We open to silence by open receptivity of the body. Listening is a natural doorway to the receptivity of the heart. The more subtle the sound, the more receptive the body, and in time, the heart.
Thanks again Renée! I loved how you shared your Buddhist meditation. How the silence and sound started out as two separate things as their own entities and sensations. Until... they were not separate anymore. "Sound emerged from silence, then returned to it." Our brain and our culture tend to compartmentalize and partition. This has its place and is required at times. But there also needs to be the capacity to see the bigger picture, to understand how it is all connected. That silence and sound are two sides of the same coin, interdependent. It we can understand this, it opens the doors to greater perception. Like you are writing about here.
Looking forward to you explorations of Sufism and Rumi. I studied Sufism as part of my Masters/Theological degree. And I have been a huge fan of Rumi for decades! “Silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.” Rumi.
Thank you for sharing these reflections, namely, that the rational mind partitions and compartmentalizes, makes separate what is whole. We are blessed with a rational mind, as you say, and it is by the executive functioning of the rational mind that our intention toward presence can be experienced through "the eye of the heart," a Sufi reflection you no doubt know and can perhaps see where we are going. It is good to know that you studied Sufism as part of your Theological Masters degree. I will keep you in mind as I write.
Thank you for the Rumi passage. It sounds a chord. . .
Your talk of Rumi in this post brought him back out of the corners of my mind. Retrieving my Rumi books and placing them on my desk. So good to dig through them again. I also just shared a poem of his on my recent post. Inspired by the seed you planted Reneé. Thanks for that!
From Rumi: "...This poetry; I never know what I'm going to say. I don't plan it. When I'm outside the saying of it, I get very quiet, and rarely speak at all." I imagine he was silent a great deal of the time; perhaps waiting for the inspiration to come forth, and then speak from there. And when finished, return to silence. It is when we are outside the noise of the world and our minds, and truly silent, that we can hear what needs to be said out loud. And from Rumi again: "...In every moment and in every event of your life, the Beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know." It's impossible to hear that whisper if the inner chatter is going and if we're continuously outer directed. From me: "Be in the moment, shut off your mind, be in the moment and you will find, when you're in the moment, you will find peace of mind."
Thanks again Renée! I loved how you shared your Buddhist meditation. How the silence and sound started out as two separate things as their own entities and sensations. Until... they were not separate anymore. "Sound emerged from silence, then returned to it." Our brain and our culture tend to compartmentalize and partition. This has its place and is required at times. But there also needs to be the capacity to see the bigger picture, to understand how it is all connected. That silence and sound are two sides of the same coin, interdependent. It we can understand this, it opens the doors to greater perception. Like you are writing about here.
Looking forward to you explorations of Sufism and Rumi. I studied Sufism as part of my Masters/Theological degree. And I have been a huge fan of Rumi for decades! “Silence is the language of god, all else is poor translation.” Rumi.
Julie,
Thank you for sharing these reflections, namely, that the rational mind partitions and compartmentalizes, makes separate what is whole. We are blessed with a rational mind, as you say, and it is by the executive functioning of the rational mind that our intention toward presence can be experienced through "the eye of the heart," a Sufi reflection you no doubt know and can perhaps see where we are going. It is good to know that you studied Sufism as part of your Theological Masters degree. I will keep you in mind as I write.
Thank you for the Rumi passage. It sounds a chord. . .
Your talk of Rumi in this post brought him back out of the corners of my mind. Retrieving my Rumi books and placing them on my desk. So good to dig through them again. I also just shared a poem of his on my recent post. Inspired by the seed you planted Reneé. Thanks for that!
From Rumi: "...This poetry; I never know what I'm going to say. I don't plan it. When I'm outside the saying of it, I get very quiet, and rarely speak at all." I imagine he was silent a great deal of the time; perhaps waiting for the inspiration to come forth, and then speak from there. And when finished, return to silence. It is when we are outside the noise of the world and our minds, and truly silent, that we can hear what needs to be said out loud. And from Rumi again: "...In every moment and in every event of your life, the Beloved is whispering to you exactly what you need to hear and know." It's impossible to hear that whisper if the inner chatter is going and if we're continuously outer directed. From me: "Be in the moment, shut off your mind, be in the moment and you will find, when you're in the moment, you will find peace of mind."
Ed,
Thank you for sharing these passages from Rumi and you, what looks to be lyrics from your music. . . .
A lovely pairing.