- Episode AI notes
- John Mark explores the idea that distraction, rather than hedonism, poses the greatest threat to faith today.
- He emphasizes the necessity of silence and solitude in oneās rule of life to facilitate spiritual growth and genuine engagement with God.
- Dopamine fasting is introduced as a method for reclaiming attention and presence, allowing individuals to reconnect with their surroundings.
- Being present in the spiritual life is highlighted as essential for making meaningful connections with oneās feelings and the divine.
- The podcast discusses the importance of finding a distraction-free space for prayer, drawing on Jesusā example of retreating to pray.
- To achieve internal quiet during distress, individuals should limit external distractions and focus on sacred texts.
- Embracing oneās chaotic mind during prayer is acknowledged as a common struggle in the pursuit of internal peace.
- Silence is framed as a necessary counter to the ādictatorship of noise,ā aiding personal growth and discarding manipulation.
- Engaging in quiet reflection helps confront reality and allows individuals to process deeper emotional struggles.
- The importance of emotional honesty with oneself and God is emphasized for experiencing the fullness of divine love.
- Experiencing Godās love is facilitated through intentional moments of silence and inner stillness, leading to spiritual growth.
- Control is presented as an illusion that hinders faith, highlighting the need for surrender to Godās will for authentic spiritual formation.
- Following Jesus involves deep surrender, yielding to transformation through love and understanding oneās relationship with God.
- Living a contemplative life is achievable in a busy world by intentionally dedicating time for spiritual reflection and engaging meaningfully with others.
- Embracing simplicity and quiet enhances joy and compassion, turning silence into a revolutionary act against modern chaos.
Finding joy through surrender and silence is framed as a way to liberate oneself from rigid expectations, fostering clarity in relationships and spiritual awareness. Time 0:00:00
Dopamine fasting: a digital detox for programmers and entrepreneurs Dopamine fasting offers a structured break from digital stimuli, allowing individuals, particularly programmers and entrepreneurs, to reclaim their attention and presence. The habitual relationship with smartphones can lead to misinterpretations of sensory experiences, as users become overly tuned to phone notifications, diminishing their awareness of the immediate environment. Continuous exposure to digital devices creates an overwhelming urge to engage with them, detracting from the capacity to be present in social interactions and in the moment. This pattern ultimately hampers the ability to fully appreciate and engage with people and experiences, whether mundane or significant.
Speaker 1
Itās that feeling that we get when we think our phone, like itās a text message or a phone call, but itās not. Itās actually just was a weird like bump with a stranger next to us. One doctor said quote, through bodily habit your phone actually becomes a part of you. When you become trained to perceive the phones vibrations as an incoming caller text or due to these kinds of habits, it becomes really easy to misperceive other similar sensations. So new, fat and silicone valley I just read about a few days ago called dopamine fasting, which is like a secular monk like break from all things digital for programmers and entrepreneurs. Because at a neurobiological level, every second weāre in the same room as our phone, itās basically screaming at us and all caps pick me up. And as we said last week, the great threat here isnāt just the loss of quiet as if that isnāt enough. But the great threat of the digital age is that itās robbing us of the capacity to be present. Present to the moment, whatever is in front of us, good, bad or ugly, present to the person who is in front of us, whatever they are, the barista making our coffee in the morning or the cashier At Trader Joeās or our co-worker or fellow student walking in a few minutes late with an odd look on her face or whatever it is.The Importance of Being Present in Spiritual Life Being present is crucial for spiritual life, as it involves connecting with our own feelings and processing our existence in the moment. The concept of āinterior immigrationā highlights the tendency to be physically present while mentally and emotionally distant, leading to a disconnect from the reality around us. To cultivate a meaningful spiritual life, acknowledgment of the present moment is essential, especially considering that if God represents the ultimate reality, presence becomes a prerequisite for engagement with the divine. The modern cultureās decline in faith is attributed not to scientific debunking of spirituality, but rather to the distracting chaos of secularism which disrupts the stillness necessary for faith to flourish or be revived. Thus, reclaiming presence in our lives could foster a deeper spiritual connection.
Speaker 1
Or about present to our own soul, what weāre feeling and processing our life that day and above all present to God. As the Quaker intellectual Douglas Steer once said, we suffer from interior immigration. Meaning weāre here in body, but weāre not here. The interior of us, where our mind, our heart, itās off a thousand miles away. Weāre not present to the here and now. But what is spiritual life if not present to what is? I mean, if God is the most real thing in all of the universe, if He is reality with the capital R, then how can we even have a spiritual life without at least a modicum of the capacity to be Present? Andrew Sullivan has this great line on his essay for the New York Times magazine entitled, I Used to be a Human Being, where he tells this story about checking into a digital detox center, Like no phone for multiple days in the withdrawal, and it begins to spark memories of his childhood and the Catholic church. And then he writes this, the reason we live in a culture increasingly without faith is not because science has somehow disproved the unprovable, but because the white noise of secularism Has removed the very stillness in which it might endure or be reborn. And then he has this haunting line, if churchesBeing Present in Spiritual Life Spiritual life fundamentally requires presence in the moment and an awareness of reality, both internal and external. Distraction from the present, often exacerbated by modern technology and a culture inundated with noise, detracts from meaningful spiritual engagement. This disconnect emphasizes that the essence of spirituality is rooted in being present to experience the divine. The notion that a lack of faith stems from science is misguided; rather, secular distractions dilute the stillness necessary for spiritual renewal. For faith to thrive in contemporary society, it is crucial for spiritual communities to recognize that distraction, not hedonism, poses the greatest threat to sustaining belief. Emphasizing the need for stillness can help reconnect individuals to their spiritual roots in a distraction-laden world.
Speaker 1
Meaning weāre here in body, but weāre not here. The interior of us, where our mind, our heart, itās off a thousand miles away. Weāre not present to the here and now. But what is spiritual life if not present to what is? I mean, if God is the most real thing in all of the universe, if He is reality with the capital R, then how can we even have a spiritual life without at least a modicum of the capacity to be Present? Andrew Sullivan has this great line on his essay for the New York Times magazine entitled, I Used to be a Human Being, where he tells this story about checking into a digital detox center, Like no phone for multiple days in the withdrawal, and it begins to spark memories of his childhood and the Catholic church. And then he writes this, the reason we live in a culture increasingly without faith is not because science has somehow disproved the unprovable, but because the white noise of secularism Has removed the very stillness in which it might endure or be reborn. And then he has this haunting line, if churches came to realize that the greatest threat to faith today is not hedonism but distraction, perhaps they might begin to appeal anew to a frazzled Digital generation. I could not agree more.The Importance of Finding a Distraction-free Place to Pray Identifying a distraction-free environment for prayer is vital for genuine engagement with the divine. This place can take many forms, such as a deserted location, a wilderness, or even a simple closet, as long as it allows for solitude and uninterrupted focus. The significance of such a space is highlighted by the example of Jesus, who withdrew to a reimos to pray, emphasizing the need for intentional time set aside for spiritual connection rather than mundane tasks. This isnāt merely about requesting things from God; it encompasses deeper forms of prayer, like abiding in Godās presence or resting in His goodness. Thus, establishing a serene, distraction-free zone is essential for fostering a meaningful prayer experience.
Speaker 1
It can be translated the lonely place or the quiet place or a solitary place or a deserted place or the desert or the wilderness. It is a place, any place. It can be desert, it can be mountainous, it doesnāt matter, it can be your back closet. Any place that is free from stimuli, a distraction free zone, just you, your soul and God. And notice Jesus withdrew to this a reimos in order to pray, thatās the language used by Luke. So this wasnāt just a day off for Jesus or a time to catch up on a little bit of email or watch a movie while he was folding his laundry. It was a time for Jesus to pray, to really engage with his father. Now donāt think of prayer here as just asking God for things, that is one type of prayer, it is legitimate, it matters a lot. Luke doesnāt give us access to the type of prayer here, and so we have no idea, the text does not say. But I canāt help but speculate just based on my own experience that what if Jesusā prayer here was closer to what he himself later called abiding, just to kind of resting in God the source Of all life and energy. I think of Ronald Rolheiserās definition of prayer as relaxing into Godās goodness. Is that how you think of prayer? What are you doing tomorrow morning?How to Achieve Internal Quiet in Times of Distress To achieve internal quiet during distress, it is crucial to minimize external stimuli and distractions, including limiting reading to sacred texts, such as the Bible. However, achieving a calm internal state can be significantly more challenging. In moments of solitude and silence, the mind often becomes chaotic, filled with distracting thoughts, worries about everyday tasks, and emotional turmoil. This mental unrest can be exacerbated by anxiety or restlessness. Despite devoting considerable time to prayer, individuals may find their minds wandering to various concerns instead of focusing on their spiritual practice. Acknowledging this struggle is important in the pursuit of finding true internal peace and relaxing into a sense of divine goodness.
Speaker 1
You just get away from input and stimuli. Strict adherence, advocate against reading anything but the Bible in these times. Some even argue against reading the Bible, not because the Bible is bad, but because the whole goal is just to get your soul laid bare before God. Iām not saying I agree with that, Iām just saying itās an interesting thing to think about. But then internal quiet, that is a whole other story and in my experience itās ten times harder. If your brain is anything like mine, first off Iām so sorry. Secondly, the moment that I get alone and the quiet, my brain just goes crazy. I donāt think I have ADHD and then Iām like, oh no, you must because itās all over the place and itās anger and itās less and itās worrying, itās the to-do list and itās ruminating about This thing and itās all over the map. My brain just goes nuts. If you were to follow me around with a webcam or whatever and you would notice, Iām not going to lie, I devote a lot of time to prayer. I feel pretty good about that. If you were to then get access to what Iām actually thinking about in my time of prayer, you would lose all respect for me and think this dude has no business leading a church at all. I donāt know what percentage of my prayer time Iām actually in prayer and like relaxing into Godās goodness versusEmbrace Your Chaotic Mind in Prayer Engaging in internal quiet and prayer is often more challenging than anticipated, as the mind can become chaotic when left alone. Many experience racing thoughts filled with worries, tasks, and distractions that deviate from a serene connection with God. The struggle to maintain focus during prayer may lead to feelings of inadequacy, as oneās inner dialogue can undermine the perceived effectiveness of spiritual practices. This reveals the common human experience of wrestling with the mindās noise during attempts at spiritual contemplation and the importance of acknowledging this struggle as part of the journey.
Speaker 1
Some even argue against reading the Bible, not because the Bible is bad, but because the whole goal is just to get your soul laid bare before God. Iām not saying I agree with that, Iām just saying itās an interesting thing to think about. But then internal quiet, that is a whole other story and in my experience itās ten times harder. If your brain is anything like mine, first off Iām so sorry. Secondly, the moment that I get alone and the quiet, my brain just goes crazy. I donāt think I have ADHD and then Iām like, oh no, you must because itās all over the place and itās anger and itās less and itās worrying, itās the to-do list and itās ruminating about This thing and itās all over the map. My brain just goes nuts. If you were to follow me around with a webcam or whatever and you would notice, Iām not going to lie, I devote a lot of time to prayer. I feel pretty good about that. If you were to then get access to what Iām actually thinking about in my time of prayer, you would lose all respect for me and think this dude has no business leading a church at all. I donāt know what percentage of my prayer time Iām actually in prayer and like relaxing into Godās goodness versus just like worrying or thinking about it to-do list or like wondering About the jaw-wasting and the Mandalorian last night or whatever it was.The Importance of Silence in a Noisy World Silence is a profound language often overlooked in a chaotic world filled with noise, hurry, and crowds. Historical figures like St. John of the Cross and Mother Teresa emphasize the significance of silence in connecting with the divine. In contemporary society, the lack of quietness makes individuals susceptible to manipulation, as their reactivity replaces thoughtful engagement. This ādictatorship of noiseā compromises oneās ability to discern identity and purpose, leading to decisions driven by external influences rather than inner wisdom. Psychologically, the avoidance of silence also reflects a tendency to escape from confronting deep-seated emotions such as pain, shame, and guilt, a behavior that has become easier in todayās fast-paced environment. Establishing a rhythm of quiet in daily life is crucial for personal growth, self-awareness, and resisting the distractions that hinder meaningful engagement with the world.
Speaker 1
Centuries before him, St. John of the Cross, that Spanish mystic and just brilliant explorer of the soul said silence is Godās first language. Mother Teresa said God is the friend of silence. More recently, Richard Foster said, our adversary, the devil, majors in three things, noise, hurry and crowds. If he can keep us involved in muchness and mininess, he will rest satisfied. Said how you think about the devilās work in your life? Whatās Satan doing in your life? Noise, hurry and crowds, I doubt it. Yet it comes as no surprise that the modern secular world that we inhabit and call home, at least to me, it feels at times like a vast conspiracy against quiet. One author I read recently called it a dictatorship of noise. At a socio-political level, people who donāt have a regular kind of rhythm of quiet in their rule of life are much easier to manipulate because they are more reactive than active, more Busy than wise, less in tune with identity and calling, so itās easier to get them to buy your product or vote for your candidate or retweet your hashtag or consume your media. At a psychological level, as was said so well just a moment ago by Tristan and John, there are so many things in the depth of our soul that we just donāt want to face because of the pain, the Shame, the anxiety, the guilt, whatever it is. And so we do everything we can to avoid it and thatās never been easier than ever before.Embrace the Quiet to Confront Reality Silence and solitude serve crucial purposes beyond mere personal leisure. In the quiet, individuals confront evil and reality, standing firm against distractions created by digital capitalism, politics, and entertainment. True silence is not just about relaxation, but actively engaging in spiritual battles and facing the truth of existence. It calls for moving past superficial self-indulgence to genuinely confront challenges and deepen understanding. This awareness highlights the necessity of quiet reflection in a noisy world, which often diverts attention from deeper, essential truths.
Speaker 1
And at one point boasts, quote, we will make the whole universe a noise in the end. I canāt help but wonder if there is a strange, bizarre alliance between digital capitalism, politics, the entertainment industry, our own human vulnerability, and even the devilās Kingdom itself, all set on keeping us away from the quiet place. Why? Well, because, as best I can tell, at least five things happen in the quiet place that are not impossible but are hard to get anywhere else. This will not take long. Number one, if youāre taking notes, we face down evil and we confront reality. Many of us think of silence and solitude as just like, you know, a little me time, particularly if youāre introverted like myself. Youāre like, great, oh, Iām all about this. This is like a spiritual excuse to be a narcissist and just make my own time, right? I just want to relax, do my own thing, read a little book, do whatever your thing is, enjoy a little pleasant diversion. Itās a Christian book, donāt worry, but just kind of have my own time. And thatās great, Iām all for that. But that is not the silence and solitude of Jesus who went into the oray moss to fight the devil and wild beasts.Face the Silence to Meet Your Truth Asking oneself why they engage in their current role can be a daunting introspective journey, especially in church leadership. This correlative self-exploration invites individuals to confront their inner truths, which may reveal painful emotions such as anxiety, disappointment, and resentment. The avoidance of silence often prevents people from facing these truths, leading to unprocessed feelings that can manifest in unhealthy behaviors. To achieve emotional freedom, one must allow these thoughts and emotions to rise to the surface, process them in a safe environment, and move beyond their grasp. Embracing vulnerability and honesty with oneself and God is essential to experiencing the full depth of divine love, as many are hindered from comprehending that love due to unacknowledged inner turmoil.
Speaker 1
Why are you doing what youāre doing? That is a scary question to ask, in particular if you work in church leadership. And this is why heās, and God, thereās an invitation from God just to explore whatās underneath there. This I think is why so many of us go to great lengths to avoid the quiet place because the truth comes out. And the truth is not always pretty. Whatever is down there comes up to the surface of our mind and our emotions. Whether it is pain, anxiety, disappointment, doubt in God, anger, resentment at the reality of our life, or joy, gratitude, hope, dreams for the future, whatever, or some mixture Of all of the above. But we have to sit with it long enough for the full bandwidth of thoughts and emotions to come up and then pass through of us so that they no longer own us instead we are free. Because the reality is this stuff is in us and it will come out whether we set aside time in the quiet or not. The question is just will it leak out in unhealthy or even toxic ways that sabotage our soul and our best attempts at love, or will it come out in the safe place of the Fatherās love? So many people never experience the depth of Godās love because theyāre never actually honest with God or themselves about what a mess they are.Face the Truth to Find Freedom Exploring the depths of our inner thoughts and emotions is essential for personal growth and freedom. Avoiding the quiet often leads to suppressed feelings like pain, anxiety, and disappointment surfacing in unhealthy ways. When we take time to confront these emotions, we can process them under the love and acceptance of God, rather than letting them dictate our lives. Many struggle to experience true divine love because they fear facing their inner turmoil and resort to justifying their feelings or blaming others. Acknowledging our complexities and vulnerabilities allows for healing and a deeper connection to Godās love.
Speaker 1
And this is why heās, and God, thereās an invitation from God just to explore whatās underneath there. This I think is why so many of us go to great lengths to avoid the quiet place because the truth comes out. And the truth is not always pretty. Whatever is down there comes up to the surface of our mind and our emotions. Whether it is pain, anxiety, disappointment, doubt in God, anger, resentment at the reality of our life, or joy, gratitude, hope, dreams for the future, whatever, or some mixture Of all of the above. But we have to sit with it long enough for the full bandwidth of thoughts and emotions to come up and then pass through of us so that they no longer own us instead we are free. Because the reality is this stuff is in us and it will come out whether we set aside time in the quiet or not. The question is just will it leak out in unhealthy or even toxic ways that sabotage our soul and our best attempts at love, or will it come out in the safe place of the Fatherās love? So many people never experience the depth of Godās love because theyāre never actually honest with God or themselves about what a mess they are. Weāre too scared to face the evil in us so we justify, we blame shift, we donāt take responsibility, we prop ourself up with feel good spirituality and self-help Christianity.Experience Divine Love in Silence In moments of quiet, individuals can realize they are not truly alone, as they become aware of Godās compassionate and loving presence through the Trinitarian community. This experience goes beyond intellectual understanding or theological studies; it requires personal, experiential knowledge of Godās love. Recognizing both personal flaws and the presence of grace, followers of Jesus must seek to feel and internalize divine love within their souls, as this deep spiritual engagement is essential for authentic faith.
Speaker 1
Secondly, in the quiet, we experience Godās compassionate love. If weāre there long enough, we become aware that weāre not alone when weāre alone. We become aware of the Trinitarian community of agape that is loving us as we are, the hard truth about ourselves and all of the evil thatās not only out there but in here is laid bare before The loving eye of God. And we realize thereās compassion, heās our father, thereās love. And we experience Godās love. Not just read about it or hear a sermon about it or study a theology textbook or watch an explainer video about it, all fantastic stuff Iām doing one of them right now. But we have to experience the love of God in our spirit. Itās what Paul meant when he said his prayer that you may know the love of Christ that passes knowledge. He, brilliant intellectual as he was, was writing about experiential knowledge. We have to experience the love of God through the medium of the spirit as the Trinitarian community comes to us in the depth of our soul. Iām convinced that one of, if not the main reason that so many followers of Jesus do not actually, when they are honest, experience the loveExperiencing the Love of God Through Moments of Inner Quiet Experiencing the love of God requires intentional moments of silence and inner quiet, where God reveals Himself. These moments cultivate an environment to receive Godās love and foster love within ourselves to share with others. In this space, individuals confront their tendencies toward control, which often hinders trust in God and spiritual growth. Recognizing that control can obstruct the development of authentic love and trust highlights the importance of yielding to Godās will, leading to deeper spiritual formation.
Speaker 1
We can live and experience the love of God. How? This we can do by setting aside moments of silence because God reveals to himself essentially through silence in moments of peace and in the moments of inner quiet. He said that I think that was in his last, Iām pretty sure it was his last book, when he was 90 something years old. Where do you experience God, social activist that he was in moments of inner, not just outer, inner quiet. If we want to experience God and his love, we have to carve out and then cultivate time in the quiet place to let God love us and to people of love. Third thing that happens in the quiet is as we go through all of this, then we yield. We yield. In the quiet, one of the hard truths about myself that I at least am forced to confront is all the ways Iāve been frantically trying to control my life and controlling many of the people In my life to get to the life and events that I want and that I think I need to be happy and safe. And whether youāre control freak like me or not, most of us struggle with this at some level and control is the enemy of trust in God and of spiritual formation into people of love.The Illusion of Control and Spiritual Formation Control undermines trust in God and hinders spiritual growth, especially in relationships, such as parenting, where fear often replaces faith. Acknowledging that control is largely an illusion allows for a release from the need to manage every aspect of life. This realization aligns with the teachings of Ignatius of Loyola, who emphasized a state of indifference, better understood as freedom. This freedom involves re-prioritizing desires in alignment with Godās will, allowing spiritual growth through detachment from worldly attachments. True fulfillment comes from living in alignment with Jesus and recognizing that while desires for success and personal accomplishments exist, placing God at the center permits a more loving, authentic way of living.
Speaker 1
And whether youāre control freak like me or not, most of us struggle with this at some level and control is the enemy of trust in God and of spiritual formation into people of love. Controlling people are not loving people. My worst moments are as a parent or as when Iām controlling and Iām parenting out of fear rather than faith and trust and honor and respect. In the quiet, we release the illusion of control. And thatās what it is, nine times out of ten. It is an illusion. Weāre not nearly as in charge of our life as we want to believe and self-help wants to tell us for a price. And we come, after we come through the solution, we come to the place of what Ignatius of Loyola called indifference. Our number of scholars argue a better translation of the Spanish word he used is freedom. I like that freedom. Itās what the French mystics call detachment where we detach, not in like a Buddhist or stoic kind of like negate desire. Rather, we re-prioritize our desires. We put our desires in their proper place before God. We put God as ultimate. And we realize that when we are full of life, when weāre living with Jesus in the kingdom, sure we still have desires to get this job or make this money or change our relationship status Or for me to have my kids go to good college and do great in life.Surrender to Love: Letting Go, Following Jesus, and Taking up Your Cross Following Jesus involves a deep spiritual journey that requires wrestling with God and oneself to achieve a state of surrender. The essence of prayer and spirituality lies in the struggle to relinquish control over outcomes and to embrace a relationship grounded in love. This concept of surrender is highlighted in the teachings of Jesus, particularly in the call to take up oneās cross and deny oneself. This calling is often misinterpreted as a burdensome task, yet realization comes that it is less about active striving and more about yielding and allowing transformation to occur. True surrender involves turning oneās will over to God, seeking alignment with a higher purpose, and embracing love as the guiding force in the process of following Christ.
Speaker 1
This is who we want to become as we follow Jesus. So much of prayer and quiet and spirituality itself is wrestling with God and our own soul and our emotions to get to that place where we can actually follow Jesusā example and let go of Outcomes. What David Benner calls surrender to love. Thatās his language for Jesusā language. Take up your cross, deny yourself and follow me, which Iāve always read. Take up your cross, deny yourself as this grin and bear it. Just die for Jesus or whatever. And thereās truth in that. But then I hit me earlier today. Iāve never died, so I donāt know what thatās like exactly. Iām guessing itās not a lot of hard work. Iām guessing it just happens to you. However, I donāt know. Iām not an expert on the subject yet. I will be in, but then itāll be too late for me to tell you about it. Or if I do, itāll be a best-selling book, Iāll get rich and have fun with that. But itās different. Itās not something we do. Itās something we donāt do. We yield. We let go. We surrender to love. And if and when we come to that inner, more than just emotional, volitional place, where we really turn our will over to God, itāll be a better way to say it as we align our will with that Of God.Living a Contemplative Life with a Job and Responsibilities Living a contemplative life is achievable even amidst the demands of a job and family responsibilities. It requires a commitment to engaging with others in love rather than retreating into a superficial quietness that can reflect spiritual narcissism. The key distinction lies between being reactiveāresponding to the urgent distractions of modern lifeāand being genuinely contemplative. A contemplative approach involves intentionally dedicating time to spiritual reflection and seeking a deep connection with a higher power, which transforms one into a person characterized by love, joy, and peace over time. Itās possible to harmonize contemplation with active engagement in the world, leading to meaningful contributions and nurturing community connections, rather than merely reacting to lifeās demands.
Speaker 1
The end is to come back to people in love. Otherwise, in particular if youāre introverted like myself, our quiet is just another version of spiritualized narcissism and self love. As the saying goes, the opposite of contemplation is an activity, but reactivity, meaning the opposite of a contemplative life. I donāt know about you, I want to be a contemplative. I want to be like a pseudo-wannabe monk with a family and a job and all of that. Like I want to live a contemplative life where I just spend hours as much time as possible just sitting before the face of God, looking at God, looking at me in love, transforming me into A person of love and joy and peace over decades and decades and decades. I want to become that. But I have a job, I have a life, I got stuff to do, I have bills to pay, I have children to raise, thatās not a problem. You can be a contemplative and have a job and work hard and be generative and do a lot in the world and be around people and host community and lead and whatever your thing is. The opposite of a contemplative life is not action, itās reaction. Where you just live in this tyranny of the urgent, you just respond to this text, this email, this thing, this, okay, letās watch the TV show, okay, letās buy that thing.Living a Life of Quiet in a Noisy World Embracing a life of simplicity and quiet within a chaotic world enhances joy and connection to compassion. Regularly encouraging others through small acts can bring fulfillment and reinforce a sense of purpose. Surrendering outcomes allows individuals to liberate themselves from rigid expectations and fosters a deeper understanding of Godās love. This awareness sparks a renewed commitment to loving others with clarity. In an age driven by constant noise and distractions, cultivating silence becomes a revolutionary act, as it provides a counterbalance to the overwhelming presence of modern life. According to spiritual wisdom, engaging with silence serves as a necessary respite and a form of protest against the relentless chaos surrounding us.
Speaker 1
Why donāt you text so and so? Why donāt you encourage that one person, like just really simple short easy things most of the time? And as I live for Godās pleasure, I begin to tap into joy. So we face down evil and come to confront reality. We experience Godās compassionate love for us as we are in the mess, the evil is even in us. We yield, we let go of outcomes, we surrender to love, weāre set free from the need for our life to go a certain way to be happy. We hear that gentle whisper of God, that sense of direction and love, and we return with a new compassion and clarity in how we are to love others. You see while the spiritual masters argue that quiet is, as now one said, indispensable. But to live a life of quiet in a world of noise, in a world with a phone, with Wi-Fi, in a city, in an urban environment, with friends, with a job, with responsibilities, with all of that, With email access, all of the stuff, to live a life of quiet is a kind of rebellion and resistance against that dictatorship of noise. Thomas Merton called silence a protest and reparation against the sin of noise. He granted that noise was not actually a sin, but then he said the turmoil and confusion and constant noiseFind Joy Through Surrender and Silence Living for Godās pleasure leads to profound joy, as it encourages individuals to confront reality and acknowledge the presence of evil within themselves. By yielding and surrendering to love, people can liberate themselves from the need for specific outcomes to find happiness. This process allows them to hear Godās gentle guidance and fosters newfound compassion and clarity in their relationships with others. In a world overwhelmed by noise and constant distractions, achieving a life of quiet becomes an act of rebellion against the turmoil and godlessness prevalent in society. Silence serves as a protest and a remedy against the chaotic ambiance that reflects despair, urging individuals to embrace stillness amidst the cacophony of urban life.
Speaker 1
And as I live for Godās pleasure, I begin to tap into joy. So we face down evil and come to confront reality. We experience Godās compassionate love for us as we are in the mess, the evil is even in us. We yield, we let go of outcomes, we surrender to love, weāre set free from the need for our life to go a certain way to be happy. We hear that gentle whisper of God, that sense of direction and love, and we return with a new compassion and clarity in how we are to love others. You see while the spiritual masters argue that quiet is, as now one said, indispensable. But to live a life of quiet in a world of noise, in a world with a phone, with Wi-Fi, in a city, in an urban environment, with friends, with a job, with responsibilities, with all of that, With email access, all of the stuff, to live a life of quiet is a kind of rebellion and resistance against that dictatorship of noise. Thomas Merton called silence a protest and reparation against the sin of noise. He granted that noise was not actually a sin, but then he said the turmoil and confusion and constant noise of modern society, and this is brilliant, are the expression of the ambiance Of its greatest sins, its godlessness and its despair. Think about how our city is.
