Silence Will Be An Acquired Taste
My first silent retreat was an absolute Divine comedy! No guidance and enough ego and arrogance to keep any silence at bay. I liked the idea of a silent retreat but I simply wasn't ready for the WORK of silence. I drove to Santa Barbara and rented a room near the Ocean. Brought books and a journal with me. Didn't read a thing and I wrote one sentence. I was planning on staying for three days of silence, peace and awakening. As I write this I am laughing at how spiritually naive I was. Not a bad thing. I just was. By the end of day ONE I jumped in my car and drove home, quickly. I had met myself very clearly in that small room. It felt like the “silence” was chasing me. I was scared to face myself. The constant volley of past and present pains and mistakes creating the most terrifying shadow slideshow I had ever seen. I ran. That trip taught me silence is not an outside force but a force deep in you, waiting to be held, touched, listened to and learned from. Truly God in me, in you! My inability to connect that weekend was simply where I was on journey. I was still hovering over ego and fear and the need to prove and convince I was something while denying my past. Silence won’t push its way out beyond the shit storm we create internally. It will wait until we have decided to let go into the work of Spirit. We need to reconcile who we are with the Divine. Be honest. Take inventory. Be sober minded and allow help. It’s at that intersection we begin to hear from silence. We begin to feel love, peace and unity among all creation. We begin to seek silence. Since that time in Santa Barbara I’d like to tell you I’m a silence master. But I am not. I do enjoy daily silence and stillness. It holds me, grounds me, allows me to love myself, you and of course God. Silence is the voice of the Divine awakening us to wisdom. I am home in silence, finding the very core of true self. That sentence that I wrote in my journal? “This retreat will kill me.” It did and I hope it kills you too.
Are you able to hold silence?
Receive these daily. Sign up for Your Life’s Work email here
Are you interested in spiritual direction? Here’s how to get started.
Step 1. Schedule a complimentary, no-obligation consult. Do that here.
Step 2. Watch your email for questions from me. Before we hop on the phone, I’d like to know a bit about you and what you’d like to get out of spiritual direction or coaching with me.
Step 3. Hit “reply” to that email and answer the questions.
Step 4. At the scheduled time of your consult, we’ll talk! We’ll use the opportunity to make sure we’re the perfect fit.
Step 5. Then we’ll get started! If you decide to work with me, I’ll tell you the exact steps for getting started. If you decide not to work with me or if we aren’t a perfect fit, I’m happy to share other resources to help you get what you need.
Have questions? You can call me… 619.964.0337
