Shhh…The Soul of Snow

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Brian Johnson, fresh, Optimize, Peace, pristine, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Everything is silent…there are two feet of snow outside blanketing everything. The only sound is the tiny click of my keyboard as I type. The word that comes to me as a definition of “what is” today as I look out my window is pristine. The whiteness is everywhere and (as the dictionary explains) it is “in perfect condition: fresh and clean as or as if new.” I breathe it in wishing to feel a sense of “pristine-ness” in myself. In Brian Johnson’s column, Optimize, this morning there was a quote from William James that seems apropos.

“Buy room for peace and stillness,” he says, “and thus make good work and good thoughts accessible and inevitable.” Today seems a perfect day for that impetus to all good things. May it be so for you!

Stillness

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creativity, Eckhart Tolle, let go, solutions, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

A few days ago I read a sentence that Eckhart Tolle had on his website. It was a “thought for the day” that might well be be made into a poster to hang in the bedrooms of busy people – or anyone really. See if you agree.

Stillness is where creativity and solutions to problems are found.

And remember that stillness is not the same as silence. Just check into your brain if you think you’re in stillness to see if there are still thoughts running around, and then breathe, letting everything fall away in the same way that the leaves are falling these days from the trees even when there is no wind – or even a breeze. They just let go…

Saturday Morning, 8:00

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calmness, Celtic Benediction, John Philip Newell, morning prayer, Peace, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Saturday has long been a “catch-up” day for me. Two of us were just sitting in the kitchen downstairs speaking of our plans for the day. Most of the time there is at least a resemblance of, if not a completed check-list at the end of the day, but it’s always good to begin that way. Now I’m sitting upstairs, looking out at the stillness of the giant tree that stands ready for the day, waiting for the sun to break forth from the fog that is now dissipating, waiting as well for a morning prayer to emerge. It is all so quiet that I would prefer a longer preface…so I yield my active self to John Philip Newell just for a little while. Pray with me if you will.

In the busyness of this day grant me a stillness of seeing, O God. In the conflicting voices of my heart grant me a calmness of hearing. Let my seeing and hearing, my words and actions, be rooted in a silent certainty of your presence. Let my passions for life and the longings for justice that stir within me be grounded in the experience of your stillness. Let my life be rooted in the ground of your peace, O God, let me be rooted in the depths of your peace. (Celtic Benediction, p.77)

In and Out

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beauty, breathe, nature, Sabbath, silence, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

There are so many people and organizations giving advice daily on television, podcasts and all manner of “advice columns.” I sometimes feel a need to add my voice from my tiny corner of the world but often lately I sense more of a need to just sit quietly and let the silence speak. Nature seems complicit in this feeling this morning and gives me a nudge saying, “Yes, that’s it. Any thoughts you have are unnecessary today. Just listen. That’s what “sabbath” is all about.”

I can be confident in that feeling because here’s what has happened in less than the last hour. Knowing that I had a late start to the morning because of a late start to sleeping last night, I got my coffee and began my sojourn through my regular prompts—Scripture, USCCB notations, Franciscan media, the SSJE Brothers… and had trouble accessing the above mentioned pages or staying on the page when it finally showed up. As I surfed I realized it was getting darker outside and I still had nothing to offer. Suddenly there was a great, yet silent, cloudburst washing the trees with no wind, just a steady, torrential downpour that gave way to a sparkling sunshine and birdsong within minutes of the rain’s conclusion.

Why would I think I need to add to that happening? The silence fills the world with Sabbath beauty and stillness is God’s gift to my soul. May you be similarly blessed with the simple necessity of breathing into the day: in and out…in and out…no distress…only breath…in and out…in and out.

Precious Lessons

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just being, Peace, presence, reflection, silence, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I’ve just had a 40-minute quiet time with our cat on my lap. It was quite spontaneous. I sat down with my first cup of coffee in hopes of clearing my head and realized I forgot to bring my reading glasses downstairs. I thought just sitting quietly for awhile would be a good thing. Precious (yes, that’s really her name!) must have had the same thought because she looked at me from across the room. I sent her a telepathic “Okay, Come on!” and she immediately jumped down from her perch and landed on my lap. Neither of us disturbed the other at all. I just let my thoughts float through and disappear; she, I presume, did the same. It was as if we had made a pact of silence and immobility as her quiet presence called me to a deeper stillness.

I am grateful for those times of reflection and/or no thought which are more common than ever these days. Perhaps this is the best gift of staying at home. Although I have projects to last a lifetime that I could be doing, I am feeling less and less need to complete them at any particular time because I am learning more than ever the value of “just being.”

If you are schooled in responsibility, I would suggest taking some time (definitely more than you think necessary) to just sit, or go for a walk or, in any way that would be unusual, “waste” some time until doing so can start to feel good and the ensuing peace brings a smile to your face.

Step Two

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mind, Peace, period of silence, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, turning inward, vision

Well, I feel as if I made a start yesterday. It was a small step, a toe in what seems like an ocean of tasks before I sense a concomitant clearing of mind and vision, but it was a start. With a desire to accept whatever hardship accompanies this day, I look to those whose words first energized me yesterday (see yesterday’s post).

There are many wise people recommending a period of silence in each of our days and many modes of prayer that can lead us there. In my notes from yesterday, however, there was a sentence that focused in a slightly different direction from most but engaged me quite strongly, partially because the hoped for state was not silence but stillness — a related but not matching outcome. It said simply:

If your mind is still, you can sense the peace that emanates from the earth.

As I consider this, I reflect on the appropriateness of the thought for today when it would have seemed highly inappropriate yesterday. Today peace abounds outside. The sun is shining. There is no wind, no snow or sleet or rain. (We had examples of each of those conditions yesterday.) I am confident that stepping outside to experience the light, to breathe in the fresh air, to feel the earth under my feet, to bow to the steadiness and longevity of the trees and the fragile strength of flowers who are still alive after the storms…all of this leads me to stillness. And I am renewed with confidence in this day because, you see, stillness comes from the inside, regardless of outer events.

You may think I’m contradicting myself in comparing yesterday and today as regards the source of peace and how it comes to us. I would agree but the value of assessing both experiences is the conviction that, while silence is more easily achieved when there is no noise or disturbance around (not an easy place to find sometimes), stillness does not depend on any outer circumstance but comes simply by turning inward and taking a breath. While we cannot always control noise vs. silence, we can move to stillness as long as we live, literally until our last breath.

Early Prayer

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J. Philip Newell, justice, Peace, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

The daily New York Times “Morning Briefing” was sobering, as was the weather report for today. I don’t ever remember a day in January when the temperature in New York State reached 60 degrees (F.) I sit in the silence wondering where we are going and what we need to be doing in order to survive the crises – political, environmental and spiritual. I am buoyed up as much as anything by the words of J. Philip Newell just now. There are two pieces from his Saturday Morning Prayer that help me.

1. Let me know in my own soul and body the rhythms of creativity that you have established. Let me know in my family and friendships the disciplines of withdrawal and the call to engagement. Let me know for my world the cycles of renewal given by you for healing and health, the pattern of the seasons given by you for the birth of new life.

2. In the busyness of this day grant me a stillness of seeing, O God. In the conflicting voices of my heart grant me a calmness of hearing. Let my seeing and hearing, my words and my actions be rooted in a silent certainty of your presence. Let my passions for life and the longings for justice that stir within me be grounded in the experience of your stillness. Let my life be rooted in the ground of your peace, O God. Let me be rooted in the depths of your peace. (Celtic Benediction, p. 76 – 77)

Just a Word

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expectation, go with the flow, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Yesterday was lovely, if in some ways unexpected. I’ve learned to “go with the flow” over the years and it’s so much easier to do that when the people you’re “flowing” with are relaxed and kind. I look forward to the same sort of reception today with the “Senior Sisters” at our Provincial House. Speaking about Advent is easy for me as I think about themes for discussion. My favorites are stillness and expectation and reflection on how those qualities can permeate our days and calm our nights. Give it a try…

Stillness

Tags

be, creation, Romans, St. Paul, stillness, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Lent seems to be moving so slowly. Easter is late this year. I have to look diligently when outside for signs of spring – just the tiniest sprigs of green against the house – hoping that the still freezing temperatures will not overcome them. The view from my window is so monochromatic (whew! Where did that word come from this early?!) I’m not sure I can trust the sun this morning to effect a change. I feel as if the silence is so big everything would break if I moved more than my fingers on the keyboard. Traffic is silent. The birds seem to be hiding from the neighborhood hawk. Everything seems like that line from Paul’s letter to the Romans: “All creation waits on tiptoe to see the children of God coming into their own.”

How difficult it is to remain still and just BE. There is always so much to do. I’m sensing that the impulse of being is more important now than ever. Can you feel it? Can you allow your body and mind to acquiesce to it in hopes of learning some new truth? Let us breathe…and hope.

Reader’s Choice

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Ancient Songs Sung Anew, God's presence, refuge, stillness, stronghold, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

A strange thing happened just now as I went to the USCCB website for the lectionary readings of the day (always my first stop upon arising). When I clicked on the calendar, an empty space appeared. Thinking it was my recalcitrant phone, I did the same with my computer. Same result: empty page. I clicked on February 4th and 6th and both showed the readings of the day but today was empty. I’m supposing it was some kind of a glitch at the Bishops’ office but decided to treat it as “reader’s choice.”

I opened my trusty Ancient Songs Sung Anew – not exactly at random. Today I am participating in an event at the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Schenectady, NY, a place where I spent several graced weekends leading retreats some years ago. One of my favorites was based on Psalm 46. As I opened to it this morning, I was not disappointed to find the title, God’s Presence in a World Torn Apart. Here are some of the hopeful lines.

God is for us a place of refuge and a mighty strength always present to us in our time of need…Though storms may blow and the seas themselves begin to foam, and the foundations of the world are shaken to their core…like a stronghold to our ancestors, our God is with us now…And like the light of morning, God’s presence breaks as dawn, and nothing is ever shaken there or broken down…Be silent, then, and in the stillness know the transcendence of our God. Know too the immanence of the One present in each being…Like a stronghold to our ancestors, our God is with us now. (p. 115)

I will hope to remember these words as I watch the State of the Union address this evening.