Listening to Sacred Stillness: Recognizing the Qualities of Stillness

Qualities of Stillness

Most of us think about stillness as something which is either/or, binary. We assume we are in a situation which is either still or not. Many of us have a difficult time recognizing the qualities of stillness.

Can we, or the situations around us, become more still or less still?

My experience of stillness shows me it is more like water than an either/or idea.

Water comes in a lot of different forms and shapes. It can be a liquid, or a gas, or a solid. Sometimes water helps things stick together and sometimes it washes away impurities. Water makes some things rust, or spoil, or grow.

We need to drink some water each day, but too much water can kill us.

I believe stillness works in many of the same ways water does.

Some of us begin, and end, each day with our practice of listening to sacred stillness. We need regular stillness to wash away what distracts us.

Other people seem to enjoy immersing themselves in stillness every so often. In addition to regular, everyday stillness we might need to spend a weekend or a few days in stillness each year.

Some of us try to put stillness off as long as we can. We may be anxious about what we will find in stillness.

What are the qualities of stillness which make it so significant in our lives? How does listening to stillness help us recognize and grow into spiritual life?

Why do some of us prefer listening to sacred stillness to listening to music? What makes stillness sacred, anyway?

Where does stillness come from, and why does it seem to be important to us?

We take time to pause and listen, sit still, take deep breaths, close our eyes, and be open to stillness.

Essential Qualities of Stillness

One essential quality of stillness is patience. Stillness does not force itself on us, demanding we pay attention.

We may ignore stillness for long periods of time. Some people have never listening to sacred stillness before. Stillness never closes itself to us, telling us to leave it alone. It is always there, open and waiting for us to listen.

Another essential quality of stillness is its consistency. We tend to think the stillness within us is personal, while the stillness in the world around us is more conceptual or theoretical. My experience tells me the stillness within us is the same stillness as in the world around us, as in everyone else.

When we take time to listen, sacred stillness draws us together.

Stillness is also welcoming. Even when I feel reluctant, when I think I have too much to do or am too tired, stillness embraces me.

There are times when I struggle to stay awake, and stillness holds me in its arms while I find the rest I need.

One of the more obvious qualities of stillness is its sacredness. It is sacred stillness, after all.

Listening to sacred stillness is a form of prayer which is deeper and richer than praying with words. I do not need to think about what I am going to say, how to put things into the right words.

Listening to sacred stillness is praying beyond thoughts, words, and feelings.

Like fish which live surrounded by water, completely dependent on it, we are surrounded and filled with stillness.

Stillness allows us to set out on voyages of exploration and discovery, sailing into unknown parts of ourselves. We sit listening to stillness and spiritual life is alive and at work in us.

We close our eyes and look into the stillness.

Discovering the Qualities of Stillness

Stillness is not a subject we can study to learn what we need to know. It reveals itself to us, moment by moment, as we become open and listen.

We discover the qualities of stillness by spending time in stillness, not merely by reading about it.

Listening to sacred stillness is not about our working to find the answers to our questions. We are not cross-examining stillness. Our relationship to stillness is not adversarial.

We take our time, listening and giving our permission for stillness to live and work in us. There is no checklist or deadlines. It is not a test we need to pass or an obstacle we need to overcome.

Listening to sacred stillness is a practice we will continue to follow for the rest of our lives, at least.

Like in any intimate relationship, the qualities of stillness are revealed to us over time. We will believe we have mastered certain qualities only to be reminded we do not understand them at all.

Stillness is not something to be captured or categorized or understood. The infinite qualities of stillness are revealed to us in infinite ways.

Recognizing the Qualities of Stillness

Listening to sacred stillness is not a method of demonstrating how pious we are. We are not trying to earn extra credit or perform well on an evaluation of our spiritual practices.

It is not a way to lower our blood pressure or help us relax in our stressful lives. When I practice listening to sacred stillness it does not necessarily help me chill out or fall asleep sooner.

When we listen to sacred stillness we are not worshiping the stillness.

Our practice of listening, of paying attention, helps us become more open to the stillness within us, and in the world around us. We listen because we recognize there is something larger and more important than we are.

Like fish which live surrounded by and dependent on water, we are filled with and surrounded by stillness. We may try to distract ourselves by making various noises, but it is the sacred stillness which keeps us alive.

We listen to stillness to stay out of the way as spiritual life lives and works within us.

How will we practice recognizing the qualities of stillness today?

When will we take time to reflect on the qualities of stillness this week?

[Image by htemske]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual director in Southern California. He is a recovering assistant district attorney and associate university professor, and is a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.