Silence

[William Thompson]

In reading about prayer, especially hesychastic prayer, I've frequently come across references to "silence." In fact, one of the saints featured this week on the OCA calendar is Saint Theodore the Silent of the Caves, who "chose the exploit of silence, in order to dwell constantly in remembrance of God, and to safeguard himself from temptation even by a word."

My question is this: are we to take "silence" to mean "silence except for the words of the Jesus Prayer" or to mean "the silence of wordless, image-less prayer"?

This may seem like an insignificant distinction to some, but for me it's rather important.

I would appreciate comments, especially from priests.

Thanks in advance,

William Thompson

[Theopesta]

MR. William Thompson:

I am waiting with u to listen to the fathers here, but I know that the most deep and mature mean of silence is:

quietness of feeling heart and thoughts and then not stop at these stage the aim is make imaginations and faculties in the presence with GOD to make the personal and very special relation with the live GOD

[Alex Haig]

But the Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.
Habakkuk 2:20

Silence is not the absence of sound but a state of spiritual being, it is opening your heart to the word of God: how can we learn unless we are quiet? (As teachers often tell their pupils). It is therefore possible to be in a state of silence while there is noise and business going on around you - monks and nuns try to be 'silent' while they do their obediences.

As for the specific instance of whether there needs to be complete silence for your prayer or the sound of your own voice I think that is an issue you need to speak to your own spiritual father about rather than a message board, but ultimately: "a sacrifice unto God is a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart God will not despise." (Psalm 50 LXX).

With love in Christ

Alex

[Ken McRae]

The Scriptures are clear that the children of God are the living stones which the Lord has fittly joined and compacted together into a spiritual temple for His own holy habitation. Now, the temple of Solomon is a type of the spiritual temple built by the Lord Himself, and so we may learn from the Old the lessons which are pertinent to the building of the New. Now, we learn from the Chronicles that he (or she) who would build the temple of God, that is to say, make his heart an acceptable habitation for the Lord, he must be a man of peace, exercised unto much quietness and holy rest:-

"Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days." (1 Chronicles 22:9) And, in 1 Kings, it is written that "the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building." (1 Kings 6:7)

So not only are we to be peaceful men and women, given to much quietness and rest, but the temple itself must be prepared before the Lord in holy silence: "There was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building." What is this to say, but that the heart must be cut-off from all the tumultuous noise and and sensual imagery of the world, by turning all our faculties and senses inward, to seek the kingdom of heaven within us.

Now, to cut-off all sensual images from entering the heart is a difficult task, but it must be accomplished if you ever hope to attain to "the silence of wordless, image-less prayer". Then the holy images must be dealt with next, which obstruct our breaking through to the Imageless Image, and attainment of the Divine Darkness, of which St. Dionysius has taught us with divine power. Now, may the Lord have mercy on us all!

[Paul Cowan]

Now, to cut-off all sensual images from entering the heart is a difficult task, but it must be accomplished if you ever hope to attain to "the silence of wordless, image-less prayer". Then the holy images must be dealt with next, which obstruct our breaking through to the Imageless Image, and attainment of the Divine Darkness, of which St. Dionysius has taught us with divine power. Now, may the Lord have mercy on us all!

How does one DO this? I wake up, shower, dress and go to my icon stand. wait a moment to "quiet my mind" and start my prayers. I get as far as "Lord" (as in Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me) before my thoughts are off to the races. How does one quiet the mind not only in the higher realms of prayer life, but just in the beginnings? My thoughts go towards work, family, relationships, "holy thoughts" mostly of Athos and a slew of other things even when I am consciously thinking I am straying from my prayers. So I am thinking of not praying as I am thinking as i pray. How do ya'll focus your minds even for a short amount of time?

God is in the small still voice. I'll never hear Him with all the turmoil in my head. Suggestions?

Paul

[Nicolaj]

How does one DO this?
God is in the small still voice. I'll never hear Him with all the turmoil in my head. Suggestions?

Paul

I made the best progress with the Way of the Pilgrim. In the second Part of the story, in the third passage (I really don't know how it looks like in English, for I only have the Russian edition and a German one) there is much told about the practice of prayer and it is all true and practicable for nowadays Christians!

Best practice from our Fathers!

Christos voskrese! Nicolaj

[Nina]

Paul receive the blessing of your SF before every step you embark on and really read the "Way of a Pilgrim" as Nicolaj suggests because it is really beautiful. I have not done any progress whatsoever because of my laziness, but the book is really a treasury and I can tell you that during the worse moments of suffering now during my pregnancy when I was reading this book I was calm and peaceful and did not feel a thing. My husband was asking constantly about the book because he was surprised that I felt so peaceful. Also while reading the book it creates such an atmosphere for saying the Jesus Prayer that you want to immitate those beautiful examples you read. Very inspiring and with a bit of diligence you can achieve what those people in the book did.

[Jim Wilson]

Dear Paul:

I have the same experience. When I am in prayer I am not distracted by ordinary sounds in my environment. I mean sounds like the wind, a passing car, children playing, etc. When I am able to treat my thoughts in a similar way I don't find them distracting either. I'm not always able to do this because thoughts feel closer, more personal. But, in a sense, my thoughts are not mine, in the sense of not my own property or possession. The inward silence reveals itself, graciously, even though there are events happening in the world and in my mind, through prayer, in glimpses. I'm not sure if this makes sense; but I thought I would share my own experience with this.

Sincerely,

Jim

[Mary]

If you haven't already, you should listen to the podcasts on the main page - "Be Attentive to Yourself" - St Basil the Great. I only had time to listen to the first one, but the images he uses to describe the inner thoughts and functions of the mind is powerful! If we can define our thoughts, figure out why we do what we're doing, then, we'll be aware of our own thought process and be able to cut it off more quickly, till eventually, we get to the place where we're not distracted at all.

I'm not good at ignoring my distracting thoughts, but I'm getting better at noticing that I'm allowing myself to get distracted. So then, it's easier to stop and get back to the task at hand. Also, some of my thoughts, when I recognized the attitude of my heart behind them, they became really distasteful to me. They still come, but so does my knowledge of what lies behind them, and that helps me to change my thoughts more effectively.

In Christ,
Mary

[Vasiliki D.]

The best time for "silence" is late in the depths of the night ... I often wait to pray after mid-night. The silence in the "air", or in the "environment", it can be felt ... you can hear that silence with your ears and you can see it with your eyes and it has a definate affect on your inner silence ... I dont know why ... that is when my thoughts are fewer and the ability to pray is more focused and some times tears are greater ...

[Unless of course your soul is polluted with unconfessed sins like mine is at the moment]

I offer you an Orthodox exercise, Paul.

Work out what time the Sun rises and what time the Sun sets in your neck of woods. At those exact moments, I would like to sit outside 10-5 minutes prior to the sun-setting and then 10-5 minutes prior to the sun-rising ....

Just *listen* to nature ... you will be amazed what you will learn from the sounds of the birds and the animals .... but even the wind.

This will be probably one of the best life lessons on "silence" and you can use it to understand prayer and different times of the day.

With love, your Sister (or niece) in Christ.

[Andreas Moran]

Dear Paul,

What Mary says about attentiveness at the start of her post is the key to answering your question according to what I have read and been taught. The question you raise takes us to the very reason the Church exists; you are asking how to find the deep heart which is the centre of our being, and according to Archimandrite Zacharias, the discovery of this is the sole purpose of the Church and all her ordinances.

In the first place, it is the mind which must be kept clear of intrusive thoughts as well as the heart. St Dmitri of Rostov describes our aim in prayer as 'secret communion with God in the heart'. We must go into our 'closet' (cf Matthew 6:6) which is the heart (what Bishop Eirenaios used to call, the 'white cell'), and become 'the hidden man of the heart' (1 Peter 3:4). St Dmitri distinguishes our exterior and interior aspects. We need to attend to both. The exterior consists in our reading, a love of wisdom, our speech, our intellect, our attendance at church services, and our following at home of the set prayers such as reading akathists. Such prayer is 'made openly', often in company with others, and is a duty which the Church places upon us. The interior aspect the saint describes as thoughts of God, love of God, warmth of spirit, inner vision, and 'secret prayer'. Such prayer is voluntary and has no fixed time or order and may be said as we wish in any situation. At both exterior and interior levels, we suffer from distraction and inattentiveness, and so both kinds of prayer are undermined. The mind particularly is subject to curiosity and imagination. Consequently, we are hindered in our aim of 'secret communion with God in the heart'. Both our exterior and interior aspects tend to be concerned with temporal things, not all of them necessarily bad: our family, our job, things we must do, and so forth. But such concerns will pass whereas the soul, being immortal, can find rest only in the eternal God, the soul's natural home. How far we can set side our temporal concerns and give our attention to God is a test of our love for Him. As St Theophan the Recluse says, 'prayer is the test of everything'.

How are we to overcome our inclination to the temporal with all its attractions and distractions? How are we to become attentive to God? St Theophan says we need watchfulness; we need to recognise what is going on in the mind and in the heart. The chief hindrance, he says, is imagination which not only causes distraction but may beguile us into thinking we have already brought the mind into the heart. If we are watchful, we can start to gain attentiveness. We need to recall the mind from its dispersion amongst all the things which distract it. It is not possible, St Theophan says, to control our thoughts. This is because whilst ever our attention is only in our mind, the mind will suffer distraction and be inattentive. We must place our attention in the heart and so draw the mind there. In 'secret prayer', we use the Jesus Prayer as our aid. First, we must know that to wish for the union of the mind with the heart is not the same at to accomplish it. Our first step is to focus on the words of the prayer and feel moved by their meaning. This will shift our attention to the heart and prepare the mind for its descent into the heart. These thoughts will include fear of God, repentance, and mindfulness of death and the life of the age to come. After the first step, we will have deeper feelings - feelings rather than thoughts. When the prayer has dispelled distraction and we are attentive, and when we have feelings which are directed to God, the mind is drawn by our feelings into the heart. It is then that the outward and the inward are brought into due relationship. It is then that we may feel sweetness and warm tender feelings suddenly filling the heart and flooding our soul, if only for a few moments. The Russians have a wonderful, untranslatable word for this: 'umilenyie'. It is the action of grace within us. St Theophan says that the union of the mind and the heart 'is accomplished by God's grace at the proper time which He Himself determines'.

All this is done in the context of our life in the Church and our participation in her sacraments.

Much of this is from 'The Art of Prayer' which I think is an indispensable book. Also very helpful are these: 'The Hidden Man of the Heart' by Archimandrite Zacharias, and 'Writings from the Philokalia on the Prayer of the Heart' especially the chapters of St Gregory of Sinai and Hesychius of Jerusalem. Elder Sophrony loved the Letter to the Nun Xenia by St Gregory Palamas which is in volume 4 of the Philokalia.

'Do not think that this is something to be attempted only by the perfect. No. It is for everyone who has begun to seek the Lord.' St Theophan.

[Wade]

In reading about prayer, especially hesychastic prayer, I've frequently come across references to "silence." In fact, one of the saints featured this week on the OCA calendar is Saint Theodore the Silent of the Caves, who "chose the exploit of silence, in order to dwell constantly in remembrance of God, and to safeguard himself from temptation even by a word."

My question is this: are we to take "silence" to mean "silence except for the words of the Jesus Prayer" or to mean "the silence of wordless, image-less prayer"?

This may seem like an insignificant distinction to some, but for me it's rather important.

I would appreciate comments, especially from priests.

Thanks in advance,

William Thompson

William,
It is rather important to me too. I am not a priest but a layman who has endeavored to pray without ceasing for about 20 years. This is my experience regarding the prayer of silence. The prayer of silence is not only verbal silence but also mental/intellectual silence. Our minds are always such a whirlwind of thoughts and passions. If we can still all of that and be still then there is an opportunity, by the grace of God, to gain an awareness of His presence. This is very transforming especially if we can maintain the silence for a little time. That is not to say that while our mind is still that our heart or spirit can not express in a kind of wordless worship our devotion and love to our God. I know this is very brief but I hope this helps in some small way.

Blessings now and ever...
Wade

[Effie Ganatsios]

How does one DO this? I wake up, shower, dress and go to my icon stand. wait a moment to "quiet my mind" and start my prayers. I get as far as "Lord" (as in Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me) before my thoughts are off to the races. How does one quiet the mind not only in the higher realms of prayer life, but just in the beginnings? My thoughts go towards work, family, relationships, "holy thoughts" mostly of Athos and a slew of other things even when I am consciously thinking I am straying from my prayers. So I am thinking of not praying as I am thinking as i pray. How do ya'll focus your minds even for a short amount of time?

God is in the small still voice. I'll never hear Him with all the turmoil in my head. Suggestions?

Paul
Paul, it's not easy. I use my prayer rope and the Jesus Prayer. If I find my mind wandering I just ignore what I am thinking about and start the Jesus Prayer again. It becomes easier with time.

Our need for silence is immense. Our ego is in full glory when we speak aloud or when we think of things. I am frequently astounded by how ALL my thoughts concern ME - MY dreams, MY anxieties, MY vanity, MY, MY, MY.

The truth is that in the past I was not even aware of what a huge ego I had. By keeping silent, by prayer, by using my prayer rope as an instrument to help me concentrate, I find that, with time, I am improving a little. At least now I am aware of what a huge ego I have and I can ask God's help in my struggle to concentrate less on myself and more on God.

The old saying is true : Practice makes perfect.

Effie

[Mary]

If you haven't already, you should listen to the podcasts on the main page - "Be Attentive to Yourself" - St Basil the Great.
Mary

Since things have changed on the main page - you'll be able to find the podcast I referred to, in Ancient Faith Radio - It's a 3 part series called "Be attentive to yourself (http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/holyfathers)"

If it's not on the page you click on, please check in previous pages, since the older podcasts get pushed back and the newer ones are on the top page.

In Christ,
mary.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Since things have changed on the main page - you'll be able to find the podcast I referred to, in Ancient Faith Radio - It's a 3 part series called "Be attentive to yourself (http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/holyfathers)"

If it's not on the page you click on, please check in previous pages, since the older podcasts get pushed back and the newer ones are on the top page.

In Christ,
mary.

Thanks for the link, Mary.


Effie

The link doesn't seem to be working. I'll try again a little later on.

[Wade]

Paul, it's not easy. I use my prayer rope and the Jesus Prayer. If I find my mind wandering I just ignore what I am thinking about and start the Jesus Prayer again. It becomes easier with time.

Our need for silence is immense. Our ego is in full glory when we speak aloud or when we think of things. I am frequently astounded by how ALL my thoughts concern ME - MY dreams, MY anxieties, MY vanity, MY, MY, MY.

The truth is that in the past I was not even aware of what a huge ego I had. By keeping silent, by prayer, by using my prayer rope as an instrument to help me concentrate, I find that, with time, I am improving a little. At least now I am aware of what a huge ego I have and I can ask God's help in my struggle to concentrate less on myself and more on God.

The old saying is true : Practice makes perfect.

Effie
Effie,
I could not agree more with your assesment of "US". God has opened my eyes so that I see myself pretty much exactly as you have described. It was some years ago when He did it but it was very profound at the time and it was most definitely something I made note of in my journal.
I would also like to thank you and the others on this thread for encouraging me just by their questions. In my experience there are few who really zealously seek to know God. This has caused me a lot of distress in the past. There is nothing better than to hear someone asking about how they might relate better to our Lord. It shows a heart that is seeking to know Him and that is awesome to me. Maybe there should be a thread (or maybe there is and I just have not seen it) that is a bunch of testimonies as to what God has done in our lives. Not that we should seek Him for what He can DO for us but in those instances whare He has miraculously seen us through a crisis of some kind it is encouraging to know that He is there for us!
God bless now and ever...
Wade

[Ryan]

How does imageless prayer relate to the importance of icons in our worship? How does it relate to the understanding that spiritual things can be discerned through visible (material) things, especially after the Incarnation? I was under the impression that icons are not merely a provisional and imperfect expression, but transcendent manifestations of eternal truth. These questions came to me when I was reading this from the life of St. Gregory of Sinai:


Smitten with the love of the Bridegroom Christ, the soul perceives that its natural thoughts have ceased and have fallen behind, as in accordance with the testimony of the holy fathers. This soul, having mounted to formless and ineffable beauty, holds converse solely with God. The soul is illuminated brilliantly with the light and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Pure prayer is a mind free of forms, with no image iether of itself or of anything else appearing even for an instant, since it is drawn away from the senses by the light acting within. For then the mind is removed from everything material and is like light, being ineffably merged with God into one spirit.

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

St Symeon the Theologian says that the ecstatic state of prayer is actually a lower state. It is like a man who has lived in a dark room for a long time and then suddenly sees light. His first reaction is shocked blindness & he is moved to a state beyond images. However after this shock wears off and he begins to actually live in the Divine Light then he returns to himself as it were and to a love for creation. Thus images are once again central to his life.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Wade]

How does one DO this? I wake up, shower, dress and go to my icon stand. wait a moment to "quiet my mind" and start my prayers. I get as far as "Lord" (as in Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me) before my thoughts are off to the races. How does one quiet the mind not only in the higher realms of prayer life, but just in the beginnings? My thoughts go towards work, family, relationships, "holy thoughts" mostly of Athos and a slew of other things even when I am consciously thinking I am straying from my prayers. So I am thinking of not praying as I am thinking as i pray. How do ya'll focus your minds even for a short amount of time?

God is in the small still voice. I'll never hear Him with all the turmoil in my head. Suggestions?

Paul
Paul,
I don't know if you are still "listening" but I will tell how "I" do this. I would never suggest that my means would work for you or anyone else. I think we are all just too different. It is after all a relationship. What brings me closer to Him may not bring you closer. In any case I rise an hour before I have to get ready for work. I go to my icon corner light an incense (the prayers of the saints) I do 3 prostrations and then go on to read 2 to 4 pages of the Psalms followed by 2 to 4 pages of the New Testament. I then pray, from the heart, the morning prayers. I can not emphasize enough how crucial it is to pray from the heart and not the mind or intellect. This is another whole subject. After I finish with the morning prayers and my personal petitions (i.e. my prayer list for friends and family and that of my church) I will still my mind and reach out with my heart to touch or know Him who is in all places and fillest all things. This is very hard to describe. At this point I am not striving for any particular feeling or experience I am merely giving myself to Him who IS. It is not an effort so much as it is just being and longing. He is always present we just need to die to ourselves and the passions. I remain here for a time, maybe 5 minutes maybe 20, I just stay till I feel like I am released. I then try to continue into my day as far as possible continuing in prayer, either the Jesus prayer or some other minute prayers (glory to thee oh God or Lord have mercy on some person or another).
I have by His grace alone (and I mean that, it is not my efforts that bring the fruit it is His benevolence, goodness and grace) been growing nearer to him slowly but surely. Along the way I have come under attack. I have been attacked by despair and fear. Only a few years ago I would have thought this unlikely but I have lived it. Our Lord is all powerful but the enemy is real too and must be dealt with. I hope this is helpful to you in some way. Seek Him always! Never give up! He is always present in a reality greater than you could possibly imagine. Breath every breath to His glory.
To God be the Glory now and ever...
Wade
P.S. - I noticed that you are in Texas. I am in the Houston area. If you are near would you be interested in lunch?

[Paul Cowan]

Wade
P.S. - I noticed that you are in Texas. I am in the Houston area. If you are near would you be interested in lunch?

Thank you Wade. I kinda live here on Monachos. I am also closer to you than you think. I attend St. Joseph (http://www.saintjosephorthodox.org/)in Houston with Fr. Matthew. I would love lunch.

My prayer life is like the ocean, it ebbs and flows. My prayer rule consists of getting up an hour before I have to leave for work, clean up, pray a 100 knot prayer rope, A Plan of Simple and Heartfelt Prayer (http://www.maximosathos.com/heartfeltprayer.html)by Fr. Maximos of Mount Athos (with grammar and slight word modifications), a chapter from A Spiritual Psalter of St. Ephraim the Syrian, Psalm 50/51, Creed, Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian. By this time, 40+ minutes have passed and I am typically ready for the day. I will then jump on Monachos to see what has happened since I went to sleep (how sad is that) and then get dressed for work. I then spend the day listening to Byzantine chant CD's in the car. I seem to be more distracted when I know I have a full day in front of me. I am not so distracted on Saturdays or vacation days.

Perhaps as life slows down or I get a better handle on my life committments, my psyche will chill a bit. Until then;...I read "Unseen Warfare" alot and in there under the prayer sections, it talks of starting back over where you realized your brain stopped praying. (paraphrased of course) Perhaps I can get that 40 minutes down to 30 or less if I didn't have to keep starting over.

Paul