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Silence comes from the Latin word, silens, meaning to be still, quiet, or at rest. Other words related to it are: calm, peace, serenity, tranquility, poise, composure, noiselessness, hush, and solitude. I his description of stillness, Romano Guardini cuts to its very essence: “Stillness is the tranquility of the inner life; the quiet at the depths of its hidden streams. It is a collected, total presence, a being ‘all there,’ receptive, alert, ready . . . It is when the soul abandons the restlessness of purposeful activity.” Within this definition we learn silence’s first fundamental lesson: It is not so much a lack of sound as it is a cultivation of interior stillness. When we closely examine one of silence’s synonyms, calmness, we get a better idea of why our present age yearns to cultivate it. In Greek, the word calm is karein, meaning “the heat of the day.” It signifies a resting place at high noon, a spot preferable placid, peaceful, and cool. Silence is pictured as a shelter protecting us against that which beats on our senses and breaks us down. . . . . Let’s look at the beauty of silence. As with the rotation of a diamond, the more we rotate silence, the more we realize the many ways it can bring new light into our lives. When we reflect on how many times we have seen a child totally engrossed in drawing, we get our first beautiful picture of silence. In this scene, silence is total absorption in something. There is a singular focus that steadies a person’s being and locks out distractions. Here silence would say, “Picture the times you were engrossed in a novel you were reading, or a hobby you enjoyed. Do you remember how you were transported into another world? This is one of the centering powers you inherit when you practice me. Two persons in love, blissfully gazing at each other, portray another profound quality of silence. In this form, it translates into contemplation, which enables two persons to enjoy an I-thou relationship with each other. It fosters intimate contact in which the whole being of one person absorbs the being of the other. Here silence whispers to us, “Note how time stands still between two persons when they become still, contemplate each other, and truly experience the other. Note especially the way ecstasy and I go together.” Some years ago while competing in a triathlon I learned how silence and physical strength complement each other under trying circumstances. The first and most frightening event in a triathlon is a mile swim. It is a nerve-racking event in which you race with about fifty other swimmers who are constantly bumping into you or swimming over you in deep waters. What made this particular triathlon especially scary was the roughness of the water. One minute I would see a group of swimmers, and the next they were lost to sight in high swells. During our swim, a number of swimmers panicked and began calling for help to the lifeguards. I remember panic hitting me and how it began to unnerve me. I began to think that this is why a person can drown in a matter of minutes. For some unknown reason I was able to go within myself and to talk to myself. Repeatedly I reminded myself, “Relax, relax, don’t fight the water but go with it.” Suddenly an inner stillness came over me, and I began cutting through the water with new energy. Later when I reflected on those moments I realized the power stillness has in restoring our nerves and, consequently, our physical strength. In cases like this, silence says, “Observe how the inner strength I generate is the real strength behind human strength. I am responsible for gathering together those inner powers that can help you overcome much. When you feel weakened and afraid, go off with me and allow me to restore the spirit within your strength.” In Psalm 131 we read, “But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Silence in this psalm is portrayed as the inner peace and security of a child without a care in the world. Humans tend to demand from others what we are most unwilling to give. Isn’t that funny. We expect and demand someone to give us what we are not willing to give. Unconditional love. If we expect that from someone to make us feel safe and loved, wanted and desired, don’t we have to understand what it is? Don’t we have to feel it for ourselves before we can accept or expect anyone else to give it to us? Unconditional love: loving without limitations, conditions, or reservations. If we don’t provide that for ourselves, what is our point of reference to measure the love that is to fulfill our lives. How would we know what we are searching for or what we expect someone to give to us? How do we express to someone what we need? In order to know that there is such a kind of love, we had to have read it somewhere, seen it in a movie or somewhere, sometime, someone showed us a glimpse of it. Right? Wrong. We were born knowing unconditional love. It is a gift, a birthright given to us from the very beginning. It’s the conditioning once our souls take on the human form that limits our belief in unconditional love. It’s erased and replaced by conditioned thoughts of the world. We learn our actions cause reactions. We learn that we are either good or bad. We learn What is acceptable and what is not. That becomes our point of reference, removing us far away from what we were born with. After time and experiences it almost seems hopeless to return. It is true that seeing glimpses of it in movies and books confirms in our hearts that it does exist. We are told that it is only fantasy. That it is the fantasy we are craving. Not true. Our spirit is craving what we knew from the beginning. We need to take the time to find out what “unconditional love?is for ourselves instead of Depending on someone to do it for us. If we aren’t clear on what it is how will our needs and desires get met? We expect someone to give us something but we aren’t clear as to what that “something?is. Following that path, we will always be disappointed. We will always place people in position to let us down; all the while they have no idea what we are expecting from them. If we are unable to express our need in a clear manner there will be no one that will understand. If it is not clear to us it certainly will not be clear to them. Finding your true unconditional love means finding the true you. When was the last time you really focused on finding out who you really are? So in reading this, the answer sounds easy but how do you begin? Where do you start to begin this path of finding unconditional love? You must work through painful experiences that create anger or bitterness in you. Why did it happen? What was the lesson to be learned in it? Be grateful for the people that were put in your path to help you with that lesson, rather than resenting them for hurting you. It is absolutely impossible to unconditionally love yourself if you harbor bitterness, anger, guilt or any other feelings that are not love. When looking through your “looking glass? you see things as you have been conditioned to see them. That woman smashed into the back of your new car because you feel you don’t deserve to have a new car. The kids are disobeying you because they don’t care about you. Your partner is angry because you blame them for things and it’s not their fault. It’s all bad luck; if it weren’t for bad luck you’d have no luck. Hear that before? It’s how you look at the lessons that will make your journey easy or difficult. Clean off your “looking glass?and let’s get started. ? Focus on who you are. Write down all the qualities you know about yourself. For example; (You love helping people, You love working with children, You are creative and so on.) Write them down so you can actually see the wonderful qualities about yourself that you know are there. ? Practice speaking out loud all of the things you deserve. You deserve that new car, you deserve people to respect you, and you deserve unconditional love. This is called affirmation. When your subconscious hears the words it starts to believe them. But you must do the work because no one will do it for you. You are in charge. ? Find a way to return to times and places that bring up resentful, fearful feelings where your needs were not getting met. If you don’t feel like you can do it alone, find a “coach?or therapist, or a friend that will help you feel safe and loved during the times of recalling these events. Talk about them. Get honest, healthy, and safe feed back. Your ultimate idea of a bounce back partner is your life partner who is in your life to help you grow and heal these areas. The idea here is to recall them, feel them (pain and all), and then release them, let go to open up another room for unconditional love. Recalling the event or person will give you a starting point. Recall the people involved, recall how you felt, and what should have happened instead to meet your needs. How would you handle it today, knowing that you deserve to get your needs met, knowing that you deserve unconditional love, and knowing that in order to receive unconditional love you need to give it. Feel the pain that the event and people caused you. Go deep inside, feel the anger, feel the hurt, feel the rejection, feel the disapproval, feel how alone you were at that moment in your life. Cry.Cry. Cry. And when you are through crying all of the tears you have over it, think for a moment how that situation would be handled today, knowing that you deserve to get your needs met, knowing you deserve unconditional love, and knowing in order to receive unconditional love you need to give it. And finally, release the past, release the pain, and forgive. Forgive means to stop being angry about or resentful against, to relieve from payment of. To relieve from payment of the past is the step that will bring you to unconditional love. The world owes you nothing. You were born deserving it, so was everyone else. We are here on our journey’s to help each other heal. Learning how to love yourself unconditionally., creating your dream love by being clear on what you are looking for and be sure that you are able to provide that for yourself before expecting someone to provide it for you, that’s where you will find unconditional love. Acts Of Love When we allow ourselves to understand the impact our actions have not only on ourselves but the planet we live on, we realize the necessity to take loving action. We each have the power to correct conditions within as well as to affect the world we live in. There are so many ways to apply love in our everyday lives. Yet, if we do not take care of ourselves, it is virtually impossible to feel and share love with the world around us. As an act of self-love, we can begin to educate ourselves and learn to take care of our physical bodies as well as keep our thoughts and feelings positive and loving. Nurturing ourselves also teaches us how to nurture life around us. Practice constant acts of kindness and you bring kindness upon this planet. Forgiveness is the easiest and most powerful act of kindness you can make. Both for yourself and for others, this activity promotes unity, harmony and oneness that transmutes the old into the new. This magnificent planet is filled with opportunities to experience love, tolerance, peace and joy. When we, as individuals, realize our potential to love unconditionally, we transform ourselves and the planet at the same time. Such is the power we wield every moment of every day. The choice is ours to create a world of joy and happiness, love and goodwill. Every moment of every day is a new beginning. This can be a powerful mantra or affirmation. The meaning held in these words opens us to a new way of living and experiencing life. Each moment holds a new beginning of possibility and an opportunity to create without limitation. We can let go of what we perceive or believe is before us and allow our personal potential to shine through. Start each day as a new journey of self discovery. Let go of yesterday and tomorrow and embrace the power of now. Remind yourself daily of the newness of life in the moment. Power of Peace So many people are calling, praying and demanding peace upon our beloved planet right now. Let us all be reminded that true peace is found when we are at peace within. Be at peace and you create a world of peace. Do not just pray for peace, become peace itself. Take the time to find the natural peace that resides within and you add to the real feeling of peace to everyone and everything around you. Let go of your fears and doubts and that of others. Be extremely discerning in what you focus your attention upon right now and question the messages and reflections. If it is loving, expand it. If it is less than loving, critical or in any way invokes hatred, fear or anger, release it and return to peace. It is an amazing time and many would like to make you think that doom and despair, fear and attack, are waiting around every corner. Don't believe it. Create your own pictures of reality and fill them with peace and love. Walk in joy and harmony and know that all is well. You can add your energy to this vision by contemplating peace and tapping into the higher desire for peace at any moment. This is especially helpful when you choose a particular time each day (for example 9 p.m.) to feel and think about peace for a few minutes, building a sustainable rhythm and habit. Visit GouldAngel's profile
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