A Practice of Quietness
Quietness
Call to Practice
This module centers around quietness. Making room to be quiet to allow yourself to experience inner quiet. There is a quietness that is found in knowing that you are loved, deeply, as you are.
The Setting
Between every electrical impulse that causes the heart to contract is the absolute refractory period. It is the portion of time that it takes for the sodium channels to reset in the muscle fibers of the heart. During this time the heart experiences a brief period of electrical quiet.
One of the components of healthy soil is space. Without this space, oxygen and carbon dioxide have no room to dance, to exchange, to breathe. I grew up in the central part of North Carolina where the soil is red, packed, airless clay. It is back and heart breaking for a gardener, but it makes great bricks.
Space. Silence. Rest. Quietness.
These are things that the soul requires.
Opening Prayer
God, unity of community, we look for you in the grand and the powerful and find you in twilight. We listen for you in storm and the ceremony, and find you in silence. We look for you on the mountain top, swathed in fire and cloud, and find you with shepherds, carpenters, lepers, and children.
Amen.
Lighting the Candle
I light this candle to remind me that God was born into a body, walked on feet, told stories, and smiled at the taste of honey. May I honor my body and the bodies of others as the body of Christ.
Confession
God who speaks in whispers, we confess that we have filled our world with sound. We confess that we have littered our air with rumbles, burrs, hums, and taps. Each space we inhabit is accompanied by sound—our chaperone with the Divine.
First Reading
Day 1: 1 Kings 19:9–13
Day 2: Psalm 131
Day 3: Luke 10:38–42
Day 4: Psalm 23
The Inquiry
Journal through these questions. A simple sentence or word is sufficient.
In what ways did you experience or observe God today?
In what ways did you feel distant from God today?
How would you like to grow in your relationship with God today?
After you complete your journaling, write or speak the following blessing:
“(Your name), in the name of Jesus Christ know you are beloved of God.”
The Act of Response
Quietness
Day 1 Labyrinth—Place your finger at the entrance to the finger labyrinth and slowly follow the path to the center and back out. Try to allow your body to relax into quietness
Day 2 Centering Prayer—Set a timer for three to five minutes. During this time, silently pray this centering prayer: "Abide in love" on the inhale and "Abide in God" on the exhale (adapted from 1 John 4:16).
Day 3 Silent gazing prayer—Teresa of Avila said, "Prayer is an act of love; words are not needed. Even if sickness distracts from thoughts, all that is needed is the will to love." For this practice, set a timer for three to five minutes and center your gaze on the candle you lit at the beginning of this liturgy. Allow your gaze to soften, using the flame to center your attention. As you sit quietly, allow a sense of being loved by the Divine to fill you.
Day 4 Listening—find a space where you can sit for five to ten minutes. Try to make it a space where you will be able to hear ambient noise that does not produce anxiety. Set a timer for five to ten minutes. During this time, listen to what is happening around you. As you bring your attention to the external noise, allow yourself to become internally quiet. Keep the knowledge in your mind that all of this—all of these sounds, colors, textures—were created and pronounced good.
Second Reading
Day 1: The Rebirthing of God, Chapter 8
Day 2: The Rebirthing of God, Chapter 8
Day 3: The Rebirthing of God, Chapter 8
Day 4: Simple Harmony, Chapter 6
Closing Prayer
Sabbath God, give us patience to sit in the awkwardness of silence. Give us the joy of knowing that there are times that we shouldn’t, oughtn’t, mightn’t. Go with us as we journey inward toward refractory stillness. (Rest in silence for the space of five breaths)
In the name of that which inhabits our quietness,
Amen.
Blessing
May the blessing of the incarnation be embodied in you, and may you find strength in knowing that God created you in love.
Other Resources
“Quiet” a podcast from The TED Radio Hour
A quote from Thomas Merton
"Christianity is not stoicism. The Cross does not sanctify us by destroying human feeling. Detachment is not insensibility. Too many ascetics fail to become great saints precisely because their rules and ascetic practices have merely deadened their humanity instead of setting it free to develop richly, in all its capacities, under the influence of grace.”
― Thomas Merton, Thoughts In Solitude"4’33”" by John Cage