Silence as a Path to God

Seeking a Path to God

Contemplation nourishes the soul. It stimulates your relationship with the divine.…All religious traditions have a history of seeking silence as a path to God, the Light, and the Way.

Silence is an invitation to the divine to come forward, to reveal itself to you—as a presence more than an active guidance. You wait to experience the presence of God without an agenda, without a prayer list filled with requests that cover myriad fears and insecurities. This is a new experience for many people who seem to lack the patience to wait for God.…

Contemplation is the discipline of piercing through the ego’s self-centeredness and impatience. It may include the boredom of waiting for God to show up. Contemplation is like falling into your soul and away from the world. Caroline Myss Entering the Castle Page 68/69

The mind talks so much that it is hard to keep a silent space. When I get into a mode of contemplation and actually manage to be run through with silence then I often find myself sinking into a sleep-filled place. I doze off.  The silence is so peaceful it is conducive to rest and sleep.

In the parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, Matthew 25: 1-13, we read, “When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.” Matt 25: 5 (New Living Translation). Christ, in the telling of this parable doesn’t have any condemnation of the fact that they fell asleep for, as soon as the shout went up that the bridegroom was coming, they were immediately awake and prepared their lamps ready to greet him.

Five out of the ten bridesmaids were described as wise and were ready for the bridegroom to come, they had extra oil for their lamps, and as soon as the bridegroom appeared, they trimmed their lamps and their inner selves shone with prepared light. They had waited through the dark times, the boring times, and the uncertain times; they did not give up in the dry times.

They were ready to accompany the bridegroom—the Sacred One—to the place where he would go and they rejoiced and celebrated with him. We must be like the five wise bridesmaids, ready to meet our God and accompany him whither he would have us go.

© Judith Lawrence