September Greetings, Dear Friends of Silence! The summer vacations and holidays are about over now, and after a relaxing and renewing time for all of us, it's time now to return to our regular routines. As Kahlil Gibran says in The Prophet, "Work is love made visible.” Our work is our service to the world, our gift to the world. We are thankful for opportunities to make our love visible in this manner, grateful for work to which to return; and our prayerful thoughts and concern are with those in our midst who are not so fortunate. May all of us find our right work in the world, and may we perform it with gladness and love!
Newsletters
Summer Greetings, dear Friends! It is the season of vacation trips, bright summer colors, gardens in full growth preparing for a bountiful harvest, blue skies, sunshine, swimming and picnicking. In short, a busy, outward-oriented time of year. Where is there time for prayer in all this activity? We tend to think of prayer as a quiet, inward-looking pursuit, and it feels more natural to focus on it during deep winter months when nature herself draws inward into silence. But there are many ways to pray. As we eagerly look for new flowers in bloom, as we are stilled for a moment before a blazing sunset over the ocean, as we are humbled by the miracles of growth all around us . . . are these not prayers of gratitude?
What does it mean to offer blessing to one another? In To Bless the Space Between Us, John O'Donohue writes that it would be very lonely to live in a world without blessing. We cannot exist alone; we need others, to talk with, walk with, to offer companionship, comfort and support at times, to laugh with, to cry with. All of us need intimacy, a sense of belonging, of being valued. A blessing can evoke all of those things. As O'Donohue so beautifully writes, a blessing "touches that tender membrane where the human heart cries out to its divine ground. . . . Regardless of our differences in religion, language, or concept, there is no heart that is without this inner divine reference." So offering a blessing brings us closer to the sacred in each other, and closer to the Divine Ground of our being. May we remember to offer and to be blessings to one another!
Greetings and Beautiful Blessings, dear friends! It is easy to find beauty everywhere we look as the earth bursts forth with new growth and lovely blooms. Beauty makes no demands on us at such times except that we open our eyes and look about us. But in other seasons of our lives, more may be required of us. It can be necessary to first find beauty within ourselves in order to perceive it without; and sometimes our search is not easy. We may feel at times that we are filled with darkness, that there could not be anything but ugliness inside us. But beauty is there, too, and we will find it as we turn our gaze deeply inward and silently ask that the beautiful light of the sacred fill us and radiate outward in all directions. Once we know it within, we will find it everywhere we look; for, as Nan Merrill once said, “Beauty and love cut through illusion.”
Warm, spring greetings, dear friends! The earth is waking around us and the sweet notes of birdsong return to our early morning silence. What better time to recall Nan Merrill's beautiful words in the April 2008 FOS: "To spend time in Nature's tapestry of Life is like opening an amazing gift: an instruction book of Love and Life given to us by the Creator, Source of All Being. Here we can see how we participate in the seasons of our lives, the interplay and interconnectedness of all things that sustain our lives, the beauty and wisdom of unity in diversity, and the intricate patterns of every form of life. Celebrating, honoring, and learning from this Divine Gift is in a very real sense to reverence our own lives and the life of the planet, which depend on Nature's abundant bounty. May we share and care for Nature's gifts with equity and gratitude.
Early spring blessings, dear friends! Up north our slumbering earth is gradually beginning to shake itself awake, while further south we already see signs of the mystery of growth and transformation. That which has been sleeping awakens, and the mysterious cycle of life begins again. In this age of what has been called "information overload," we are nurtured by the mysteries of life. While reams of information are available to us at any moment and our minds are constantly busy, always expanding our stores of knowledge, at the same time our souls are starving, yearning for time and space to rest in the Great Mystery. We can build bridges between our minds' knowledge and our souls' longing in the deep silence that is always available to hold us in loving embrace.
Greetings from the heart, dear Friends of Silence! In contemplating the nature of love, we find it hard to pin down to any one definition. Love is all-encompassing, ever flowing. Love knows no walls, it permeates everything and is visible in everything to those with eyes to see. The nature of God is love, and the nature of all God's creation is love. Our own deepest nature is of that same divine love. It is our task to find that love in ourselves, be open to it, remain in constant contact with it, and allow it to guide and direct our lives. In the silence, it is possible to rest there for a time and then to return to our busy lives with greater awareness of and ability to bring love to all our actions and interactions. May it be so!
NEW YEAR’S GREETINGS, Dear Friends of Silence. What is your deepest, most heartfelt hope for this year? No doubt we all have many hopes and wishes as we usher in yet another new year. It is traditional to make "New Year’s Resolutions" when the year changes, but what if we made a list focused on our hopes for the year instead of making resolutions? What if we made only one resolution: to dwell in hope? How might we (and the world!) change if we truly live in hope? As we sit in silence daily, let’s reflect deeply on our hopes, for the world and for ourselves. We may be surprised by how it affects our lives and those around us!
Warm greetings, dear friends, in this blessed season! As we journey through our lives, may we walk with awareness of our accompanying angels, knowing we may experience them in many ways. Angels may bring comfort when we are suffering, peace that calms raging inner wars, hope in times of despair. And during normal, everyday times, when nothing significant seems to be happening and we seem to be just plodding along, our angels, with their gentle humor, joy, laughter, and warm presence, can add a wonderful lightness to our lives. IF, that is, we remember to ask them for what we need! Be sure to include your angels in all your days; be open to their surprises, talk to them, ask them for any help you need, from the most mundane to the very important. You may be amazed at what happens -- and don’t forget to thank them for always being there!
Warm greetings, dear friends! As the year draws to a close, the world around us seems to slow down, reflecting a drawing inward, a time of rest to rebuild reserves of strength, food for another active season of growing and producing. The earth lies fallow, while deep within, that which is necessary for life and growth replenishes itself. We would do well to observe and take in this valuable lesson from nature. We, too, need time to lie fallow, time to just be, to listen and dream and wait for the wisdom at the center of our being to make itself known to us before we enter again into a busy season of doing. In the silence we come home to ourselves, we remember who we are; in the silence we are renewed and strengthened for the seasons of our lives.
Greetings, dear FOS friends. Consider for a moment the conundrum of TRUTH. Every tradition and many individuals claim to know Truth, but the various belief systems can be quite different. Surely we cannot all be right, so...what is Truth? Picture in your mind a huge circle, with Truth sitting in the center and all the people of the world sitting around the circumference. Each of us is looking at Truth, but since we are all seeing it at a slightly different angle, no two of us will see exactly the same thing. How then do we know what Truth is? How do we recognize it? We can take our confusion into the silence and ask That which is deepest within us to help us recognize truth when and where we find it, for Truth is to be found within us. It is there in the deepest part of us, that place where a spark of God resides, just waiting for us to seek it.
Autumn blessings to each of you, dear friends of silence! It's hard to believe summer vacations are over and harvest time, with fall activities and duties is here. As we return to our workplaces, consider Gibran’s teaching: "Work is your love made visible." Adding consciousness and attention to the skills we bring to our workplace is demonstrating love visibly, and what a difference it can make! For as within, so without: If we work consciously and with love shining, we are adding Light to our surroundings and others will respond to it. That still point deep within can guide us from day to day, from moment to moment, and promote a more peaceful, cooperative atmosphere as we go about our duties. So may it be for each of us!
Summer Blessings, dear friends! Vacation season is here and many of us are traveling in the literal sense during these months. Opportunities for rest, relaxation, and fun are real gifts, and we enjoy visiting new places and exploring unfamiliar surroundings. As we travel in the world, our spiritual journey is ongoing as well, down at the heart of everything. It's wonderful to have opportunities to enjoy all we see and hear and taste and feel outwardly, but let us also be attentive to what is happening on the inner path. Inner and outer often overlap, and we may become aware of marvelous cues and synchronicities in the outer world that offer opportunities for much growth and progress on our inner journey.
Warm greetings, dear friends of silence! We are having most unsettled weather here in Missouri in recent weeks, and in some ways it reflects what we must all feel at times in our lives. You know the feeling: scattered, as though we were being pulled in too many directions at once and feeling too many claims on our time. At such times, we may feel particularly unsettled and badly in need of healing, being knit back together into a calm serenity. "Healing" can have many meanings, of course. We think first of being cured of a disease, but there is a deeper and more holistic meaning of the word, too. When we sink into the depths of ourselves in sacred silence, we find what we need to be truly healed, in ways our conscious minds may have not yet perceived. May we experience the healing we need, in whatever form that may take, as we enter the silence together.
We warmly welcome you, dear friends, to Still Point Mountain Retreat, the new home of Friends of Silence. We hope you will come and discover the “still point” of your “turning world,” where in the words of T.S. Eliot there is “neither movement from nor towards, neither ascent nor decline,” and where “except for the still point, there would be no dance, and there is only the dance.”
Nestled next to the 1400-acre nature preserve of Rolling Ridge, near Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, Still Point offers a secluded setting for personal retreat, families, small groups, and occasional special-topic retreats. Still Point’s 3-bedroom, 2- bath log cabin, 1-room guest cottage, 2 teepees, and camping space offer sacred space to reflect, pray, relax, and enjoy the beauty of wilderness.
Check the new Friends of Silence website for information on facilitated group retreats, private retreat space, spiritual direction and other resources.
Warm, Springtime Greetings, dear friends! The changing of seasons always brings to mind that well known passage in Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." Consider the vast meaning within so few words! How does nature know? How do those perennials we plant know when to begin to grow again, the trees to begin budding and leafing? How do the birds know when to migrate back to their summer homes, to begin mating and nesting? The will to grow and expand is directed by a life force beyond our human comprehension. We can only observe in awe and gratitude the world our Creator has given us. As we fall silent before such miracles, let us ask for help in caring for the earth and its treasures that they may continue to sustain us and all future generations in abundance and in beauty.
Blessings of Wisdom to all of you, dear friends of silence! The term "sophia perennis" (perennial wisdom) seems to imply that wisdom is always with us, and yet sometimes it seems to be so sadly lacking. Emily Dickinson wrote about truth, "The truth must dazzle gradually or every (hu)man be blind." Perhaps something similar is true of wisdom: it comes gradually, or it would be beyond our understanding. But perhaps, also, we too often do not look for it, or even think about it. For wisdom is ever with us, in the deepest part of our being, and all around us in the natural world, where we can see it at play if we but pay attention. Internally we can find it by sinking into our silent depths and listening. May Wisdom abound in the world!
Warm, winter greetings, dear friends. It is still cold in areas that experience seasonal change, but we are past the Winter Solstice and there's an almost imperceptible increase in the hours of daylight. And even on the coldest of days, the light of compassion can warm us. It has been said that compassion is at the heart of all the world’s religions, but it can be difficult sometimes to find it in our own hearts or even to adequately define it. At such times, we can turn within, ask for help, and then, in the silence, listen with our hearts. The answers we need will come. If we but ask and then listen and finally act as our heart directs, we can bring more and more compassion into our suffering world, one heart, one soul at a time.
Season's Greetings to you, dear friends! As we begin another year on this incredible, awesome, yet fragile planet, let us consider a question together: What might happen if each one of us concentrated on discovering and bringing forth the Light deep within ourselves? How might the world change? What might the leaders of the world do differently if each one embraced the Divine Light within him or herself, and in every other person in our world? Deep within, we are Light; our work is to bring forth that Light from the depths and beam it out to our troubled world. "Let your Light so shine . . ." The healing, the very survival, of our world depends on it. May it be so!
Warm greetings and deep peace to you, dear friends of silence. As we approach this season of awe and joy, we look around at our wounded world and wonder, "Where is peace today?" It can be so very difficult to find, when all around us we are witnessing the chaos of natural disasters, wars and conflicts. We must turn within; there is much truth in some of the catch-phrases used today, like "Peace begins with me" and "Be the peace you wish to see in the world." Peace is our divine birthright: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you . . ." Let us turn within, we lovers of silence, and claim peace for ourselves, for only when each of us is peace can there be peace in the world.
Greetings and gratitude, dear friends! As Thanksgiving approaches and we are reminded of our many blessings, you, our community at large, immediately come to mind. In our noisy world, how difficult it sometimes seems to find the silence that feeds our souls! We are surrounded by so many bells and buzzers, alerts and reminders -- telephones, doorbells, computer prompts and all kinds of warning beeps, the roar of traffic, radio and TV. How comforting, then, to think of all of you "out there” and recall that we all carry within us the silence we so need. We can meet together in that silent inner space at any time, wait together for the one sound that matters: that still, small voice that speaks always to those who take the time to listen. Let us gather there often.
Namaste, dear friends around the world! One of the ways this greeting is translated from the Sanskrit is:
"I honor the place in you in which the entire Universe dwells, I honor the place in you which is of Love, of Truth, of Light, and of Peace. When you are in that place in you, and I am in that place in me, we are One."
Let us strive to dwell in that place within ourselves more and more, until finally we are able to live the truth that we are, truly, all one in the One. Only in this way can wars cease; only when we all dwell in our unity can we bring peace to the world. May we come to know this truth in the depths of our being as we meet together in oneness in the Silence. Namaste!
Greetings, dear Friends of Silence!
When you think of the concept of "time," what comes to mind? Usually it is schedules and deadlines and rushing around! But there’s another perspective . . . think of mountains, oceans, rivers, ancient trees, those things of this world that suggest words like "eternal" and "everlasting." For we know the whole concept of time is our idea, not our Creator’s, and that there is no such artificial construct in eternity. Even if we have to schedule it by this world’s idea of time, we can step into that stream of eternity at any time by going within, entering the Great Silence. There we become part of it, and while we are there time no longer exists. Turning inward, becoming part of no-time, refreshes us and often colors our perceptions so that when we return to this world of deadlines and time constraints, we are more able to "go with the flow" and view our world with new vision.
Summer Blessings, dear friends! Looking back over past issues of Friends of Silence, Nan Merrill's words on "freedom" from two years ago seem even more appropriate for today, given the current devastation and grief so prevalent in our world:
"Freedom is very much in our hearts and minds these days. But freedom is just a word, a concept; an ideal until we will it in our individual lives. We cannot have outer freedom, however, if inwardly we are imprisoned by our fear and all its negative companions. Yet blessed are we who choose to face our fears, one by one. . ."
May we so choose as we meet together in the silence of our innermost being. May we project strength and love outward to our suffering planet and all its inhabitants. As Nan went on to say, "Silence is the golden key that helps us open our heart-gate wider and deeper toward freedom: thus, we bless the world."
Warm Greetings, dear friends! The garden is in, flowers are growing and blooming, and summer is coming on. The seasons turn according to the music of creation, listening for the crescendos, andantes, rests, and allegros, as all of nature follows the Great Conductor in the eternal symphony of life. We, too, are part of the concert, even when we may feel a bit off-key or appear to be out of step with the rest of the instruments. At such times, especially, we must listen with the ears of our hearts for our cues, trusting, knowing that the music of the universe flows through us. We have only to enter the silence and "tune in" to pick up the beat and find ourselves back in the flow. As we listen to the strains of our own melodies, may we feel ourselves immersed in Great Music of our lives, guided and directed to perfect harmony with all of creation.
Warm greetings, dear Friends! Grace abounds on this sparkling spring day. Rachel Naomi Remen, in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom, writes about the story of a poor man walking along a dusty road one day, wondering whether he would have anything to eat that evening, when suddenly the gods took pity on him and dropped a bag of gold in his path. He was not ready to receive this gift, however, and detoured around it without investigating, thinking himself fortunate to have avoided stumbling over such a large rock in his path. Our lives are full of such a "bags of gold" appearing in our path, but they rarely look like the gifts they are. Sometimes they even appear to be just the opposite, and only looking back do we perceive their value. As we meet in the Silence, let us seek the vision to recognize the many gifts of grace with which we are richly blessed every day.
"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"
Springtime Greetings, dear friends! Although at a casual glance the landscape may still look a bit barren, we know things are stirring and soon we will see signs of new growth. That welcome first sighting of green grass...the earliest tiny spring flowers, sometimes peeping through a lingering snow...a little more light each day...fat buds popping out on the trees -- all these signs tell us that much has been gestating in darkness, deep within the earth, unseen during the bleak winter days. And what of the depths within our human souls? Like our earth, we, too, have fallow times when it may seem nothing is happening; but something, some new insight or idea, the seed of a new awareness may be trying to break through into consciousness. In the silence, let us tend our own inner gardens, that we may find springtime signs of new life within ourselves: blessing to us and our world.
"Is there enough Silence for the Word to be heard?"
IN MEMORIAM
Nan Crerie Merrill, December 3, 1931—January 23, 2010
On January 23, 2010, at 11:15 p.m., Nan C. Merrill, founder and director of Friends of Silence, slipped through the veil to her Beloved. The daughter of Ernest and Merle Crerie, Nan was mother to 3 sons and 2 daughters; "Nana" to 6 grandchildren; and "Auntie Nancy" to 6 nieces and nephews. She is also survived by one sister and a whole host of friends and colleagues across the country and abroad.
Nan touched the hearts of thousands of people through her monthly publication of Friends of Silence. She started this newsletter over 22 years ago in Detroit, Michigan, where she spent several years as a lay volunteer in an inner-city church. FOS has grown from a beginning group of about 40 members who came together at the church to pray silently over the city to more than six thousand subscribers world wide.
Nan shared her deep spiritual insights and love of writing by authoring six books and editing numerous others. She encouraged and nurtured everyone who came into her path. Nan has led retreats, worked with inner city residents and been involved in prison ministry for many years. She had a wonderful sense of humor and was an avid sports fan who enjoyed watching golf, basketball and football.
Nan and I met by mail through her FOS newsletter nearly 20 years ago. As she did for so many, she mentored me by being my "pen pal" for several years before we met face to face. Nan assisted me along the way through the intense spiritual search in which I was engaged, lending an ear or a shoulder as needed. She became my dear friend and colleague as the years passed, and I will sorely miss her. Still, I am so aware that she is here, that she lives on, not only in her published work, but also in our memories and our awareness of her strong spiritual presence in our own lives. Friends of Silence will continue in her footsteps.
Warm greetings, dear friends, on a cold winter's day! The sun sparkles on a field of snow, dazzling us with a sudden awareness of the miracles Love wrought in creating our beautiful world. Perhaps one of the greatest of these miracles is that a spark of the Great Love also exists in every one of us. The seeds of Love are planted in our hearts that we may blanket the world with fields of love. We have only to open our hearts to enable that love to grow and bloom and spread across our world. Look deeply into your own heart as you sit within the silence . . . find the love there, and as the husk falls away from the seed, allowing it to grow and bloom, allow any hardness of heart to dissolve into the flame of Love. Love can change the world!
New Year's Greetings, dear friends of silence! As we move through the winter season, let us, like the earth, lie fallow for a while, allowing unseen and as yet unknown life to gestate within our depths. With deep humility, let us reflect in the silence upon what it means to surrender to the Divine Spark that resides in each of us and allow that creative Life Force to do with us what it will. It is a gift of this quieter season that we can be released from our ego-driven lives and draw closer to the source of Love in the silent darkness. Let us surrender ourselves in humble recognition that we are called, through faith, simply to be open and accepting; to listen, without expectations, to whatever is coming to birth within us. We are called to a humble openness, to walk the way of goodness with the comfort of Love, at one with all humanity and with our earth. May we surrender to the call, whatever it may be, as it comes to each of us.