Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative
Listening to Sacred Stillness: There is Stillness in the Air

Listening to Sacred Stillness: There is Stillness in the Air

Last updated on: December 27, 2018 at 8:53 pm by Greg Richardson

Listening to Sacred Stillness: There is Stillness in the Air 2018-12-27T20:53:12-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

There is Stillness in the Air

This is a week for listening to sacred stillness. The air has been filled with advertising and carols for as long as we can remember. Now there is stillness in the air.

After rushing for months we have a little time this week to watch the sunset.

I remember when 2018 was a bright and shining new year. It seems like only yesterday this year was bursting out of its box eager to get started. Now we have discovered the secrets of 2018. This year is old and tired, and almost ready to leave the stage.

We have a few days to rest and reflect and listen to sacred stillness before opening the box of a new year.

What are we listening to this week? When we listen to sacred stillness, what do we hear?

How has listening to sacred stillness changed for us from the beginning of this year until now?

This week is an excellent opportunity for us to listen to the stillness in the air.

Some of us practice listening to sacred stillness regularly. We take time every day or every week to listen to stillness in the air.

For some of us it is a challenge to listen to stillness. We struggle to find time to spend listening. When we try to listen sacred stillness can be drowned out by distractions. We want our hearts and minds to be open and quiet, but they do not seem to listen to us.

It can be discouraging or frustrating to try to practice listening to sacred stillness. So many other people and things get in our way. We want to listen well but thoughts, words, and feelings flitter past and capture our attention.

It is a challenge for us to listen to the sacred stillness in the air.

Listening to the Stillness in the Air

Each of us finds our own way to listen to sacred stillness. There are no rules, no checklist, no measurable steps for us to take. We do not need a plan to build our practice of listening to sacred stillness. Our practice grows and develops as we continue to practice.

We each face our own obstacles and struggles as we practice listening to sacred stillness. There are no easy answers or shortcuts to becoming better at it. Each time we sit down to listen is a new beginning for us.

It can be helpful for us to decide on a particular time and place to practice. We do not fail when we forget or get distracted. Each time we start is a new beginning.

Each time I begin I close my eyes, become aware of my own breathing, and let go of what distracts me. My intention is to be open, to give my consent to the presence and actions of spiritual life within me.

There is no wrong way to listen to sacred stillness. We listen to sacred stillness in the air around us and within us. It is the same stillness in the air we breathe and inside us.

When I realize I have become distracted I return as gently as possible to listening. Our practice is not about fighting or defeating what distracts us. We are not keeping score or evaluating how well we are doing. Listening to sacred stillness is not a competition, even with ourselves.

We listen, welcoming spiritual life into our everyday lives. Listening, breathing, with our eyes closed, we relax into the welcoming embrace of spiritual life.

We listen to sacred stillness in the air around us, breathing it into our hearts.

How We Listen to Stillness in the Air

Listening to the stillness in the air we breathe is how we draw it into ourselves. The stillness unites with us. We become part of the sacred stillness and it becomes part of us.

We listen to music or to someone else speaking with us and we take them into our hearts and into our minds. They become part of our lives and we become part of theirs.

As we sit here today we can remember what someone told us years ago. We remember when someone listened to us. There is even music we can hear now, years after the last time we listened to it.

I was driving on a freeway one day when music came on the radio which nearly overwhelmed me. It carried with it a flood of emotions and memories of people and places. It had been decades since I had paid attention to that piece of music, but it was part of me.

We listen to sacred stillness in the air around us the way we listen to each other or to music. Spiritual life becomes part of us and we become part of it each time we listen.

Why We Listen to Stillness in the Air

This is a week for listening to sacred stillness.

There is a stillness in the air as the voices which have filled our year pause to catch their breath. After all the year’s arguments and celebrations, the witticisms and insights, we listen to sacred stillness.

This week we have an opportunity to take a deep breath and listen for understanding. We remember the insights and questions which have filled our year and anticipate what is coming.

As we listen in the present moment we recognize the past is gone and the future may never arrive.

Like music or a conversation we remember sacred stillness becomes part of us and we become part of it. As we consent to spiritual life in our lives we breathe it into us.

The sacred stillness in the air around us wraps us in its arms and draws us in and holds us close.

We have a few days to reflect and listen to the sacred stillness in the air and within ourselves.

Are we listening to the sacred stillness in the air today?

Where will we find sacred stillness in the air around us this week?

[Image by moonjazz]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and university professor, and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com, and his email address is [email protected].

Blog

Sacred Stillness

Previous Post

December 22, 2018

Practices From the Inside Out: Only Three More Days

Next Post

December 29, 2018 Practices From the Inside Out: Always, We Begin Again

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What is the longest Gospel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Luke Mark Matthew John