Nan Merrill

The beauty in Silence

KNOW your own inner peace and the beauty in Silence.
BE that peace and beauty you are.

Stop tuning separate instruments

The time has come for us to stop tuning separate instruments and, together, to create a symphony!

Listen for the music of the Holy Word

Enter into the Silence, into the
Heart of Truth;
For herein lies the Great Mystery
where life is ever unfolding;
Herein the Divine Plan is made known,
the Plan all are invited to serve.
Listen for the music of the Holy Word
in the resounding Silence of
the universe.
May balance and harmony be your aim
as you are drawn into the
Heart of Love.

June 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 6)

BLESSED are you, friends, whose heart music radiates out the world. May your soul song ever reflet the beauty, peace and harmony of the Silent Song of the Spheres!

So shall I sing my song

So shall I sing my song. The melody winds through creation and forms the Name of the deepest Mystery and Being ... is unspeakable and as simple as the bee and the hummingbird and flower, is as constant and as changing as the cosmos. The Name is Now. With each moment the song is new. Each call of the Holy in and to me releases a surprise of melody I never knew I knew before. I didn't. Awareness. The Holy One makes all things new -- always, all ways, now. I must be attentive to my singing. I am new. I can always be a song fuller than could be imagined yesterday. I sing my life and I sing creation. Your Name is the song.

~ from BLESSING by Christin Lore Weber

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God tuning the great musical instrument of creation

Old illustrations show God tuning the great musical instrument of creation... We all vibrate sympathetically like different octaves of the same tone, our human hearts pulsing in the same rhythms as those of the material and spiritual worlds... We know we are well on the way toward soul when we feel interconnected to the world and the people around us and when we live as much from the heart as from the head.

~ from CARE OF THE SOUL by Thomas Moore

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The final reason of all music

The aim and final reason of all music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the Spirit.

~ J. S. Bach

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We must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence

All paths lead to the same goal: to convey to others what we are. And we must pass through solitude and difficulty, isolation and silence, in order to reach forth to the enchanted place where we can dance our clumsy dance and sing our sorrowful song -- but in this dance or in this song there are fulfilled the most ancient rites of our conscience in the awareness of being human and of believing in a common destiny.

~ Pablo Neruda

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The fundamental music accompanying the entire dance of the spirit

The discovery that God is as close to us as water in a sponge, or that God is in our body's veins and arteries as well as in the veins and arteries of our lives, is the fundamental music accompanying the entire dance of the spirit... Through every movement and every gestures, every turn and return, every leap forward and every silent rest, the music remains -- not only beneath and over and under and next to and within. In the trees and in the lakes, in the laughter and in the tears, in the animals and in the sun, in the soil, the fire, the air, the water. In the lure and the invitation ... the responding, the searching, the finding, the remembering. And in every one of us.

~ from DANCE OF THE SPIRIT by Maria Harris

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The closer the source, the purer the song

If prayer is the central core of life, then dance becomes prayer when we are expressing our relationship to God, to others, and to the world of matter and spirit, through movement originating from our deepest selves -- this same central point of worship. The movements of dance-prayer start from our deep center, flow outward like rivulets into the stream of life, and impart life everywhere. So dance can be a part of prayer, just as stillness can be a part of music. There is one root; all the rest, movement or stillness, silence or sound, is its expression. The closer the source, the purer the song.

~ from THE SPIRIT MOVES by Carla De Sola

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Stop tuning separate instruments

The time has come for us to stop tuning separate instruments and, together, to create a symphony!

~ Nan Merrill

Nan Merrill music

Listen for the music of the Holy Word

Enter into the Silence, into the
Heart of Truth;
For herein lies the Great Mystery
where life is ever unfolding;
Herein the Divine Plan is made known,
the Plan all are invited to serve.
Listen for the music of the Holy Word
in the resounding Silence of
the universe.
May balance and harmony be your aim
as you are drawn into the
Heart of Love.

~ from Psalm 132 in PRAYING THE PSALMS

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The musical servant of God

Though a world of increasing deafness shattered Beethoven's dreams of success in the outer world of society, it also caused him to turn within. And while human relationships came and went, Beethoven was discovering God, the eternal companion. This reorientation of his soul may well be the primary reason for the higher level of composition in his second period creations ... stemming from a fundamental need to express through music new and deeper worlds of soul-experience. Whereas before he composed for himself, in his second period, Beethoven was consciously striving to become the musical servant of God.

~ from BEETHOVEN AND THE SPIRITUAL PATH by David Tame

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A melody of majestic beauty carried from the waterfall

Life. It was in the water too. Each drop from the waterfall had its own intelligence and purpose. A melody of majestic beauty carried from the waterfall and filled the garden. The music came from the water itself, from its intelligence, and each drop produced its own tone and melody which mingled and interacted with every other strain and sound around it. The water was praising God for its life and joy ...

~ from EMBRACED BY THE LIGHT by Betty J. Eadie

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Music produces a kind of inner joy

Music produces a kind of inner joy which human nature cannot do without.

~ Confucius

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I know not how Thou singest

I know not how Thou singest ...
I ever listen in silent amazement.
The light of Thy music illumines the world.
The life breath of Thy music runs from sky to sky.
The holy stream of Thy music breaks through all stony obstacles
and rushes on.
My heart longs to join in Thy song, but vainly struggles for a voice.
I would speak but speech breaks not into song,
and I cry out baffled.
Ah, Thou has made my heart captive in the endless meshes of my music ...

~ from GITANJALI by Rabindranath Tagore

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We are the flute

We are the flute,
but the music is Thine.

~ Rumi

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May 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 5)

BLESSINGS Friends! MAy the inner gifts of beauty, peace, integrity and harmony be reflected in the outer sared spaces of your life!

Deep within your soul there is a knowing place

Deep within your soul
there is a KNOWING PLACE
a sanctuary where gifts are nurtured.

Enter that sacred space.

Spend time there tending your gifts.

There in the chapel of your heart
you will become a gift to be given.

~ from THE SONG OF THE SEED by Macrina Wiederkehr

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The power of silence lies in its emptiness

The power of silence lies in its emptiness. Silence is a receptive space. It creates a sacred void, an opening through which you can receive: truth, perspective, strength, healing, revelation. In silence, you transcend words and contact the wordless. You fill up with a peaceful knowing. Silence is not the same as prayer. Prayer is a way of directing your feelings and thoughts, focusing them and sending them toward a source. Silence is listening, receiving, being. One is trying to reach the source of communication with it; the other, silence, is allowing yourself to hear the source within yourself, to become one with it... In prayer, you are the sender; in silence, you are the receiver.

~ from REAL MOMENTS by Barbara De Angelis with thanks to Mary Lou Evans

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Experience proves that there is a power in holy places

Experience proves that there is a power in holy places, power to quicken the spiritual life and vitalize the soul with fresh enthusiasm and inspiration. While strong spiritual emotions have been felt for long periods of time by successive generations of dedicated men and women -- especially if they have had among them those who may be reckoned as saints because of their genius for devotion -- the mental atmosphere of the place becomes imbued with spiritual forces, and sensitive souls capable of response are deeply stirred thereby when they come into it.

~ from GLASTONBURY: Avalon of the Heart by Dion Fortune

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Space is the medium in which we come alive

Space -- whether it's architectural, spiritual, physical, or emotional -- is the medium in which we come alive, in which we feel ourselves and those around us to be alive without blame, without demands, without expectations, without fear, without hope... Space has a spiritual equivalent and can heal what is divided and burdensome in us.

~ Gretel Eherlich in "Common Boundary" - Nov/Dec '95

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When each day is sacred

When each day is sacred,
When each hour is sacred,
When each instant is sacred,
Earth and you, space and you,
bearing the sacred through time;
You'll reach the fields of light.

~ from SELECTED POEMS by Guillevic

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Soul-space

To drink deeply of the silence,
inhale the quiet,
lose myself in timelessness --
that is soul-space.

~ from SOUL-MAKING by Edward Sellner

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Go to these places and listen

A sacred place is one where the Earth's voice can be heard more clearly. Go to these places and listen.

~ Frederic Lehrman

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~ Peter Russell

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The symbolism of a sacred mountain

The symbolism of a sacred mountain is full of intimations of meditation. It is a state of strong immovability, of perfect balance; a state in which all motion hangs suspended, not in death or inertia but in that great stillness that is the origin and resolution of all things... Any mountain that is sacred is a symbol of the Centre: that point where divine reality impinges on profane reality. The true Centre, the real seat of the great mystery of ultimate reality, resides in our heart.

~ from THE SACRED MOUNTAIN by John Snelling

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Upon approaching or entering the zone of a sacred shrine

Upon approaching or entering the zone of a sacred shrine, an ancient and wonderfully subtle sense of reverence is called forth, asking for silence and respect. If we heed this signal, and rest with it patiently, we may find ourselves rewarded with a gift of knowing. This gift comes in personal form, and the revelations associated with places of power are accounts of the cultural mind of a given individual in a relationship to the mind of the earth. The quality of that transmission is conditioned by the clarity and character of the receiver.

~ from THE SACRED LANDSCAPE by Frederic Lehrman

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Abandoning the nets of my thoughts and words

Abandoning the nets of my thoughts and words, I follow You willingly into the great Silence.

~ Macrina Wiederkehr

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We sat in silence for some time

We sat in silence for some time. It is a very, very difficult thing to do -- to sit in silence. Our world is filled with sounds, and we've come to feel that we must fill any void we encounter with our voices, or the radio, or the TV; almost anything will do, as long as we're not burdened by deafening silence. But there is a special beauty, I was coming to see, a special peace in quiet that is beyond words or the trappings of this world. But, oh, it is so difficult not to speak!

~ from THE MESSIAH STONES by Irving Benig

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A place in the heart

Perhaps the City of God is not so much a place in space, as a place in the heart.

~ Madeleine L'Engle

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April 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 4)

May seed sprouting and new life awakening this Spring be reflected in your own soul growth, dear friends. New beginnings, changes of the seasons of our lives, bring apportunities for renewal, refreshment and refinement of our inner life with the Loving Companion Presence. May all find BLESSINGS to be shared with others.

A bird in a tree

For some minutes my mind knows only a silent stillness within, a meditation without effort, a celebration of occasion. Slowly my vision focuses on a bird of red-streaked, chocolate-covered feathers and bright orange beak... I have been watching her a long while now without registering, labeling or defining her particular condensation of being, taking her as much for granted as she appears to take me. So beautiful. So natural. A bird in a tree.

~ from FLAT ROCK JOURNAL by Ken Carey

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When you see the world as part of yourself, you will take care of it

When you see the world as part of yourself, you will take care of it. When you see yourself as part of the world, you will be cared for.

In the shining secret garden, the solitary sign of the crocus speaks once more through blackened snow. The poet's word has revived with the resurrected flower, echoing the refrain of the One Song.

~ from SACRED POEMS by Richard Bachtold

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Hearken, O Earth, to the sublime voice that arises

Thy voice is heard as a melodious chant in the stillness of my heart, and is translated in my head by words which are inadequate and yet replete with Thee. And these words are addressed to the Earth, remember that I am present in you and lose not hope; each effort, each grief, each joy and each pang, each call of thy heart, each aspiration of thy soul, each renewal of thy seasons, all, all without exception, what seems to thee sorrowful and what seems to thee joyous, what seems to thee ugly and what seems to thee beautiful, all infallibly lead thee towards me, who am endless Peace, shadowless Light, perfect Harmony, Certitude, Rest and Supreme Blessedness.

Hearken, O Earth, to the sublime voice that arises,
Hearken, and take new courage.

~ from THE MOTHER translated by Sri Aurobindo

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God is the friend of silence

It is necessary that we find God, who cannot be found in noise and unpeace. God is the friend of silence. See how Nature -- trees, flowers, and grass -- grow in stillness; how stars, moon, and sun run their course in silence. The more we receive through quiet prayer, the more we can give in the activity of our daily lives. In essence, it is not what WE say, but what GOD says to us and through us. All our words are useless if they do not come from within.

~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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The diaphany of the Divine at the heart of the universe on fire

Throughout my life, by means of my life, the world has little by little caught fire in my sight until, aflame all around me, it has become my experience in contact with the earth -- the diaphany of the Divine at the heart of the universe on fire ... Christ's heart, a fire! capable of penetrating everything and gradually spreading everywhere.

~ from THE DIVINE MILIEU by Teilhard De Chardin

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Deep rivers move in silence

Deep rivers move in silence ... shallow brooks are noisy.

~ Samuel Butler

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I pledge allegiance to the Earth

I pledge allegiance to the Earth and to the flora, fauna and human life that it supports, one planet, indivisible, with safe air, water and soil, economic justice, equal rights and peace for all.

~ Woman's Environment & Development Organization

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God is the mirror of silence

God is the mirror of silence in which all creation is reflected.

~ Yogananda

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Seeds in the black earth

If seeds in the black earth can turn into such beautiful roses, what might not our hearts become in our journey toward the stars?

~ Anonymous

Anonymous nature

May you walk in balance

Each of us has the responsibility to protect sacred land and life in every country of the world, in whatever way he or she can. We must remember that lightning and wind are not controlled by human boundaries. A sacred breath unifies the divine web of life. Any part that is broken affects us all. May you walk in balance.

~ from a video "The Earth is Alive" by Joan Price

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The order hidden within the chaos of a running stream

It was architect Mies van der Rohe who said, "God dwells in the details". Scientists study fractals to find order hidden within chaos, the details of our world. Fractals -- we are finding that they suggest an underlying order in things as diverse as stock market fluctuations, flooding ... and the order hidden within the chaos of a running stream. I catch hints and whispers of a beneficent universe... Our familiar, intimate environment is a universe in itself -- and one full of delightful revelations.

~ from ON BECOMING LOST by Cathy Johnson

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Happiness is a butterfly

Happiness is a butterfly which,
when pursued, is always
beyond our grasp, but which
if you sit down quietly,
may alight upon you.

~ Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Birth is a miracle

Birth is a miracle in every germinating seed.

~ Marge Piercy

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Each creature God made must live in its own true nature

A fish cannot drown in water,
A bird does not fall in air.
In the fire of creation,
Gold doesn't vanish:
The fire brightens.
Each creature God made
Must live in its own true nature;
How could I resist my nature,
That lives for oneness with God?

~ Mechthild of Magdeburg

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Earth's crammed with heaven

Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only they who see
take off their shoes.

~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

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March 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 3)

BLESSED BE in the Silence, dear friends. May the deep prayers of your heart radiate out to those in need around the world. For indeed, our heart prayer is a double blessing: awakening our own soul's growth, while benefiting others in ways we may never know. Don't you love the Mystery!

The all-important aim in meditation

The all-important aim in meditation is to allow God's mysterious and silent presence within us to become more and more not only a reality, but THE reality in our lives; to let it become that reality which gives meaning, shape and purpose to everything we do, to everything we are.

~ from WORD INTO SILENCE by John Main

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Pray with every part of your being

When you pray, do not pray half-heartedly. Pray with every part of your being. Let your physical body resound to your intention, your feelings and you thoughts. Let prayer manifest in your life's motives and in your aspirational body. Beyond all else, trust that your prayers will be answered as they are needed to be answered... Let your prayer carry the sound of your deepest love, for most surely Love is the cause of life and Love is its own effect... Love is universal, so part of our life's work is to become so universal in our words, thoughts, feelings and deeds that we become "the sounding box of God".

~ from REASON IS POWERLESS IN THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE by Reshad Feild

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The more we love

The more we love, the better we pray.

~ Anonymous

Anonymous meditation

Prayer is service in the absolute

We parked the car at the roadside and walked onto the grass. We stood together and sent our praises to the Most High. The prayer was sweet and when I dropped my head onto the cool, grass-covered earth, I felt myself truly a servant. For just a fleeting moment my heart was full of joy. As we walked back to the car, I began to understand. Prayer is service in the absolute. It is selfless service to God. Actually, one's entire life could be a prayer.

~ from THE WRITING ON THE WATER by Muhyiddin Shakoor

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Silence provides an atmosphere for prayer

Silence provides an atmosphere for prayer, and it preserves the growth that has been gained in prayer. People who begin to speak immediately after prayer in common, will not be able to preserve the fruits of their prayer. Their Recollection is dissipated, and they pour out all that has been accumulated within them. The observance of silence, on the other hand, allows the spirit of prayer to reverberate and take root in the heart.

~ from THE CHALLENGE OF SILENCE by Anselm Grun

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You are prayer

You are prayer. You are a special and sacred word of God made flesh. To pronounce your own unique word is to pray the most beautiful -- if not the holiest -- of prayers.

~ Edward Hays

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Meditation is not a means to an end

Meditation is not a means to an end; It is both the means and the end.

~ Krishnamurti

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Come! Spirit of Love!

Come!Spirit of Love!Penetrate and transform us by the action of Your purifying life.May your constant, brooding love bring forth in us more love and all the graces and works of love.Give us grace to remain still under its action, and may that humbles stillness be our prayer.Amen.

~ Evelyn Underhill

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O God of wonder and myster

O God of wonder and mystery, teach me by means of your wondrous, terrible, loving, all embracing silence.

~ from PRAYERS OF THE HEART by Richard J. Foster

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Prayer begins in us the restoration of the divine image

Prayer begins in us the restoration of the divine image, in all its hiddenness and wonder. It brings us closer to the "region of likeness" and every prayer is an act of letting the old self go. It involves "dying". The grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies. Dead, it is destined to bear much fruit.

~ Alan Jones

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The gift of contemplation

The gift of contemplation is eternally given; it is always there... It is that moment when the ache in my heart becomes so intense that I can no longer bear it. And in that moment, I cry out in my agony to the One I never knew and have always known. It is the moment when the depth of the ache becomes the depth of the knowing, the moment when I know that I am in the Presence of God.

~ from THE SMELL OF INCENSE, THE SOUND OF SILENCE by John W. Groff, Jr.

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Love solitude and silence

In order to make it easier to keep your thoughts continually on God in accordance with your wish and your need, this is what you can do. First, love solitude and silence, which greatly help the spirit within, and sacred meditation. Second, choose to read books that are sound spiritually. Pause frequently, trying to appreciate rather than understand or remember them. And third, throughout the day turn to God in prayer about all that takes place... All will be well in time.

~ from THE SPIRITUAL LETTERS OF JEAN-PIERRE de CAUSSADE with thanks to Joyce Lang

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Mindfulness is meditation in action

Mindfulness is meditation in action and involves a "be here now" approach that allows life to unfold without the limitation of pre-judgment. It means being open to an awareness of the moment as it is and to what the moment could hold. It is a relaxed state of attentiveness to both the inner world of thoughts and feelings and the outer world of actions and perceptions.

~ from MINDING THE BODY, MENDING THE MIND by Joan Borysenko

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Prayer, silence and wisdom

Prayer, Silence and Wisdom are sisters.

~ Anonymous

Anonymous meditation

Memo to God

Memo to God: I've been demanding and demanding things from You, often quite rudely, in fact often very rudely, like an ill-bred spoilt child, but I think prayer must have made me better mannered or perhaps it's helped me grow up a little and now I should like to say politely: "thank you very much" -- not just for staying with me no matter how unpleasant I was, but for actually moving closer and surrounding me with people who care.

~ from ABSOLUTE TRUTHS by Susan Howatch

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There is a contemplative in all of us

There is a contemplative
in all of us,
almost strangled
but still alive,
who carves quiet
enjoyment of the Now,
and longs to touch
the seamless
garment of silence
which makes whole.

~ Alan P. Tory

Alan P. Tory meditation

February 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 2)

May blessings of Love be with you, dear friends! As our hearts are emptied, we are more and more capable of love. Oh, that we would enter into the unquenchable Fire of longing and truly live! Let LOVE inrease on earth and let it begin with each one of us.

Contact with the Divine Beloved

Contact with the Divine Beloved is never complete until some other human being feels more loved and cherished as a result of its contact. Further, as all who have ever communed with the Beloved have discovered, the more deeply you encounter the Divine Lover, the more sensitively you feel the agony of the world; the more you are called to care more, feel more and think more deeply about decay in the social and moral order. You live in a state of radical empathy with all those in need. You are transparent to the agony of the world. Together with the Beloved, you must reach out to allay this suffering, or to do what you can in the light of the perspective of grace and the energy of spiritual partnership.

~ from GODSEED by Jean Houston

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Ecstatic love for God

Ecstatic love for God -- heart and mind melted by passionate longing for Truth -- is the one essential factor in the process of awakening. Divine Presence, however one may understand and experience it, exists in and through all conscious beings... Merged in motiveless love, one experiences every moment the tremendous natural attraction of Divine Presence. This Presence is the inner guidance that we feel flowing through us as conscience, intellect, intuition, sense perception, and longing. Divine Presence alone generates the yearning of our heart, the seeking of our mind, the ease of our body, the illumination of our soul.

~ from GREAT SWAN by Lee Hixon

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If we make our goal to live a life of compassion

If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love, the world will indeed become a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.

~ E. Kubler Ross

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Where the realm of love is shaped

If your heart is not full of Love, you won't see love anywhere. But if your heart is soaked with the Presence of Love, you will recognize that presence. Where we come together in very simple ways, we sense the presence. Where people are vulnerable together in a quiet way, there is real strength. That is where the realm of LOVE is shaped.

~ Henri Nouwen in "Quaker Life" - 1993

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Coming from love

Coming from Love is coming from the heart, the heart of the One Spirit within, and touching other hearts in unity of God's purpose and peace. Loving yourself is the first step home; loving all else is the way, the path; and being Love is the journey's end; for once you become that which you are -- LOVE -- you shall truly be Home.

~ from TALKS WITH JONATHAN with gratitude to Robin Miller

Unknown Talks With Jonathan love

Yielding to the love of God

Spiritual understanding centers on the acceptance of a divine truth, which gradually reveals itself, rising on the horizon of the mind till it pervades all. If the mind and its reactions are brought into willing obedience to that truth, the divine truth continues to permeate the mind even more and the mind develops with it endlessly... It is we who must yield to the love of God so that our minds may be open to the divine truth.

~ from THE COMMUNION OF LOVE by Matthew the Poor

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Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person

Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person; it is an attitude, an orientation of character which determines the relatedness of a person to the world as a whole, not toward one "object" of love... If I truly love one person, I love all persons, I love the world. I must be able to say, "I love in you everybody. I love through you the world, I love in you also myself."

~ from THE ART OF LOVING by Erich Fromm 0061129739

Erich Fromm The Art Of Loving love

I believe in love

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.
I believe in love even when I do not feel it.
I believe in God even when God is silent.

~ Anonymous

Anonymous love

Love is home

We are all strangers in a strange land, longing for home, but not quite knowing what or where home is. We glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or as we turn a corner, and suddenly there is a strange, sweet familiarity that vanishes almost as soon as it comes... Our homesickness is alleviated only by love, the love that transcends our self-centeredness, our pettiness... When we are truly in love, not in the sense of romantic, erotic love, but in the sense of God's love for all that the Power of Love created, then our homesickness is alleviated. When we are in love we are no longer homesick, for Love is home.

~ from THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER by Madeleine L'Engle

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May we abide in love

May we abide in LOVE like fish in water.

~ Anonymous

Anonymous love

A flame of the Divine Life

For inasmuch as this flame is a flame of the Divine Life, it wounds the soul with the tenderness of the life of God; and so deeply ... does it wound it and fill it with tenderness that causes it to melt in love, so that there may be fulfilled in it that which came to pass in the Bride in the Song of Songs; she conceived such great tenderness that she melted away.

~ from LIVING FLAME OF LOVE by John of the Cross

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Caring for our own being

We human beings are here to help each other, to support each other, to love each other. We cannot be fully human if we are isolated and alone. But to share our love, always we must first love ourselves. It may sound simple, but to live by this principle is at times not easy. Just the same, if we forget to care for our own being, then how can we ever hope to assist others? Only when we come from our own living center can we give our greatest gift to the world.

~ from JOURNEY TO THE FOUR DIRECTIONS by Jim Berenholtz

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Sow there seeds of love

Who longs for peace must first clear any battlefield within the heart, then sow there seeds of love.

~ Mildred N. Hayer

Mildred N. Hayer love

Love is nothing without truth

Adri told us, "LOVING IS NOTHING WITHOUT TRUTH."

I think we really understood, for the first time, how different our lives -- and the world -- would be if we could all operate out of a state of truth and love. Within a loving context it becomes safe to reveal one's own truth. In retrospect we could see that suppressing truth limited our ability to love one another. And when we limit our truth, we limit our lives.

~ from A CHILD OF ETERNITY by Adriana Rocha and Kristi Jorde

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Incomprehensible love

Creation may be seen as a continuing, dynamic process guided by incomprehensible LOVE.

~ Charles Cummings

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Tranquility

Tranquility
is a little child asleep,
a clear, calm sky,
the softly falling snow;
the space between all heartbeats
in which love
reminds the anxious heart:
"Be still and know."

~ R.H. Grenville

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January 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 1)

Heartfelt greetings, dear frinds, as Friends of Silence newsletter begins its nineth year. May this be a new beginning of PEACE in the quietude of our hearts ... a peace that radiates out to our suffering sisters and brothers around the world. "Let there be peace on Earth, and let it begin with me!"

The practice of contemplative prayer is especially valuable for advancing harmony and peace in the world

The practice of contemplative prayer is especially valuable for advancing harmony and peace in the world. For this prayer rises, by divine grace, where there is total disarmament of the heart and unfolds in an experience of love which is the moving force of peace. Contemplation fosters a vision of the human family as united and interdependent in the mystery of God's love for all people. This silent interior prayer bridges temporarily the "already" and "not yet", this world and God's Kingdom of peace.

~ Pastoral Statement "The Challenge of Peace"

The Challenge Of Peace peace

Peace lies hidden beneath the distorting veils of faulty perceptions

Although the mind's natural state is one of peace, for most of us this peace lies hidden beneath the distorting veils of faulty perceptions, thoughts and beliefs. Peace has become something that must be rediscovered and remembered through training the mind to correct its distortions. Only by training the mind to correct distorted thoughts and perceptions can the gift of peace be experienced. Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.

~ from A GIFT OF PEACE by Frances Vaughan & Roger Walsh

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A person who truly "is peace"

The inner stillness of a person who truly "is peace" brings peace to the whole interconnected web of life, both inner and outer.

~ Jack Kornfield

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All miracles are due to the silent and effective working of invisible forces

Gandhi reminds us that "all miracles are due to the silent and effective working of invisible forces", of which he believes nonviolence to be the most invisible and most effective. But even more subtle and invisible is the power of the Holy Spirit working through love, a love that knows no defeat because it has abandoned the need for success.

~ Walter Wink in "The Other Side", July/August 1993

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Our greatest resource in reversing the effects of this violent culture

Our greatest resource in reversing the effects of this violent culture, and changing it into a culture of peace, comes from spirituality, and all that rich term implies... Profoundly transformative, it can dissolve the destructive patterns of the culture of violence which have held us captive for so long a time. Spirituality, as the inner yearning of the heart for the Divine, for the Real, awakens in us openness, gentleness, patience, deep reverence for all life forms, including the earth, intense compassion for all sentient beings, and an all-inclusive love, agape, that embraces the totality.

~ from "The Reversal of Violence" by Wayne Teasdale in "Fellowship in Prayer"

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From compassion comes peace

From a quiet mind comes vision;
From vision comes knowledge of unity;
From knowledge of unity comes compassion for all.
From compassion comes peace.

~ Unknown

Unknown peace

Meditation is the art of paying attention

Meditation is the art of paying attention, of listening to your heart. Rather than withdrawing from the world, meditation can help you enjoy it more fully, more effectively, and more peacefully.

~ Dean Ornish

Dean Ornish peace

The fruit of Service is Peace

The fruit of Silence is Prayer.
The fruit of Prayer is Faith.
The fruit of Faith is Love.
The fruit of Love is Service.
The fruit of Service is Peace.

~ Mother Theresa

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The power of quiet is great

The power of quiet is great. It generates the same feelings in everything one encounters. It vibrates with the cosmic rhythm of oneness. It is everywhere, available to anyone at any time. It is us, the force within that makes us stable, trusting and loving. It is contemplation contemplating us. Peace is letting go -- returning to the silence that cannot enter the realm of words because it is too pure to be contained in words. This is why the tree, the stone, the river and the mountain are quiet.

~ from OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT by Malidoma Patrice Some

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The Art of peace

If you have not linked yourself to
true emptiness,
You will never understand
the Art of peace.

~ Morihei Ueshiba

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Still night

An old Rabbi once asked the pupils how they could tell when night had ended and day had begun.

"Could it be," asked one of the students, "When you can see an animal in the distance and tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?"

"No," answered the Rabbi.

Another asked, "Is it when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it's a fig tree or a peach tree?"

”No," answered the Rabbi.

"Then when is it?" the pupils demanded.

"It is when you can look on the face of any man or woman and see that it is your sister or brother. Because if you cannot see this, it is still night."

~ Hasidic tale told in PEACEMAKING DAY BY DAY by Pax Christi 0966628551

Pax Christi Peacemaking Day By Day peace

The task of making peace

The task of making peace ... is not just a matter of realpolitik; it is a matter also of spirit. It requires us not only to deal with the practicalities of our place in the cosmic order of things. We must know who we are and what we are doing -- know not only with the intellect, but with our whole being, in the way that mystics have always achieved the knowledge that has given our species its deepest guidance.

~ from OUT OF WEAKNESS by Andrew B. Schmookler

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Deep peace

Deep peace of the Running Wave to you.
Deep peace of the Flowing Air to you.
Deep peace of the Quiet Earth to you.
Deep peace of the Shining Stars to you.
Deep peace of the Heart of Love to you.

~ a Celtic benediction

Celtic Benediction peace

Peace Prayer

Lead me from death to life, from falsehood to truth,
Lead me from despair to hope, from fear to trust,
Lead me from hate to love, from war to peace,
Let peace fill our hearts, our world, our universe.

~ Anonymous

Anonymous Celtic Benediction peace

Silence

Silence
utter quiet
mind being still
blessed certainty growing within
peace.

~ David Jefferson

David Jefferson peace

December-1995 (Vol. VIII, No. 11)

May PEACE and JOY be with each one of you, friends! And may you gift yourself this season with times to be still and enter into the Inner Sanctuary of your heart, that in the Silence you may awaken to a new birth of JOY.

The supreme joy of being

For, the soul tastes the supreme joy of being, not only in the cave of the heart, but also in the endless multiplicity of her contacts with the world and nature of which she is part. Every moment is a sacrament of eternity; every event a sign and a sacrament of the perfect Bliss; for nothing in the universe can escape being transformed by Divine Love at every moment of time. In the crucible of faith and love, all our joys, the greatest as well as the least, and our sorrows, too, are taken up into the one eternal Joy in the heart of God and in the hearts of saints.

~ Dom Henri Le Saux

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Joy is a gift

Joy is a gift from Universe and Divinity.
Sorrow and Pain are there for the healing.
Through touching of the heart,
the Heart is Opened.
Then the Knowledge may enter,
To return the seeker to Balance.
Watch now, for the Joy and Sorrow
dance together,
And in that is their dissolution,
Leaving nothing to perceive by Truth.
Embrace the Truth, for always it is precisely
who you are in your Eternal Being.

~ Jim Berenholtz

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Give up winning and losing

Give up winning and losing- and then, find joy!

~ Unknown

Unknown joy

The culmination of growth in being

When you live life from your center, you operate from the indwelling spirit outwards into the visible world, like the spokes of a wheel, radiating God's love, wisdom and power. This is what is meant by being in the world but not of it. You remain calm in a crisis. You carry this calmness with you through the ordinary activities of the day, even when things go wrong... Centered in peace, you experience JOY... This is the culmination of growth in being. What you ARE, far more than what you say or do, will be the witness of your faith.

~ from GROWTH INTO BEING by Margaret Holmes

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In that giving is more joy than the world knows

When selfishness vanishes, all you want from life is to give. It is a constant source of joy. Not that you are blind to sorrow. Personal suffering is gone, but for that very reason there is no barrier separating you from the suffering of others. And that immense empathy releases intense action. "What one takes in by contemplation," Eckhart says, "one pours out in love." You live to give, to alleviate the sorrow and improve the lives of those around you, and in that giving is more joy than the world knows. It is the perfect fusion of the inward and outward currents of life, of meditation and action.

~ from "Meditation and Action" by Eknath Easwaran

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The strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy

I cannot believe that the inscrutable universe turns on an axis of suffering; surely the strange beauty of the world must somewhere rest on pure joy!

~ Louise Bogan

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Committed to the force of lovingkindness

If we are committed in our lives to the force of lovingkindness, then people know that they can trust us. We will not deceive them; we will not harm them. By being a beacon of trustworthiness in this world, we become a safe haven for others. We become a good friend to people, and can experience the JOY of intimacy with life.

~ from LOVINGKINDNESS by Sharon Salzberg

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Joy is experienced

JOY is experienced when true spiritual grace allows one to transcend suffering.

~ from WILL AND SPIRIT by Gerald May

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Joy takes hold of the heart

Essentially, prayer is attentiveness to God, and this has various degrees, from weak or faltering to total. This attentive attitude is itself the fruit of love; God's love becomes the dominant commitment of the will. The person has achieved purity of heart and spiritual wholeness. Joy takes hold of the heart, transmuting every moment into the irresistible attraction and power of divine love.

~ Wayne Teasdale

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If you desire joy in your life

Unless we can give up the old life, we can never experience the new. In our youth, we lived in the today and looked forward to the future and the challenge it would hold. As we matured, we became hypnotized by repetition and the habits of everyday life, feeling secure in our routine. So many times we find ourselves settling for what is a full cup of yesterdays. If you desire JOY in your life, have the courage to empty the cup of yesterdays so that it might be filled with the newness of today.

~ from CREATIVE THOUGHTS FOR INNER PEACE by William Thompson

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A joyful mind

A joyful mind is very ordinary and relaxed... When your aspiration is to lighten up, you begin to have a sense of humor. Things just keep popping your serious state of mind. In addition to a sense of humor, a basic support for a joyful mind is curiosity, paying attention, taking an interest in the world around you... Noticing everything. Appreciate everything, including the ordinary. That's how to click in with JOYfulness.

~ from START WHERE YOU ARE by Pema Chodron

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The utter simplicity of such a way to joy

All meditation aims to bring the person, mind and body to silence, stillness and simplicity of spirit by means of an inner "object of attention". The act of attention is the inner sacrifice, and the work of paying attention is the school of letting go. The utter simplicity of such a way to joy and peace makes one laugh. God seduces us by simplicity.

~ Laurence Freeman

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From love into knowledge into joy

I would not dance, unless Thou leadest me.
Wouldst Thou that I spring mightily,
Then must Thou sing for me.
Thus will I leap into love,
From love into knowledge into joy,
From joy beyond all human senses.

~ Mechthild of Magdeburg

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During this season may we pause

During this season may we pause
To feel the presence of Love,
See the Light of spiritual awareness,
And enjoy the peace of our Universe
As we recognize our Oneness with everything.

~Unknown

Unknown joy

The beauty in Silence

Stop tuning separate instruments

Listen for the music of the Holy Word

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