Thomas Keating quotes John of the Cross: “Silence is God’s first language. Every thing else is a translation." From this premise, one might conclude than to find God, one must retreat into a hermitage, Once there, one can be silent 24/7. This attitude is easily reinforced by the 2nd reading for Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006. The last sentance - James 1:27 reads:
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
If pure religion requires being unstained by the world, perhaps the best course of action is to avoid the world entirely. This leads to the spiritual practice known as contemptus mundi – contempt for the world.
On his audio CD publisher Gregory Pierce replies that a spirituality of silence alone won’t help him. With a publishing company, a family, and little leaguers in his care, he needs a spirituality that helps him find God in the midst of noise.
A look at Sunday's gospel shows that the conflict is only an apparant one. From Mark 7:15-23 we read:
"..there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
…
"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."
The context of this passage has to do with ancient Jewish dietary laws. However, a moment's reflection leads us to the recognition that there are many things in the outside world what can “go into us” through our senses and perceptions. It is not the outside world that is that is a problem. It is our reaction to the outside world that is the problem. When we react from any of the list of evil thoughts listed, we will be “ .. stained by the world.”
The question then becomes; how do we move from a state in which we react out “evil thoughts” to one in which we can respond to the world out of grace?
Meditation can, over time, help us move away from unproductive – or destructive – reactions to noise towards appropriate and helpful responses the noise of the external world. In his new book Manifesting God Fr. Thomas Keating, OCSO, gives an explanation of how centering prayer helps us to learn to respond effectively instead of reacting out of our character defects and shortcomings. In Tae Kwon Do Times (September 2006) grandmaster Tae R. Chang describes how meditation frees the mind of a martial artist.
In his reflection on Mt. 6:6 Keating writes:
“When we are locked into our ordinary psychological awareness, we are dominated by our experiences – events and people entering and leaving our lives and our emotional reactions to them-and we cannot respond fully to reality or evaluate it objectively. In addition, we are constantly influenced by the values of the culture in which we live, and by what people think of us or don’t think of us. The tyranny of over-identification with what is going on at the surface of our awareness prevents us from experiencing the intuitive level of its very nature tends to be more peaceful, calm and open to the presence and guidance of the Divine Indwelling.” (pp. 74-75)
This, he suggests, is what Jesus meant in Mt. 6:6 when he said:
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Grandmaster Chang’s explanation of the benefits of meditation is similar:
“It’s (East Indian yoga’s) premise is that when we control our mental restlessness, we are able to see what should be seen and by controlling physical restlessness, we have more energy to do what should be done. As we sit quietly and concentrate inwardly we experience ourselves directly. This experience unfolds for us a greater awareness of ourselves and of our place in the world. It can be quite a discovery!
Since mind and body are inseparable, yoga is used to develop and discipline both by exercising them simultaneously. Meditation, contemplation and reflection set the stage to effective physical action. In its more detailed state it becomes concentration.”
Chang goes on to explain how concentration helps the martial artist train until reactions are automatic, just as an experienced driver shifts gears without slowing to think about clutch, gearshift lever, and accelerator. Let’s take this example a bit further. Suppose that Joe is on his way to work and is anticipating an argument with his boss. He rehearses his side of the story. If, in Keating’s words, the Joe is overly controlled by an emotional response to his boss, even shifting may no longer be automatic. In this example, it was not the his boss or the anticipated argument that led to poor shifting – and maybe even an accident – it was the Joe’s reaction to an argument that was about to have! The problem wasn’t the noise of the external world, it was Joe’s reaction to it.
The opposition between the need for silence and finding God in the midst of noise is more apparent than real. Pierce accepts the need for silence and prayer. As one of his ten disciplines of workplace spirituality, he insists on the practice of ongoing balanced self-renewal. This includes professional as well as spiritual and emotional development. Keating spends his entire book explaining how centering prayer opens us up to Divine guidance and healing so that we can respond, rather than react to the world and its noise.
If this sounds convincing, but you find yourself doubting that it will work, remember that the best any of us can claim in this life, is “spiritual progress, not perfection.”
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