The Art of Holy Pondering

Conditions for Hearing
Hearing the gentle whisper is more about an attitude of mind and heart than about our physical capacity. While outward circumstances can serve as a distraction in any conversation, it is our mental, emotional and spiritual readiness that is of the essence when it comes to hearing the gentle whisper. Those most practiced in discerning the voice within reveal the inner struggles associated with learning the language of silence.
Reaching a point of inner stillness, or what we have called earlier a quiet center, often takes considerable time, especially in our early attempts. The mind never ceases its activity. Interior thoughts and voices continue to intrude on our attempt at becoming still within. We have to learn to let go of what enters our mind uninvited, not by blocking or trying to dismiss the thoughts or images, but by letting them ‘pass through’ and not focusing on them. It is to gently call ourselves back to our desired focus.
Gaining an interior calm, coupled with an open, expectant stance wherein we desire to be taught or led by the Holy, prepares us to be receptive to Divine leading. However, unless we have forged an interior life in which we are comfortable with ourselves and with the silence of our soul, the quiet center we seek will elude us. Developing a listening heart involves looking within. It necessitates gaining an intimate knowledge of our own voice and the voices of those who have formed us, and an ability to distinguish between the various voices within us. Many of us are aided in this interior work through the assistance of another or others who facilitate our efforts.
Finally, an ability to recognize the voice of the Holy is gained from prior experiences wherein we ‘knew’ that what we came to mind was of God. The Divine Initiative is constantly encountering us, continuously seeking to gain our attention, and endlessly inviting us into relationship. To revisit those experiences wherein we were aware of Spirit-presence and identify just what it was that marked them ‘of God’ provides us with benchmarks for recognizing Divine encounter in future experiences. To reclaim such touchstone experiences of the Holy is to reaffirm Spirit’s desire to reveal Self in and to us, and to confirm Divine Love’s yearning to guide us.
The testimony of others down through the ages makes clear that becoming aware of the Divine within us is not, in the last analysis, dependent upon our own efforts. The Holy Other seems to encounter whomever, whenever and wherever Spirit chooses, all of our efforts or lack thereof, notwithstanding. As asserted in a biblical analogy, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going” [John 3:8]. What is dependent on us is our response to Divine encounter.


[from Chapter 8 "Sounding the Depths" beginning with the heading: Conditions for Hearing][from Chapter 8 "Sounding the Depths" beginning with the heading: Conditions for Hearing]