Is it really this Simple?
Since this web site has been created the last month or so, I have received many e-mails from genuine people, some seekers and some finders, some Buddhist, some Advaita, some Moslem, some Jewish and some Christian. The common thread to all the replies and reflections of these people is that they somehow resonate or can simply relate to what it is I am trying to describe as Pure Silence, that universal non-denominational substance or essence of all reality and especially the reality that is within and contains the human being with brain, body and soul. The wonder of this is that I am not purporting any religion per se but rather showing a commonality of what all religions point to as the basis of true spirituality. The simple fact is that we all know what the experience of silence is. The silence includes the experience. The silence is before and after the experience. Yes, God is the silence!
The other day I received an e-mail from a friend of mine, who happens to be a catholic nun. I had told her of the Pure Silence site and she sent me back a nice e-mail of thanks and warm words. But what really struck me was something else she said, namely "Yes, God is the Silence." It is really as simple as this. No bones about it. God, Nothingness, the Void, Truth, Love, the Tao, Brahman-Atman, One Taste, the True Self--all are Pure Silence. There may be different descriptions and different names coming from different cultures and different ages. But what is the unifying thing itself ? Silence. It does not matter what you call the nameless, the ineffable, the indescribable, the center, creator or void of all existence. The effect, the remnant, the symbol, the sign-the very reality itself is Pure Silence. It is the before during and after; it is eternal and unchanging. It is the universal Spirit within humankind which we have dodged for millennia.
Through all the words on these web pages, I am trying to share with you a simple gift. That is the simple realization that the secret of the universe, the very fabric of life itself, the manifestation of the divine itself is pure, simple, silence available to you right now.
In each of the great wisdom and religious traditions there are certain teachers and teachings that all point to this Pure Silence within the human brain, soul or mind. In preceding pages I have quoted the words of some of these teachers. But there are many more. In Christianity, besides Jesus, there are the mystics and contemplatives: John of the Cross, Theresa of Avila, Meister Eckart, Dame Julian, the Cloud of Unknowing, Brother Lawrence, and the Gnostics to name a few. In Judaism is the wisdom of Kabbalah . In Islam there is Sufism. In and from Hinduism, there is yoga, meditation and Advaita Vedanta. In Buddhism , including the Buddha, there is Zen and Mindfulness. In Native American spirituality there are numerous writings about the great spirit of silence. Let us not forget the Quakers, who, to this day sit together in communal silence. I think you get the point. There is something here, very visible, simple and silent in each of these traditions. There is something which unifies all these traditions.
The amazing thing about all this is that, from the meditative, contemplative and self-knowledge sides of religion, tremendous leaps forward have come in theology, philosophy and psychology. Again, from a purely observational point of view, this is blatant.
Now, I want you to hear this. You can join in all this wonderful mystical, contemplative, meditative tradition of the saints and sages. You are no different from them. You ARE joined to the traditions and the people by the silence itself. You are this. All you need do is discover the silence itself, or better yet, let it discover you. It is all so simple what you must do: Be Still. Let me put it into the vernacular: Shut Up for one second! Stop everything you are doing, saying, dreaming, remembering. Relax and let go of it all for an instant. Right now. Give up the illusion that you are something so important, so unique. Be the nothingness that you know you are deep inside. If you are praying, stop talking and listen. If you are meditating stop listening and be. If you are running, stop and see what you are escaping from. If you are thinking, see from where your thoughts have arisen. Hear the silence, feel it, see it, taste it. This is your rock, your basis, your very self. Fall in love with this simple treasure. You are the nothingness of silence itself. In this realization you are baptized into freedom itself. So be free!
"All will be well"