Holiness

Within two hours, as I've been contemplating the meaning of "silence," which is my lesson for the day according to the "Monk in the World" e-course, I came across this passage written by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, in his book Exodus: The Book of Redemption, which is part of a devotional series on the Torah, called Covenant and Conversation.

"Holiness is the space we make for the Otherness of God – by listening, not speaking; by being, not doing; by allowing ourselves to be acted on rather than acting. It means disengaging from that flow of activity whereby we impose our human purposes on the world, thereby allowing space for the divine purpose to emerge. All holiness is a form of renunciation, but since God desires the existence of human beings as responsible and creative beings, He does not ask for total renunciation. Thus some times are holy, not all; some spaces are holy, not all; some people are holy, not all." - P. 143

Really??  Isn't that what silence is?  At least, that is what I've been meditating on today:

"we can cultivate silence within ourselves throughout each and every day by listening rather than speaking" were my exact words.  

Hmm.  I think they call this a God moment. (?)  Perhaps this is saying that the cultivation of this kind of silence is also the cultivation of holiness.  

Silence

"Silence is the fullness, not emptiness; it is not absence, but awareness of a presence." - John Cryssavgis

My life has been so cluttered lately, as you can probably tell by the lack of posts for the past month and a half!  I've yearned for silence, for peace, for calm, and it has been here waiting for me all along.  I knew it would be, but I refused to let it in, because I was too busy being busy.  

I've only just now subscribed to the "Monk in the World" e-course offered by the Abbey of the Arts, although I have been "intending" to do it for quite some time now.  Appropriately enough, the first day is all about intentional, contemplative silence, the kind of silence that doesn't simply mean being quiet, but being aware, being open.  This kind of silence is about quieting my own voice and the noises that I surround myself with, and listening to the world around me, and to the Spirit within me.  

Coincidentally, when I was an Associate with the Order of Holy Cross, one of our tasks required of us was to fashion a Rule of Life.  Similar to a monastic rule in its ordering, but personalized for how I am to live the contemplative life in the world, I wrote down something about seeking silence amidst the noise with which I am surrounded.  Cloistered monks have, well, cloisters.  Their schedules are strictly regimented, their monasteries tucked away in the woods somewhere and they don't have a lot of outside interference. 

The rest of us do.

How do we find silence in the daily routines of the world?  We can try to find some time to sit quietly and pray or meditate.  Or we can cultivate silence within ourselves throughout each and every day by listening rather than speaking, by opening ourselves to the various and subtle ways the Spirit moves us.