Repository of Silence
Thank you for entering the space silently today. We will have time to catch up with one another later in the evening as well as at Perry Street Brewing after if you chose to join us.
We suggest fully loading this page and then placing your device in airplane mode to avoid distraction.
please not that near the front of the sanctuary, decibel levels will reach as high as 95, hovering around 85 during sound portions of the evening. For comparison, a concert is typically around 120.
How do we hold silence? How does silence hold us?
Laced within these questions is an exploration into how our body holds what we intersect and interact with.
Silence is a void between. It is the space that unfolds what we have been carrying. And, as such, it can reveal how spirit may be slithering and swirling within us.
But often silence is not intended. It’s “awkward” or a sign of dullness. And as such, it is not entered into in an intentional way. Leaving the fruit it could yield, unharvested.
All the great wisdom traditions speak to intentional silences. Jesus spent 40 days in the dessert in order to let surface what the ego / psyche / spirit might have to say. Undoubtedly being surprised by the results at times, that being part of the point. He “drew away” regularly.
The Buddha was said to respond to certain questions with a noble silence. Not rushing to resolve, but holding the space of the unknown.
In many ways, the body is spirits great instrument — particularly in silence. When we encounter these spaces void of noise, becoming centered in our body helps us move past the realm of thinking our emotions and into the space of feeling them.
And we all know… it is one thing to think something, and a whole other reality to feel.
This distinction can help us shift our understanding of Divinity from a philosophical concept into an embodied presence inherent within us.
Today’s Practice
Today, we are going to play 5 songs* quite loudly. Each song represents a different emotion or mental state you may experience in your day. Between each song, we are going to take around a 4 minute pause of complete quiet.
Upon completion of each song, approaching this with curiosity rather than judgement, identify the first word that shows up in your head. Repeat only this word, gently tossing away any other thoughts that appear. Feel free to mouth the word it if that helps.
Halfway into the 4 minute silence, the prayer bell will ring. With a deep breath, gently brush away your word. Drop into your body. Take stock of where you feel, what you feel, and how you feel. Do whatever is helpful for this. Close your eyes if you are comfortable. Walk around if that helps. Open your palms. Lay on the floor. Listen to your body and what it needs and where it centers itself, trying your best to be tender with yourself.
After the final four minute silence, Mike will invite you back into the space through a poem.
*note that some songs will be explicit