“Silence is the language
of God, all else is a poor translation”
Rumi
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Though I
can’t claim to know silence well, I do love what I’ve experienced in
silence. Still I had mixed feelings
about going to Iona 'just to be in silence.' So I was surprised to notice I felt a bit
gypped when I discovered the retreat that was billed as a 9 day silent retreat would
actually contain only 7 full days of silence.
I have a
complicated relationship with words. I
love them. I have some skill using them
in speech and writing and I overuse them. Thereby robbing myself and others of
soul nurturing silence
One reason I
have come to love silence is because after a period of silence I am more likely
to have the experience of ‘being spoken.’
While some of what my ego knows is useful, what my soul knows is
essential. This soul knowledge is more
accessible during and after a period of intentional silence. Words might come to me, maybe even through
me, while writing, speaking or simply knowing.
What distinguishes them from my ordinary words is these words come to me
without me ever having thought them.
