Dear Missionary,
Thomas Keating, a Trappist, monk and author, once said that
our minds, hearts, and souls are like basins of dirty water. When stirred, the water is cloudy and our
vision obscured. But when the water has
been at rest, the dirt filters down to the bottom, leaving the water
clear. We can then see our lives and our
interactions with others with greater clarity.
The second habit of love is STILLNESS. “Stillness is as much
a physical experience as it is a psychological and spiritual state. As the muscles in our bodies let go of their
tension in Stillness, the inner condition of our body changes from being tense
and overheated to being clean and refreshed.
Our breathing, transitions from choppy and irregular to a calm and slow
rhythm.” Ed Bacon
When we are in a state of stillness, a quiet yet powerful
transformation occurs. Our minds quiet
down and a peace comes over us. In this
state of mind we can free ourselves from fear and make calm and collective
choices. Thomas Merton wrote of this
place of stillness describing it as “It is untouched by sin and by illusion, a
point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God…which is
inaccessible to the fantasies of our own mind or the brutalities of our own
will or of anybody else…It is like a pure diamond blazing with the invisible
light of heaven. It is in everybody.”
Jonathon Franzen a novelist, says that “ Stillness is the
point where you can actually make responsible decisions, where you can actually
engage productively with an otherwise scary and unmanageable world.”
Where can you find stillness during the most active part of
your day? As you are knocking on doors
and teaching in homes? “With practice
and time anyone can access their inner stillness at any time, preventing us
from reacting defensively in life and in relationships. With stillness we are open to life and are
lovingly present.” (Ed Bacon) How do you
access stillness? Prayer, meditation,
contemplation, yoga….we each can reach a Godly level of consciousness in our
own way.
Would you like to do an experiment? Betty Sue Flowers, an educator and author
came up with this one. Write a brief
outline of your autobiography in three different ways: first as a victim, then as a hero and finally
as a learner. It will be three very
different stories with different energies and different outcomes.
A victim feels the need to be defended, vindicated, or
avenged. A hero needs justification, ego
promotion or validation. A learner seeks
illumination, correction and direction.
Learners open themselves to discovering the new in every situation,
particularly challenging ones.
As you are praying can you feel yourself relaxing, lowering
your defenses, opening up and becoming a learner? The habit of stillness is “learning prayer”
Which level of stillness are you right now? Are you a victim? A hero? A learner?
With the pressures of every day falling in on us we can go to our place
of stillness and move beyond our ego into a place where we open our hearts to
the miraculous power of gratitude.
Anxiety can be replaced by quiet confidence. Abraham Joshua Heschel, a Jewish theologian
and rabbi says it best “How good it is to wrap oneself in prayer, spinning a
deep softness of gratitude to God in all thoughts, enveloping oneself in the
silk of a song”.
In your everyday, I pray that you find sanity, wisdom,
courage, clarity and new perspectives as you open your heart and mind to be
transformed to stillness and
enlightment. May your prayers open the
floodgates of Heaven and pour out blessings on you and your companions.
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