Tuesday, November 13, 2018

silence


photo by Thomas Merton
Meister Eckhart, the German philosopher, mystic and theologian said, “There is nothing in the world that resembles God as much as silence.”
In essence, Eckhart is saying this: Silence is a privileged entry into the realm of God and into eternal life.  There is a huge silence inside each of us that beckons us into itself, and the recovery of our own silence can begin to teach us the language of heaven.
What is meant by this?
Silence is a language that is infinitely deeper, more far-reaching, more understanding, more compassionate, and more eternal than any other language. In heaven, it seems, there will be no languages, no words. Silence will speak. We will wholly, intimately, and ecstatically hold each other in silence, in perfect understanding.
Words, for all their value, are part of the reason why we can’t do this already. They divide as much as they unite. There is a deeper connection available in silence. Lovers already know this, as do the Quakers whose liturgy tries to imitate the silence of heaven, and as do those who practice contemplative prayer. John of the Cross expresses this in a wonderfully cryptic line: “Learn to understand more by not understanding than by understanding.”
Silence does speak louder than words, and more deeply. We experience this already now in different ways: When we are separated by distance or death from loved ones, we can still be with them in silence; when we are divided from other sincere persons through misunderstanding, silence can provide the place where we can still be together; when we stand helpless before another’s suffering, silence can be the best way of expressing our empathy; and when we have sinned and have no words to restore things to their previous wholeness, in silence a deeper word can speak and let us know that, in the end, all will be well and every manner of being will be well.
“There is nothing in the world that resembles God as much as silence.” It’s the language of heaven and it is already deep inside of us, beckoning us, inviting us to deeper intimacy with everything.
- Ron Rolheiser OMI
http://ronrolheiser.com/in-praise-of-silence/#.W-tY3SdReSN

5 comments:

  1. Thanks, Beth, for introducing another writer (I checked out one of his books from the library) and this good way of considering silence as deep communication.

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome, James. For some reason, considering silence as deep communication comes as a relief to me. It sort of releases me from "trying", and comes as a kind of rest. No effort.

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  2. Hi Beth, Silence might be the only way to actually experience the true reality !! In my opinion, reality is the intangible, eternal, infinite awareness of Life and Love. Life and Love are eternal and infinite, no one gave them nor can anyone take them away. They may be the only actual reality that ever existed, exists now, and ever will exist. We have everything we need to experience the true reality of Life and Love right now. The brain is constantly trying to represent the intangible awareness of Life and Love. The true reality had no beginning, never pauses, never repeats itself, and never ends.

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