Rhythm of silence....

The sound of silence.  Remember that song from the 60s?  It's a Simon and Garfunkel song.  It was written in February 1964.  Truthfully, I was just beginning to grow in my mother's womb at that time, so I didn't start hearing it until the later 60s and 70s.  It talks about silence in one way....

Here are the lyrics:

"The Sound of Silence"

Hello darkness, my old friend, I've come with talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping, left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone, narrow streets of cobblestone
Neath the halo of a streetlamp, I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light, split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared, and no one dared
To stir the sound of silence

Fool, said I, you do not know, silence, like a cancer, grows
Hear my words and I might teach you, take my arms then I might reach you
But my words, like silent raindrops fell, and echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they'd made
And the sign flashed its warning in the words that it was forming
And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls, and whispered in the sounds of silence

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When I think of silence, that song comes to mind.  When I try to be silent, it takes a while for the voices in my mind to become quiet.  The silence in the song isn't welcomed, it is compared to cancer.  There are two sides to most things.  I'm not talking about the same silence as the song here.  I'm talking about silence as a spiritual discipline, as a spiritual practice, as a way to grow on the journey.  Silence is imperative if I am to reflect on life, to gain (or regain) perspective, to rest my mind.

This week I'm blessed to be in an atmosphere that incorporates silence into its rhythm.  I'm participating in the 2 Year Academy (#32) and we are in Session #2.  I've needed some silence and solitude time.  As you may have read in previous blogs, I've not gotten as much of it as I need lately, but I have gotten some.

This week I am getting more, but maybe not even enough.  I am getting some to reflect on what I am hearing, to swirl it around in my grey matter, to attempt to LISTEN and respond. 

When I have heard in the past, I have noticed that the voice of truth gets muddled in the din of all the other voices.  That's why silence is so instrumental.  The silence helps weed out the other voices so that I am listening to the One voice.

As I set out for a time of silence today, I was encouraged and uplifted by a message that told me I was being covered in prayer.  Wow!  How in the world did that person know that at that moment I was heading out from the lecture into silent reflection time and that the topic(s) of reflection were pretty weighty on my mind?!?!  This person probably didn't know.  But, you know what?!?!  God knew!   And, God impressed on this person to let me know I was being prayed for.  God is a powerful connector of souls and lives when we listen and obey.  There is life giving power when we listen to God and obey.

Are you listening?  What do you hear?  How will you respond?

I'll share more about what I'm hearing later... right now, I'm still listening.

Blessings on your journey!

Debra