There is an old Simon and Garfunkel song that has this as part of the refrain: the “sounds of silence”. Now, how counterintuitive is that? The sounds of silence? Doesn’t silence mean no sound? Perhaps that is not the point. We think of silence in the physical realm but is that what silence is, simply a lack of noise?
In the contemplative life, one of the things that are sought is silence and solitude. Many sincere contemplatives spend a great deal of time seeking that perfect silence, that place or space where noise is not present. This is simply not possible, even at the Abbeys around the world, the great wildernesses you might find, they are not without noise. I recently visited a beautiful cathedral in Ireland. It was expansive and it was beautiful to the eye, but it was not without noise. In the same way, a visit to a 6,000-year-old stone circle in Ireland was not without noise, it was only a few meters from the road and yet, there was overwhelming silence, in this case, a silence from and for the ages.
So what is or are the sound(s) of silence? Silence in contemplation is that moment at which your very soul becomes quiet, empty of your own ego, and leaves a void then filled by the Presence of another. My first visit to the Abbey of Gethsemani I was overwhelmed (joyously so) by the silence. There was (still is) noise but it was silent, devoid of the need for me to do or say or even think anything. I have always described that first realization of what silence really is as “thunderous peace”.
Silence is that moment when you know you are not the center of the universe. That moment when you no longer have or need the answers. That moment when words just won’t do. That is silence. In Centering Prayer and most types of meditative practices, people think that silence is the goal, it is not. The goal is to be empty, that place where you are but a part of something so much greater. Even as I write this, I am in silence. Even with the clacking of keys, meditation music softly playing in the background and the morning noises of the house, I am in silence. My soul is empty except for the “thunderous peace” that I have come to know as practicing the presence of God.
That is the sound of silence. That is the place where we all can practice the presence of One so much greater than ourselves. For far too long I did not get it. I did not understand, until that first time at the Abbey and now each time I go back. Even in the middle of the whirlwind that is a our life each day, there is a silent place we can go.
One of my favorite hymns, perhaps my favorite is “It is well with my soul”. Horatio Spafford was a lawyer and businessman who wrote the hymn after horrible loss and tragedy in his life. It begins with “when peace like a river attendeth my way…” and that, dear ones is the silence we are seeking. That is the peace that passes all understanding. That is the silence and the “still small voice” in the middle of the whirlwind that we are all listening for. We only need to let go of our egos and enter the silence.
TMM