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April-June, 2012

Be Silent. Be Still

by Rev. Myron Jones, O.M.C.

There is a devotional song I like, called Tapping by Rickie Beckwith. In part it says:

You are tapping on my heart. Tell me what is the plan. Tell me how to heal my mind. Tell me how to walk this land.

These words resonate deeply with me because I am aware of that tapping all the time. Holy Spirit is tapping in my Heart, tapping on my shoulder, on my head. He gently taps to get my attention. Sometimes I acknowledge His taps, sometimes not, but always the tapping is there. My desire for His Guidance grows stronger and stronger as I practice listening.

Tap tap… Wake up! Tap tap… Say this. Tap tap… Go here. Tap tap… Do that. Tap tap… Are you tired of the chatter in your mind? Listen to me. Tap tap… Read this book. Tap tap… Watch this video. Really? Okay. Tap tap… You feel sad. You must be listening to the ego. Tap tap… You are loved. Tap tap… You are never alone. Tap tap… You belong to God.

When Regina Dawn Akers got back from her pilgrimage to India to visit Ramana Maharishi’s ashram with the message that she is to spend a year in silence, I felt the Holy Spirit taping on my heart. Tap tap… This for you, too. I’ve been following in Regina’s steps for years now, so I wasn’t surprised that my Heart answered her desire for silence, but I was uncertain that I could do this.

I have a very full time job that calls for a lot of verbal communication. I facilitate ministerial courses, teach, counsel, perform weddings, mentor students of the Course. I didn’t see how I could spend a year in silence. And yet… there was that tapping.

So instead of saying no, I asked how. How would You have me do this? The Holy Spirit helped me to see that this, like everything we do together, is not about what I do, but how I do it.

I began by looking with the Holy Spirit at my obligations one at a time to see if there was anything I should drop. I also remain open to guidance in the moment about my schedule. I recognize a tendency in myself to use “worthwhile” activity, even spiritual activity as a distraction from what I am guided to do.

Since I was on vacation this week between Christmas and New Years, I thought it would be an excellent time to practice silence and get a feel for what this coming year will be like. I didn’t have guidance to drop anything in my schedule, so I didn’t see how I was going to fit silence into it, but I figured Holy Spirit had a plan and I was excited to see it unfold.

Holy Spirit gently led me to ways this will work for me. I would be writing and would feel that familiar tapping. Be still now. And I would stop what I was doing and sit in silence for a bit, maybe no longer than a couple of minutes. It was a good two minutes, though. It was like turning off my iPhone for a minute or so. When I turn it back on, the glitches are gone and it runs faster and better. I turn myself off for a brief time and when I return to my work, I am refreshed and working more efficiently and absolutely more peacefully.

While I was washing dishes, I was deciding what to do next and allowing the ego to be entertained with stories from the past. Tap tap… Be quiet. Oh! He wants me to practice silence in my mind as well. Good one, Holy Spirit! I need this practice anyway, as I’ve been working on letting go of the thinking mind and obviously I have more work to do on this.

I was driving to the store and listening to a CD. When it ended, I reached for the next one and felt that tapping again. Silence now.

I was listening to my friend talk and felt the tap. What? Holy Spirit showed me that my friend’s voice was not the only one in my head. In fact, now that He called it to my attention, I realized it sounded like a whole convention was taking place there. I was listening the wee voice that was preparing my response to her words. I was listening to the voice that was reporting back on the level of my physical comfort. It is too hot in here, the chair too hard.

There was a voice that was commenting on her new haircut. Another was reviewing our past visits. I was listening to the voice that was making out my shopping list, for heaven’s sake. So Holy Spirit was asking me to be silent as I listened. When I did that, I was surprised at how silent my mind was with only the one voice speaking.

I was listening to a student, and when I started to respond, I felt a tap. Be quiet and listen. So I did. And before I tried to respond again, I asked for both timing and words. I am to be quiet even when I speak, it seems. Fewer words, and only His words.

When I fixed my breakfast yesterday, I was trying to decide whether I would read or check my email while I ate. I’m big on multi-tasking. I felt the familiar tapping. Just eat. Eat in silence.

I am amazed at the number of ways I have used business and distractions to avoid silence. This morning I went through my usual ritual: Get coffee, turn on computer, read lesson, journal, post. Tap tap… Be still. Be silent. And I remembered that silence is not just something else I am to do this year, rather it is the defining element. I think Holy Spirit is asking me to begin and end my day with silence. I am to make silence my priority, to have dedicated time for silence as well as learning how to be silent in my activities, my words, and my listening.

In Workbook Lesson 221 we learn: Peace to my mind. Let all my thoughts be still.

Now do we wait in quiet. God is here, because we wait together. I am sure that He will speak to you, and you will hear. Accept my confidence, for it is yours. Our minds are joined. We wait with one intent; to hear our Father’s answer. (W-pII.221)

© 2012, Pathways of Light. https://www.pathwaysoflight.org
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