Lead A Fountain Of Gardens wisdom

Wisdom is a living stream

Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon preserved in a museum.Only when we find the spring of wisdom in our own life can it flow to future generations.

~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Thich Nhat Hanh wisdom

Human wisdom is but a noise

What is my word, what is human wisdom
but a noise that reaches the outer ear?
But from that ear to the heart lies a road
that only God can travel.
Blessed are you who do not put your trust
in the noise of your own words,
even though they come wrapped in great
        human wisdom.


 

~ THE VIOLENCE OF LOVE by Oscar Romero
Oscar Romero The Violence Of Love wisdom

Wisdom, practice and silence

Wisdom is developed through spiritual practice; for in silence you learn what can never be taught.

~ Frances Vaughn
Frances Vaughan Frances Vaughn wisdom

A psalm to wisdom

In the pouring forth of wisdom
 all things have their being;
 wisdom in my shining,
 wisdom beyond me shining.
All things are branches
of the Tree of wisdom
wisdom in me growing,
wisdom beyond me growing.
In the circle of being
all things share a blessing;
wisdom in me turning,
wisdom beyond me turning. 

~ CHINOOK PSALTER II ed. by Lee Henderson
Chinook Psalter Ii wisdom

Wisdom comes when we realize that happiness comes from opening up in the moment

Wisdom replaces ignorance in our minds when we realize that happiness does not lie in the accumulation of more and more pleasant feelings, that gratifying craving does not bring us a feeling of wholeness or completion.It simply leads to more craving and more aversion.When we realize in our own experience that happiness comes not from reaching out but from letting go, not from seeking pleasurable experience but from opening up in the moment to what is true, this transformation of understanding then frees the energy of compassion within us.Our minds are no longer bound up in pushing away pain or holding on to pleasure.Compassion becomesthe natural response of an open heart.

~ SEEKING THE HEART OF WISDOM by Joseph Goldstein & Jack Kornfield
Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield Seeking The Heart Of Wisdom wisdom

Innocence protects against the negative forces of life; we grow wise by stages

Innocence is precious and powerful: not to be confused with ignorance, it is a Divine protection against the negative forces of life.We grow wise by stages and often a whole lifetime of experience is necessary to gain wisdom."Wisdom is glorious," said Solomon, "and never fadeth away."

~ from THE VOICE OF SILENCE by Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo
Oonagh Shanley-Toffolo The Voice Of Silence wisdom

Wisdom is uncovered by being present to the essence of your whole experience

Wisdom means "to see" or "to know".It does not mean knowing facts or having an opinion.Wisdom is uncovered by being present enough to perceive the essence of your whole experience.This wisdom will help you attend to what matters in your life and understand the meaning of your life's changes.The practice of moment-to-moment PRESENCE is key.Seeing essence; knowing wholeness.

~ from POETIC MEDICINE by John Fox
John Fox Poetic Medicine wisdom Buy on Amazon

Wisdom consists in doing the next thing with your whole heart

Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart and finding delight in doing it.And the DELIGHT is the sense of the sacred.

~ by Helen Luke
Helen Luke wisdom

The Spirit of Wisdom is showing herself

Little by little, from a deep level, the Spirit of Wisdom is showing herself.Sophia dwells in the hearts of those who seek new dreams and hope for a more wholesome world: the Dorothy Days, the Martin Luther Kings, the Archbishop Romeros ... [there are so manynow!].Sophia rejoices in the visionaries and the peace-makers.She fills them.In a world which is hungry, tired and seeking, God's presence is shown in Sophia through people who are to experience, in our insecure world, God's wholesome vision and dream for the human race, born of both the masculine and the feminine Holy Energies.

~ from a warm moist salty God by Edwina Gateley
Edwina Gately wisdom

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