Silence - Reflections on Underhill
I am beginning a long relationship with Evelyn Underhill. She is the focus of my "senior research project" which I will be writing for the next 30 weeks. When this 6 chapter, 100 page plus document is complete I will be a graduated person with a Bachelor's degree in religion! Praise God! - only took me 25+ years to get here. Help me God to help me stay focused on this project for the time I will be with it please!?
For my project I have chosen Underhill's book The Ways of the Spirit, a compilation of four retreats she led between 1924 and 1928. Underhill, considered an expert on mysticism (read Practical Mysticism), turned her passion toward the practical application of this topic as she matured in her spiritual life. The retreats reflect a very practical approach to God which she lays out for the "common" person.
The first retreat opens with a discussion on silence. Silence, Underhill tells me, "will do far more for your souls than anything heard" (pg. 50), and yet I cannot manage to just simply sit still for five straight minutes to read these words. As I am sitting on my couch this morning, I am distracted by all types of things...
I'm itchy,
my nose needs blowing,
my coffee has gone luke warm,
I think about the money order I need to buy later at the grocery store and while I'm there... what food do we need?
I scratch my face and feel the few chin hairs I am constantly plucking... I should go work on that now (and also pluck my eyebrows while I'm at it).
What will work be like today I wonder?
What should I wear today?
Can I make it to work and buy gas later?
What was that noise outside? Oh, the neighbor... I don't really like that neighbor.
I notice my hands smell from the dish clothe I just touched while I was refreshing my coffee... now I should go wash my hands (and get that dish clothe in the laundry).
.....
I wrote in my journal - "how do I find silence in my modern and busy life?" Silence is not only about seeking out a quiet space or setting aside a specific block of time... but it involves a commitment and a discipline to keep that promise. This promise holds deeper meaning as it is not only to benefit myself... but is really about God and my agency with God - to love and serve.
Underhill writes, "without silence around us, the inward stillness in which God educates and molds us is impossible" (pg 50).
I pray today for possible pockets of silence in my life in which I may find myself in the position to be educated and molded by God.
For my project I have chosen Underhill's book The Ways of the Spirit, a compilation of four retreats she led between 1924 and 1928. Underhill, considered an expert on mysticism (read Practical Mysticism), turned her passion toward the practical application of this topic as she matured in her spiritual life. The retreats reflect a very practical approach to God which she lays out for the "common" person.
The first retreat opens with a discussion on silence. Silence, Underhill tells me, "will do far more for your souls than anything heard" (pg. 50), and yet I cannot manage to just simply sit still for five straight minutes to read these words. As I am sitting on my couch this morning, I am distracted by all types of things...
I'm itchy,
my nose needs blowing,
my coffee has gone luke warm,
I think about the money order I need to buy later at the grocery store and while I'm there... what food do we need?
I scratch my face and feel the few chin hairs I am constantly plucking... I should go work on that now (and also pluck my eyebrows while I'm at it).
What will work be like today I wonder?
What should I wear today?
Can I make it to work and buy gas later?
What was that noise outside? Oh, the neighbor... I don't really like that neighbor.
I notice my hands smell from the dish clothe I just touched while I was refreshing my coffee... now I should go wash my hands (and get that dish clothe in the laundry).
.....
I wrote in my journal - "how do I find silence in my modern and busy life?" Silence is not only about seeking out a quiet space or setting aside a specific block of time... but it involves a commitment and a discipline to keep that promise. This promise holds deeper meaning as it is not only to benefit myself... but is really about God and my agency with God - to love and serve.
Underhill writes, "without silence around us, the inward stillness in which God educates and molds us is impossible" (pg 50).
I pray today for possible pockets of silence in my life in which I may find myself in the position to be educated and molded by God.
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