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(Originally published in the Autumn 2006 edition of the Seven Thunders Newsletter) Stillness and the Deep Mystery The Hubble Telescope recently peered as deep into space as humans have ever looked, tracing light which has been speeding toward us for thirteen billion years. We are now almost able to see to the edge of the known universe. We hear the word “billion” so often these days that we take it for granted. How much is a billion? A billion minutes ago, Jesus had not yet been born. A billion days ago no one walked the earth on two feet. Just think of it: thirteen billion years! From a human point of view, the enormity of these dimensions of time and space is bewildering, awesome, beyond comprehension. Five hundred years ago we postured ourselves at the center of the universe. The hubris of it! Now we realize more correctly that we cling precariously to a remote speck of cosmic dust. Our sun is one mediocre star among the myriad which some astronomers estimate outnumber the grains of sand on all the beaches of our planet. In the fifth century B.C. Chinese classic, the Tao Te Ching, at the very beginning, we read: The Tao that can be discussed is not the true Tao. The Ultimate Source of the universe is the mystery of mysteries, but also the door of all spiritual awareness and transformation. It seems empty, but its fullness is inexhaustible. The Hindu literature says: “No word can touch It. No name can soil It.” In other words, we cannot think or speak about the Ultimate Source of the cosmos, about Ultimate Reality, without the shrinking effect and contamination of thought and language. Language is a human construct and is not adequate to touch that which is beyond human. The transcendent is, after all, transcendent. The Hubble Telescope, the Tao Te Ching and Hindu literature fit well with the Second Commandment and with contemplative prayer. The Hebrews, who gave us the Decalogue, were in such awe of “I am Who Am” (Ex. 3:14) that they abstained from pronouncing the name Yahweh in the belief that it was too sacred for utterance. Out of profound reverence, the name was never spoken. Some modern theologians are also wary of shrinking the Ultimate Source into human categories. Martin Buber (1878-1965) said that to conceive God is to abolish God’s divinity. In his view, it is only possible to say that the Godhead is the “undefinable X,” “the essential mystery,” “the unknowable,” “the paradox of paradoxes.” And in his recent book, Deeper than Darwin, Georgetown University theologian John Haught reflects on the effect of modern scientific discoveries, like the Hubble telescope, on our appreciation of Ultimate Reality, seeing in them a new source of revelation about the religious meaning of the Inexhaustible, the Infinite, the Immense, the “essential mystery,” the “paradox of paradoxes.” He writes: “The newly discovered immensity of time and space appears now to swallow our narrowly human images (and concepts) of God,” and he quotes a scientific writer for whom contemplating the vastness of the cosmos is a religious experience, not unlike Gregorian chant, which draws one deeper into the deep mystery. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1374) wrote over sixty closely reasoned works during his short life. He was the Christian Aristotelian par excellence, but also a devoted contemplative and one day during the celebration of Mass, he had a profound mystical experience. When he returned to his work on the Summa Theologica, on which he had been laboring for several years, he was strangely altered. He remained still and silent. Eventually, he laid aside his pen and said to his friend, “I can write no more. All that I have hitherto written seems to me nothing but straw.” This ultimate response of silence and stillness leads to the basic insight of contemplative prayer: the human person is mystical by nature, experiencing a deep holy, loving Mystery. The silence and stillness of contemplative practice strip one of the supports previously relied upon and bring one in the nakedness of being into the presence of Ultimate Reality. The mystery of mysteries cannot be told, cannot be named, but it can be experienced. The unfathomable times and distances of the cosmos and the experience of the Ultimate Source can in the end only be addressed with silence and stillness. St. John of the Cross (1542 – 1591) says: “The soul must be attached to nothing, whether of sense or spirit, which would introduce noise into the deep silence, for it is there that God speaks to the heart, in this secret place, in utmost peace and tranquility.” And he adds: “The soul must keep a simple, pure and loving awareness, like one who gazes with the awareness of love.” Stillness is a gateway to the spiritual. When we sit quietly long enough, stillness of body, mind and heart gradually develops. The body’s fidgeting, itching, and restlessness settle down as it becomes quiet and at rest. Often as we sit, waves of emotion and thought cascade one over another in our consciousness, but as we watch them pass, unmoved, not participating in them, they begin to slow, and may at times cease altogether. In that still place we can let go of our attachments and intentions, let go of our desires (even the desire to be still), let go of our willfulness. When we let go of our willfulness, our intentionality, then we are open and receptive to being touched by the Will of the Ultimate Source. It has been said that “stillness is the language God speaks, and everything else is a bad translation.” Stillness transcends space and time. Becoming conscious of stillness whenever we encounter it, in ourself or in another, will connect us with the formless and timeless dimension, which is beyond thought, beyond image, beyond ego. It may be the stillness which pervades the world of nature, or the stillness in your room in the early morning. It may be the stillness on your bench or cushion or the silent gaps between sounds. Stillness has no form. That is the reason thinking cannot make us aware of it. Thought is form. Being aware of stillness means just being still. To be still is to be conscious without thought. This is our practice. You are never more essentially, more deeply, yourself than when you are still. When you are still, you are truly your Self beyond temporal existence: conscious, unconditioned, formless, eternal. last updated 3/1/2008
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