We can find the inward silence even at times of bustle and busyness. |
I've previously published written ministry that
touches on this, a short piece entitled Outward
Silence, Inward Silence.
It's very direct, with the general point that outward silence, while
traditional and useful, is largely a tool to help us find inward
silence. In this post, I will be exploring this idea in more detail,
with practical examples and advice.
Silent worship is
the most recognisable part of the religious practice of liberal (and
conservative) Quakers. It is the cornerstone of what might be
considered our liturgy, and to many it is the sine qua non
of Quaker religious practice. I would not dream of suggesting that
Quakers dispense with the practice of silent worship. And yet, it
must be remembered that silence is not there for its own sake.
Meeting for Worship is not simply a matter of a group of people
sitting in a room together, being silent; it is a matter of expectant
waiting. We sit together in
silence, practising spiritual disciplines that open us to receiving
ministry – that the Divine may move us to speak. Personally, I
think “expectant” carries the wrong connotation, in that it
indicates to modern ears that we expect something to happen; it lacks
the humility that I feel we should approach these matters with. That
point aside, the essence of this is that the silence is a method, not
an objective in itself. A group of people can sit in a room in
silence until the cows come home, but it takes more than that to make
it a Meeting for Worship.
What then are
these spiritual disciplines that open us to receiving ministry, and
what does silence have to do with it? Well, I'm not going to go into
great detail here and now about the precise nature of these
disciplines, largely because we often discover them for ourselves and
my conversations with Friends suggest they are many and varied. What
they share is that the silence of the silent meeting enhances them,
or makes them easier. They help attain a state in which we are more
open to the movement of the Spirit, in which can be moved and
receive, for want of a better word, messages: silent messages for
yourself, or messages that are to be shared in spoken ministry. It
also allows for a wonderful sense of the presence of the Spirit,
awareness of the Light, closeness to God, whatever you prefer to call
it; as part of that, in my experience it allows us an increased
awareness of the presence of that Light in those we worship with as
well.
Now, none of
those things are experienced every time we worship, or in exactly the
same manner by all those engaged in Quaker worship. But to me they
are tied together as things that are allowed by that inward state our
disciplines allow us to attain. It is that state that I refer to as
inward silence, both
in terms of its relationship to the outward silence, and because it
seems fitting from my own experience of it; it is a term that other
Quakers have also used, and I am not sure how often it is used in the
same manner as I understand it.
For some people,
the inward silence is very clearly what it sounds like – an
absolute placidity, an absence of internal monologue, and openness
and stillness pervading the entire being. For others, it is a
disengagement from the process of thought, yet without thought
stopping; you become partially removed from your own thoughts, aware
of them but not directing, like riding a raft over moving water.
Sometimes that water moves gently, and sometimes unquietly, but it is
that removal from it that marks the inward silence for some. For
others it is about sharpening awareness of things that you are less
aware of at other times – perhaps your breathing, perhaps the
presence of others around you, perhaps even visualisation of the
Inner Light in yourself, and others present. It can involve elements
of mindfulness, even of meditation. It can be allowing some thought,
preferably one of religious significance, to completely fill your
cognisance to the exclusion of all else. Rarely is it every perfectly
any of those things, but practice and discipline allows us to reach
closer and closer to whatever state the inward silence is for us.
But here we get
to the potentially controversial bit, for some liberal and
conservative Friends. The outward silence of Meeting for Worship
facilitates us finding our inward silence, but it is the
inward silence that is the essential characteristic of Meeting for
Worship, not the outward
silence. I would think it impossible to reach properly for inward
silence while you were engaged in a conversation yourself, but a
conversation carried on nearby does not prevent it – merely makes
it more difficult. Meetings for Worship have been held in shopping
centres and museums, quite successfully to talk to those who were
there. Some of these are acts of witness against some action by
government or corporations, and so some might think that their role
is fulfilled if they look like a Meeting for Worship, whatever might
be happening internally, but those I have spoken to who have
participated in them were in no doubt of the action of the Spirit in
those meetings. With practice, and deliberate choice, one can choose
what is “background”, and pushed away from awareness as one
reaches for the inward silence; it is for this reason that such
meetings work best with seasoned Friends, and when it works very
well, a small number of seasoned Friends can almost seem to to draw
others into the inward silence.
In my own Local
Meeting, the heating system for the Meeting Room makes noise. If it
is properly on, there is the whirr of fans, while if it is abruptly
turned off, there is an irregular clicking as components cool.
Friends try to find a balance between these factors, and indeed the
fact it is hard to find your centre in worship when losing
circulation to your extremities, in order to minimise noise while
maintaining physical comfort. I do wonder sometimes if we worry too
much about it. I don't think a fan or air conditioning, or reasonable
traffic noise, or the background noise of electronic equipment,
prevents us from attaining that inward silence, from being properly
present in worship. I think it makes it more difficult, but then so
might the steps we take to reduce noise – especially when that
means turning heating or air conditioning off! We might also consider
that the outward silence is actually a barrier to the inward silence
for some Friends, due to cognitive impairment or mental health
difficulties.
What I would
suggest, then, is that we actually attempt to help people see the
difference between inward and outward silence. When you recognise
your own inward silence, it becomes easier to reach in more difficult
situations. If we can appreciate that it is this inward silence that
is key, and the outward silence only a means to that end, we can see
that we can reach that end, if necessary or desirable, without
outward silence. We should not then abandon outward silence
completely – it is vital in introducing most people to Quaker
worship, and is helpful to most people most of the time, and why
should we make life harder than it needs to be?
When you worship,
try paying attention to your inward state. If you engage in any
individual practices of meditation, prayer or contemplation, try to
pay attention then as well; you might see some similarities, and if
you don't, you may find that either worship or individual practice
are enhanced by bringing something of the state you find in the
other. Learn to recognise your own inward silence, and you will find
it easier to come back to in the future with less lead-in or ritual.
As you learn about your inward silence, you may find it easier to
reach in any circumstance, including silent worship, and you may
learn better what helps you to find it. For me, in some states of
mind, reading some appropriate text is immensely helpful in finding
my inward silence, and this introspection has helped me to learn
which states of mind these are.
Having worked on
this, try to bring yourself to inward silence in different
situations. On the bus or train, or during a short break at work –
possibly even while sat at your desk, though you probably don't want
to be actively working on something while you try this. In the queue
at the post office. With more practice, it will become easier.
Now, practising
the inward silence alone is of great spiritual and personal value, it
gives you a rock to stand on, a sense of light and love, it can be a
great source of strength. It should not be confused, however, with
Meeting for Worship. Meeting for Worship requires several people,
albeit not very many, all reaching for this together. By whatever
method you may think, the awareness of the Divine and the possibility
for it reaching to us is vastly increased by that shared experience –
and by the wonderful gift of spoken ministry that helps to carry us
all along and sharpen the experience of silence, even as it seems to
break it. If you are able to engage in regular group worship, you
should do so – but individual practice and awareness of the inward
silence, and the Light that it connects to, is a great help both in
one's own life, and in deepening our collective worship.
Now, if we can
develop that awareness, we can proceed to engage in silent worship
that is not held in silence. We can cope with people present
fidgeting, or having background noise – perhaps even light music
that enables those who struggle with outward silence to participate
and find the inward silence. Indeed, as mentioned previously, our
spiritual disciplines to reach the inward silence are different, each
of us finding ways that work for us, and for some it will be a simple
repetitive manual task that helps them find that stillness inside, or
distracting part of their mind with music that allows them to settle
and centre. We wouldn't expect all of our Meetings for Worship to
change in this way, but allowing for them sometimes, or as a
supplement, can actually aid the accessibility of our worship, and
thus our community, for a great many people. If we treat the outward
silence as a golden calf, holding it up as an object of devotion and
dedication, rather than a means to an end, we not only deny that
opportunity for widening access to the Quaker Way, we lose sight of
the objective of that worship – better awareness of the Divine,
enabling us to be open to guidance and thus to living our lives
better.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Did you enjoy this post, or find it interesting, informative or stimulating? Do you want to keep seeing more of these posts? Please consider contributing to my Patreon. More information is available in the post announcing my use of Patreon.
Did you enjoy this post, or find it interesting, informative or stimulating? Do you want to keep seeing more of these posts? Please consider contributing to my Patreon. More information is available in the post announcing my use of Patreon.