Be Still And Know That I Am God

In the stillness of an autumn weekend twenty participants focused their hearts and their love on a word, a sacred word, a word found deep in their heart.  Led by presenter Theresa Saulnier, they allowed their hearts to be empty so that our God could fill them.  In the stillness, the sun shone bright the whole weekend and the trees were painted in the color of autumn, that time for letting go, when the trees teach us about not clinging to what was  but opening to what is always meant to be in this present moment.   It was an invitation to intimacy with a God of extravagant love, an invitation to come and sit awhile and simply BE.  They took the journey  into contemplative prayer, an intimacy their hearts sought.  Choosing a sacred word as the symbol of their intention to consent to God's presence and action within them, they sat quietly, settling into that dwelling place within.  Therese taught them the 4 Rs of Cynthia Bourgeault (Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, 2004, p. 38-39): RESIST no thought; RETAIN no thought, REACT to no thought, RETURN to the sacred word."  All participants seemed to cherish the opportunity to experience the stillness of God and judging by their desire to have a week long retreat they found a nourishment within their heart that truly comes from the silence.  The invitation is there for us as well -- the invitation to sit in stillness and stay empty before our God, to move from an ordinary level, to a spiritual level to the divine indwelling -- all it takes is the willingness to respond to the call:  BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.  Perhaps all that is needed is our willingness to show up,  if only for a few minutes;  God is already there within, waiting like a lover.