Quiet Time Commentary
Daily Quiet Time:
We set aside time on a regular basis, giving ourselves room for soul nourishing. Quiet Time includes but is not limited to silence. Not all practices are quiet since we may sing, dance to music, etc. Any wholesome activity done with the intention to nourish our souls can be a spiritual practice. We do spiritual work and play to be true to ourselves and to strengthen and deepen the community. If you don’t have a regular practice, begin with small steps and let it grow.
Soul Nourishing as a Way of Life:
Each of us is responsible for discovering what we need to be true to ourselves: to be vital, creative, juicy and green; to come more fully alive, more fully human. It is important to engage the whole nephish (body-mind-spirit); we use the Hebrew word, nephish, because the Hebrews imaged human beings as whole. As we make choices for daily quiet time, it is essential to nourish all of who we are, involving physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual aspects of ourselves. There is a feast of options for us to try and then to select and cultivate the ones most beneficial to us. Many of us find it helpful to develop a Rule of Life to describe our intentional practices; some prefer the name, Way of Life. One of the classes in the Viriditas curriculum, “Opening to the Beloved,” is designed to encourage experimenting with a variety of practices.
Here are some of the options that many find helpful:
Prayer. Prayer is expressing the deep longings of our heart for our own lives, for those we love and are close to, for others in the community and beyond, for needs we see in the world and in the church. We may also express gratitude, delight, wonder and praise. Prayer helps us to be more aware, compassionate, and caring, to move from denial, depression or anxiety to a more conscious, hopeful stance. Practices of gratitude and praise bring us joy. In intercessory prayer we o-create the world with love. Walter Wink writes that “history belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being.” Prayers written by others can teach us to pray, expanding our own prayer life. Communal prayer of our liturgies strengthens personal prayer and faithful personal prayer makes our liturgies more authentic and lively. Prayer may be silent, chanted, spoken, sung, walked, danced, drawn…
Engaging Scripture. The Bible is sacred scripture for Christians because the Holy Spirit enlivens its words bringing wisdom for our own lives and transformation for the world. Reading the Gospel for each Sunday beforehand can make the liturgy and sermon more meaningful. You can find the appointed readings at http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary/. Lectio Divina is a practice of reading slowly and listening to the text for a ‘word’ that speaks to you personally. Study of scripture is more intellectual, learning about the history and theology of the text and appreciating scholarship that is always developing. One of the classes in the Viriditas curriculum, “Engaging Scripture,” provides a foundation in understanding scripture.
Other spiritual reading. Contemporary or classic readings can be a source of nurture and wisdom. Poetry—for example the Psalms, Mary Oliver, Rumi—may articulate our own deeply human experience, nurturing us with images and beauty. Contemporary writers such as Joan Chittister, Henri Nouwen, Richard Rohr as well as classical writers can feed us. Many fine authors are available on CD. Both books and CDs are available for your use in our library in Judith’s office. Or you may prefer to read some of the offerings available on the web. Try www.belief.net. There are opportunities for lectures and workshops in Austin and nearby, often free or at low-cost, that can inspire and challenge.
Nature. Many of us find being in nature an essential practice. In activities such as gardening, hiking or just “being” you can allow yourself to be touched deeply by beauty, feel connection of all beings, appreciate your own creatureliness.
Creativity. These creative practices can open our hearts to the Holy:
•Music and movement can be deeply nourishing. Contemplative listening to music as well as singing or playing an instrument can be done as a spiritual practice. Mindful movement such as yoga, stretching, Qigong are healing and connecting. Dance can be meditative or express a range of emotions.
•Making art is a fruitful practice. Playing and working with clay, watercolors, oil or acrylic paints, charcoal or pastels are opportunities. Some of us love to create mandalas or collages, to paint from nature or play with colors and shapes.
•Dreams can be important windows into our depths. Having a dream journal, doing dream work, painting or drawing significant dreams can be soul food yielding insight and strength.
•Writing is a time-honored way of doing spiritual work. Keeping a journal to record thoughts and feelings can be a way to find wisdom in the midst of struggle and to record your experiences and ideas. In the classes in the Servant Leadership School and to prepare for community meetings we have found that writing deepens reflection.
•Silence: This aspect of the commitment seems to evoke guilt more than any other. Including silence as part of Daily Quiet Time is not more important than the other practices we’ve mentioned, but it has great value and needs to be considered. As a community we affirm the value of sustained intentional silence whether everyone practices it or not. Twenty minutes is the minimum amount of time that Thomas Keating says is needed to allow enough letting go so that transformation occurs.
Silence could be:
•listening to God
•opening to Spirit-Sophia
•being present to God
•practicing loving-kindness
•deepening concentration
•being Emptiness
•making space
•being in the Present Moment
•timelessness
•waiting
•letting go
•listening inside me without concern for peoples’ responses touching Eternity
•listening for your own voice
•discovery and recovery of your true self
Some community members have explored different practices of keeping silence such as Centering Prayer (Christian), Loving-kindness and Insight Meditation (Buddhist), Remembrance (Sufi) and others. We encourage members to experiment, finding a way to practice sustained intentional silence that is helpful and liberating for you. Spiritual direction can be helpful in discerning a personal practice. Keeping silence doesn’t always need to be formal and might include such things as gardening and walking with intention.
St. Hildegard’s offers two silent retreats, one during Advent and one during Lent, as times of communal silence. Every Sunday (4:00-4:20) there is an opportunity to sit in silence with others.
Inquire about other opportunities that may be offered.
