When people say, “you need to be in Silence”, there is usually a vision of sitting, perhaps cross-legged with eyes closed and breathing deeply for 30 minutes or so, while being left alone by the world.  The thought of this for many people is simply a non-starter and blocks our energy before one can even fully consider it.  Sometimes in our lives, such time is non-existent no matter how much we would love to have that experience.

Relaxing by TitaniumDreads

Still, the place to spend time with All That Is/Divine Presence/God is in Silence.  When we show up for this time together, we are the ones who are greatly blessed because we are loved, supported and calmed energetically in ways that generally don’t  happen in the world.  Silence with God is spending time with God without your own agenda.

The main ingredient we need to be successful in making time with God’s Energy is intention.  Here are some examples of how to do that.  One can dedicate 10 minutes of a walk with the dog to being with Divine Presence.

Man and his dogs by Yoshimai

Another option is to dedicate time while working in the garden or the yard to connecting with God.  Open a sacred space by calling in Divine Beings or Divine Light and call God into your time regardless of what you may be doing.   Another place I used to have time with God was in the bathroom.  That was at a time that I could reasonably count on having a few minutes to myself there.  I would seek that time and space at all times of the day and usually that was honored!

We can listen to uplifting music and intentionally invite Divine Presence into our space.  This is not Silence per se but it may get us into Silence with grace and ease.  The more we intentionally connect with Divine Energy,  the more we notice a shift in the vibration of energy around us.   This is the Holy Spirit showing up to be with us because we asked. One could read a spiritual book while asking God to enter into this space and time with you, as well.  If you are reading poetry or prose, take a section, read the piece three time out loud and then sit in the Silence of that energy.  You will be ministered to through Sacred Presence. Usually there is a great calm that comes over us even if we only have 15 minutes.

Any sacred time can be carved out and dedicated to God.  You can be watching children playing a sport and while sitting apart for the crowd, take 15 minutes to dedicate special time with God.  You can arrive early for an appointment and sit in the car listening to classical music or simply recline with eyes closed and ask God to connect with you.  The ways are infinite.

The challenge is to regularly invite God into your life.  Don’t talk about it and despair or simply close the door on it as being an impossibility.  We are in great need of the Presence of God.  That energy is incredibly calming, supportive and filled with Divine Love which is totally different from human support and love here.  However, we need to knock on the door with GREAT determination, seek without giving up and keep asking for connection and communion with God by showing up every day in one way or another.  We are the only ones who can gift ourselves with Divine Grace.  It is all around us but we have to say YES and show up.  So, do what works.

knocking to door by Daniel *1977

For those of you who are finding time in Silence, there is another step which can be taken to expand your conscious knowing of God.   After you have intentionally connected with God, you may come out of that time and realize you have something you want to pray about, ask forgiveness for, call Divine Presence into or clear some blocked energy you have become aware of.  This is not Silence.  This is working with God to call forth this energy for a specific person, situation or purpose.  This is unifying prayer.  Each of these experiences is still being with God but the focus changes to your own thoughts, questions, needs, etc.  This is a natural outgrowth of being in Silence with God.

Muriel was just coming out of a twenty minute session of Silence with God.  She immediately saw the face of her sister in front of her.  Her sister had passed away two years earlier.

Untitled by Nodlem

She did not know what the image of her sister actually meant, but the experience felt uncomfortable within.  She loved her sister deeply but there was an uneasiness when her face appeared to her.  Muriel took two minutes more in Silence and realized she needed to ask forgiveness for the way in which she had behaved when she needed to help take care of her during her illness and when she needed to suddenly do all the extra things for their parents when her sister was sick. Right then and there she asked for forgiveness for those unkind feelings, hasty words and old anger. She felt a perceptible sense of Lightness in her chest and heart area.  She knew she had actually been forgiven in that moment. She was amazed that it was so easy to release that old energy.  In fact, she had not really remembered her feelings until her sister’s face appeared to her. This was the Holy Spirit working with Muriel to help her clear her soul energy from this stagnant, stuck feeling that was still with her two years after her sister had died.

This is an example of how seamlessly this Divine Energy can work with us.  Muriel was in a deep communion with All That Is/God and she simply knew she needed to ask for forgiveness.  Without showing up for time with God, she could have carried that draining energy for years and have it show up in all sorts of unhelpful ways.

If we begin our personal relationship with God in Silence, we will be blessed in ways  we can never imagine.  Show up, dedicate time to God, keep the appointment, be in the Silence, and listen.  This is how we come to a place of balance and wholeness through Divine Grace. Even if you have no visual for God, no sense of what or who God is for you, even if you don’t even know if you believe in God Presence,  do this anyway.  There is a deep magic, that surpasses all understanding, whose doorway will open to us.  When this happens all our fears become less powerful, we become more capable of gratitude, we can release that which is not serving us or others very well.  If we have just even a few minutes, we will be ministered to.  We are deeply loved beyond anything we as humans can comprehend. However, we have to chose to enter into the Silence before we can gather this blessing for ourselves and for others.

The I AM Presence is part of every person on Earth though many of us have no idea what this means.  The I AM Presence is the Oneness which exists way beyond our bodies, our lifetimes and our memories of experiences in this world.  The Oneness is the state of consciousness which manifests as connectedness with All That Is.  The I AM Presence is that which is Eternal about us, and thereby is pure love, pure wholeness and perfect balance.

Yoga Girl by Prashant Zi

The I AM Presence actually can’t be captured in words though that does not stop me nor others from trying to explain this state.  The I AM Presence is a state of consciousness which is available to all peoples, any place, all of the time.

When I call forth the I AM Presence into a sacred space, I think of this as calling the Highest Energy of the Most High.  Do I really know what this means, how it was created,  or from whence it came?  Not really.   What I do know is that when I call this energy, I and others feel compelled to speak the Truth, are touched by an energetic state of being, each sensing this in his or her own unique way.  I know there is a qualitative difference in space when I call the I AM Presence into that space.  I feel a sudden and vast support, power and infinite knowing way beyond the capacities of my own being.

Recently when working with St. Germain’s energy and teachings, I was struck again by the power of recognizing the I AM Presence in All That Is.  When we recognize an other’s birthday, contributions,  gifts, or talents, our relationship with that other person is strengthened because of this recognition.

Happy Our Birthday bu Hamid Saber

As we feel gratitude and appreciation for another, the goodness of the relationship grows.  What we focus on, grows.  If we walk through the halls and say hello to others, our relationships are strengthened by these acts of recognition.  This very same principle is at work when we recognize, speak with, call forth, love and honor Divine Presence.

Before we begin to recognize the Divine in specific ways, the concept of Divine Presence remains shadowy, vaguely unformed possibilities for a rainy day.  When we recognize Divine Presence, that relationship grows, is strengthened and the goodness itself expands as we take this into our heart, minds and our being.

You may ask what is the difference between the I AM Presence and God?  I really don’t know.  For me, the I AM Presence is within and without as is the “kingdom of God”.  Perhaps they are different aspects of Divine Source or perhaps they are exactly the same.  What I know is that the I AM Presence is here, now and is an integral part of me and probably has been for all my existence.  I am sure that I am moving more deeply into Divine Space when I recognize my Beloved I AM Presence. I know these connections only come through Silence and meditation.  It is not possible to know the I AM Presence with one’s mind.  I can know of the I AM Presence with my mind but in order to know the I AM Presence, my mind has to be quiet and calm.  That is the way it works.

Last week I discovered in Silence that one can be out of Right Relationship with one’s I AM Presence.  Right Relationship is defined by Divine Knowing and means being in perfect harmony with something or someone.  Being out of Right Relationship with the I AM Presence looks like not acknowledging this Presence, being skeptical that one is good enough to have a relationship with the I AM Presence, denying the Divine Presence in our life or remaining undecided about whether to believe in a Goodness beyond ourselves.  This is very similar to wanting to have a relationship with another while never accepting offers to date, to mingle or to be in the public where meeting someone might happen.  If we don’t acknowledge the Great I AM Presence, it can remain an elusive uncertainty for as many lifetimes as we would like.

St. Germain’s teachings encourage us to Love our I AM Presence.  That was a new thought.  How do I Love my I AM Presence?  I am certain that I can’t love something that I have never recognized.  So, calling forth the I AM Presence into meetings, gatherings, arguments, decisions, prayers, meditation and illness is a perfect way to have this energy take form in your life and grow in power, presence, vitality and form.

TRY THESE COMMANDS

I call forth my I AM Presence in Its full Power and Knowing

I send unbounded Love to my I AM Presence and invite this energy into every aspect of my life.

I call the Ascended Masters to teach me about my I AM Presence

I release all my blocked energy regarding the existence of my I AM Presence.

I call for the expansion of my consciousness so I can embrace the I AM Presence as a force in my life.

Recognizing the I AM Presence leads to more abundance.  Every constructive form on the Earth came from some Cosmic Being’s Love.

Just add light... by ecstaticist

The birds, the trees, the plants, the water, the mountains, the animals and all of us came from Love.  It does not matter what we call this Comic Being.  It matters greatly what we learn from the beauty, love and power of life around us.  All life around us was created from Love because Love is the only eternal force in the Universe.  Further, Light comes ONLY from Love.   Light ALWAYS overcomes the darkness.

When we recognize our Mighty I AM Presence, we are saying YES to Love, to Oneness and therefore to Light.  Abundance is a quality of the Light.  Practice recognizing the Beloved I AM Presence and experience more Love, Light and Abundance in your life. We get all the help we need  as we begin to take steps  to bring this energy more fully into our daily lives.  As we begin to take steps towards the recognition of Divine Presence, the Love, Light and Abundance of life will show itself more frequently and completely in our day to day world.

Here are some folks questioning the purpose and experience of Silence, being answered by folks who have tried Silence and find It working for them.  These answers are paraphrases from individuals in my meditation and healing practice.

Why would you ever sit in Silence when there are ever so many other more interesting things to do?

Because in Silence, nothing is expected of me.  In Silence, I feel at ease, safe with no one asking anything of me. Perhaps that is a lot like hiding but when I come out of it, I don’t feel like I have run away.  I feel like I have run towards something that perhaps I don’t fully get but I know is great and it feels trust worthy.  Also, increasingly, the myriad of “interesting things” in my life is not helping me become more peaceful.   As long as I “do things”, I feel worthy, productive, competent and focused.  I feel more in control.  However when I stop, I know I am not in control.  It feels good to sit in Silence where there are no control games going on or even the pretense of those running in the background.  I love to do this in the woods, or at the beach.   It seems like a whole other way of  being.

I don’t see myself ever seeking Silence because my mind won’t settle down when I stop running from one thing to another.  There never seems to be any peace in Silence for me.

When I first stopped doing, thinking, running around, working,  to enter into Silence , my mind only knew how to keep thinking thoughts.  That is exactly what it continued to do.   I focused on my breath going in and out or sometimes on a candle flame or on the blank wall, and let my mind go.  Eventually , my thoughts silenced themselves because I gave them no attention.  Then real peace set in.  I would find myself  simply swirling along, not aware of time at all.  There is a great sense of floating at times and of taking a real break from demands, lists, concerns and responsibilities.  When I come out,  I am usually more centered and less frantic.  I’d like to be free of worry and concerns,  all day long.  In the meantime, I am getting healthier, while I practice getting there.

What could possibly be in Silence that I can’t get from putting my energy and efforts on what I like to do?

…perhaps a space where just being is a nice state.   It is a great relief to be able to sit in Silence and simply be there.  It is like taking a short nap for me.  I usually come out refreshed and feeling lighter.  I have no idea how that happens but I experience it again and again.  What I find in Silence is more space to be.  If I find that I can’t get away from issues and stuff from my daily life, I name them out loud and escort them back “outside the doorway to the Silence” and leave them there.  They are always there when I finish my quiet time but they are often different in ways, less pressing or I have some clarity about how to respond.  I really don’t know how this works, but it does.   I don’t get this type of refresher in the day just running around doing things on my list.  I like the sense of entering Silence and coming out of it, both.  It works for me.

Why would I ever consider Silence, I don’t like to be alone usually and I find it boring in the extreme.

Intentional Silence is completely different from being alone.  For me, I go into Silence to connect with a Greater Whole which I don’t fully get but know is probably there.  I never feel alone because I go with the intention of connecting with Divine Energy.   I don’t know about boring.  I did have to learn to be still and listen to the Silence.  There is a different kind of knowing there which I am slowly getting.  In the beginning though, it was simply a place of Peace for me.

I don’t like Silence because I don’t know what to expect and I can’t really figure out what I am suppose to be doing there.

That is a great reason to keep going there.  We don’t know what to expect most of the time in life.  I often get thrown when things do not go as I expect.  In Silence, I simply sit and am quiet and things happen in that space in a very different way than in my daily life.  I get the sense that the hardest issues for me to learn can be learned there.  I often get gentle nudges or hunches which help me when I leave that space.  I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing there for sure, but I go there because I feel better when I do.  I get to be there doing nothing, having no rights or wrongs in that space.  When I come out, I am more able to roll along with things rather than feeling I need to control them.   That has been great for me.

When my doctor asked me how I brought my blood pressure down without medicine after 10 years of it being too high, I told him through spiritual clearing and healing in Silence.  He just rolled his eyes.

But really, that is what I did.  I began sitting in Silence and when things came up which were stressful, I named them usually as a fear,  called out the blocked energy around them and asked for them to be consumed from my energy field. This process has worked for me, big time. Then I usually enjoy my Silence after I do my release work.  My blood pressure I guess was related to all the stress I was  carrying when I got angry, irritated or frustrated.  Maybe my cells just settled down as all those things left my energy field, who knows.  Anyway, my doctor is happy and I think I am a lot healthier all around.  ( for more on how to name and release) http://www.robbinshopkins.com/2009/09/calling-out-impatience-part-2/

Other Responses to Why Silence?

When I finally got to entering Silence on my own, I found it amazing that when I came out, I was clearer about the issues I was facing even though they were not specifically addressed by me in that Silence.

I found myself always making excuses for myself as to why I was drinking too much until in Silence I found a place to connect in stillness and within the quiet.  I then began to be able to consider getting help for my drinking habits.

When I was really lost, in a situation I was completely confounded by, doing things that were unfamiliar and sometimes unpleasant for me, I could always take 5 minutes in Silence and know I was still connected to the Greater Whole.

When I got to Silence even for a short time daily,   I began to see that my temper was less explosive and my language was more even, even the curse words dropped out in time.  Some type of peace was coming over me just by a few minutes in Silence.

Try Silence for several days, a few minutes at the time and then keep giving it to yourself, as a gift.  You are actually giving Divine Presence/Greater Whole/All That Is/your “I AM Presence” a chance to send you Love so that you will have more Light to bring to your body, your affairs and your thoughts. Love creates Light which heals us completely.  Sometimes we just aren’t creating enough Love of our “I AM Presence”/own True Self /Core Eternal Being  for us to generate enough Light to feel balanced, centered, content and whole.  When you enter into Silence:

1. set an intention ( say it out loud)  to connect with All That Is

2. to receive healing Love

3. to experience inner Peace, with time

When you leave Silence give thanks for whatever happened for you in that time, regardless of whether you think if was good or bad, well done or botched, helpful or unhelpful.  Appearances often deceive us.  Being in Silence with these intentions is ALWAYS HEALING even if we can’t see it in the beginning or on a specific day.

My time in India was a time of sharp contrasts and self-reflection.   I have not been surrounded by that level of ever present poverty with the exception of working in the Yucatan in the late 1960s, since I was in India three years ago.

Women in color by Robbins Hopkins

The contrasts of the grinding poverty and the brilliant saris in the middle of the street seemed strange.  Isn’t poverty’s color grey or somber?  Everywhere one looks in the towns is rubble, dirt, rocks, thatch huts, make-shift housing that is not make-shift, beggars, and need.  Yet the street markets are filled with flowers, fruits, and vegetables of every rainbow color. The living things of color dot the context of  greyness like determined hope.

Preparing our meal by Liz Spiwack

In the middle of all of this, a family serves 14 of us,  the guests, a hot lunch everyday we are in their home and invites us to bask in their cheerfulness and love.

One can see the need in the faces of the street children, their outstretched hands immediately present when we stop. More need is etched in the wrinkles of the aged women who live on the streets.

One feels the overwhelming press of people, everywhere.  When looking at the sidewalks, they are usually 4 deep with people, all the time.

Townspeople viewing an accident by Liz Spiwack

The roads are pressed with people, all the time.  There are those permanently connected to the ground through affliction and physical impairment, at every turn.

One has to release all sense of normalcy as we move through the throngs of people, motorcycles, auto-rickshaws, bikes, cars and trucks.  All is up to God, in every single way.  My sense of order, fabric of the society and the way one makes sense out of the world does not work in India as She has her own rhythm and vibration, completely apart from what is familiar to those of us visiting.  All the assumptions we hold do not work there.  There is another order of society which is not visible to us, however hard we try to see it.  I am constantly reminded that I am a visitor, in all ways.

The best we can do is to get a driver we can speak with who can be our go-between.  The best we can do is to eat all things cooked which are put before us and to eat nothing raw.  The best we an do is to be respectful of the religions ceremonies we are invited to attend and release all thoughts of what we are doing in India.  It is not clear why one is necessarily called to India,  it just simply happens.

Nothing is familiar, but a shared love of the Divine arrived at from vastly different paths, yet shared all the same. That is the amazing walk in India.

Puja ceremony by Liz Spiwack

Amidst an endless background of poverty, one experiences the holy shrines, the elaborate religious festivals, the chanting of devotionals, the taking of prasada, blessed holy food, the use of the vibuti, the gift of amrita and cum-cum.  All the outwards ways of worshiping, are unfamiliar but the sharing of the Energy of Divine Presence is completely familiar.

It is as if all the signals for living are completely switched around and one has to make one’s way on faith that all will be fine.  Every moment of every day, one has to walk in faith that all will be fine.  Simply the process of putting on a sari in and of itself is daunting.

Robbins dressed for the puja by Liz Spiwack

How does one put on 8 yards of material and move through the day?  All the conflicting energy around one’s public self and one’s private self gets a good shake-up.  Who are we really at the end of the day?  What is it that makes for order and “ordinary” time.  Certainly, not anything that shows on the outside.  That is all jumbled up because of the clothing we are wearing and the process of walking barefoot through all the shrines and homes, and the process of chanting and praying in Sanskrit, or Hindi, or English.  Can we really connect when we are this far out of our comfort zone?

I am so relieved again to find that my time in Silence is a constant.  It is a constant I can find again, there,  with all those people who are so different from me.  It is a constant that sees me through, even in the strangeness of the clothing I am wearing, the sounds I am hearing, the visions I am seeing, the smells I am smelling.  The Silence is my welcoming friend of deep solace.  It is my refuge that somehow reassures me that I am fine, that I am whole, that I am in that place for something I can’t understand with my mind, only with my heart.  Silence leads me to the space of deep connectedness with All That Is, including the very strange surroundings and customs I find myself partaking in.

Am I being true to myself?  What does all that even really mean, while being in India?  Do my outside actions really reflect who I am.  Probably not, as I feel off-kilter much of the time I am there.  I welcome smiles and kind words of those helping us through all of this.  I welcome the room given to us to rest where there is an air conditioner, a western toilet and places to leave our things.

Sari Lesson from Ribini for Robbins by Liz Spiwack

I am touched by the helpful hands of young woman who teaches me to wrap the sari more securely.  I welcome the intimate stories of the woman in conjunction with her husband and family, who has overseen the expansion of support for 25 rural schools in south India, the creation of an orphanage, a medical clinic and an aging folks home.  All this in the midst of overwhelming physical poverty.

Alter within a home by Liz Spiwack

In their home, there are two large shrines to All That Is, known to them and many others, as Sai Baba.  There are all sorts of stories of the pictures and statues spontaneously producing vibuti, sacred ash, which has to be scooped up regularly. There is another reality they are living with, which I thankfully know in Silence, Love and Blessing.  We connect even though we are worlds apart, we are One.  That is beyond all that I could ever imagine, really way beyond anything my mind could have thought of.  That is why I have been called to India.  We are really All One, even though we may only have a glimpse of it one day in India.

My thanks to Liz Spiwack, one of my traveling companions, for the sharing of these photos from our trip for use in this post.

Before I learned to go, first thing, to Divine Presence when in need, I would observe an imbalance or pain in my body and immediately begin arranging whom to go see about it.  I lived in doctor’s offices often going 2-3 times a week for a number of years. I was a medical junkie, literally looking for a high.  I thought I was taking care of myself.  I was physically.  It was wearing on me completely though, looking back on that time.   This was my response to chronic pain.  I went to have all sorts of therapies tried on me, seeking some sort of relief.  Usually the relief helped for a couple of days but in some cases, I felt the pain return driving home from the appointment.   If I could have taken the practitioner home with me, perhaps that would have extended the sense of well being!

From a purely energetic point of view, the most important thing each of us can do especially when we are sick or out of balance is to go into intentional Silence in the Presence of the Divine.

Life Goes On by Peyman

What we usually do is go to the doctor, chiropractor, therapist, gym, masseuse, a movie, etc.  We don’t generally go to God as our first response when faced with a physical or mental ailment.   This is a curious reality.   Seeking Divine Presence through Silence is much easier than making an appointment, getting dressed, finding transportation, maneuvering through traffic, sitting in the doctor’s office, all to don a paper gown for examination!  Further, after getting the help, we have to get dressed again,  pay the bill, usually head for the pharmacy, and then retrace all our steps home.  Alternatively, sitting in Silence is our own private route to Wholeness.

When we go to a practitioner, we usually go because we hope for help, relief, medicine, reassurance, caring touch, attention and information.  Why don’t we go first to Divine Presence when we are out of balance?  We can get the same loving assurance, help, relief, attention, and care in the comfort of our own home with Divine Presence.

Cathy did not enter into Silence because she was afraid nothing would be there. Burton said,  ” I get in there and am afraid I won’t get out or won’t want to get out.”  Sharon shared, “I am afraid of what I will find out about myself. ” Amelia revealed, “I am always so concerned about what I need to do, I just get antsy sitting there getting none of it done.”  Rob said, “I am afraid of all the anger I am carrying around.  It might get opened up and I could not put it back in. ”

Any of these feelings familiar to you? These are strongly felt feelings, yes, but with not one ounce of lasting truth in them.  The feelings seems powerful and real, because they are charged with emotion.  However, there is a deeper truth in Silence which amazes everyone I have ever spoken with who intentionally enters into Silence.

There is Lasting Truth in Silence.  It is the core of our own True Selves. There is more love and acceptance in Silence than anywhere else in the Universe.  The more we experience this, the more we can bring that love and acceptance into our daily lives.

Another way to look at this is, we live in a spiritual world which we are trying to experience physically.  We get as many chances as we want, to try and experience this earth dimension solely on a physical basis.  Something BIG is missing  though, if that is what we keep trying to do.

Pink autumn girl by Nuuttipukki

When I began to meditate I sat outside up against a large walnut tree which grew up through our second story deck.  I remember days of just sitting and realizing I was just sitting.  I felt safe and supported by that old tree.  The sitting in and of itself felt like a gift to myself.  Then I began to experience currents of energy I had not experienced before.  I remember one early day of sitting,  it began to snow.  I realized I was liking the Silence.   I got up to get some cover from the cold.  I found my bright pink and blue serape and hat, bundled up and returned to sit.  I thought, I must be meditating, why else would I be sitting here in the snow?  It was a great sense of peace and calm.

Silence is a self- teaching process.  If you rest into Silence, you rejuvenate.  If you float in Silence, you set down your burdens and responsibilities and when you come out you can reexamine what you want to pick up again.   If you enter Silence and “bad things” come up, you can name them out loud and command them out of your energy field. They are already there affecting our sense of peace and balance every day, anyway.  Feelings and thoughts are not our core being.  Welcome to you own true self, that part of you that is basically Silent at the core and from that Silence all else is generated.  Most of us spend 95% of our time with the “stuff” that is generated and next to no time with the core of who we truly are.

Peace by alicepopkorn (in and out)

The entire idea here is when we enter into Silence, we will get the help we need, in the way we need it, when we need it. The inner space is not about being alone, it is about connecting with Divine Source, Infinite Love and Boundless Possibility.  Why are you not availing yourself of this space of Utterly Available Wholeness?  It is the shortest way I know of to health, happiness, laughter and peace.

Check in with your “stuff” around avoiding Silence.   Begin by is sitting with Divine Grace/The Oneness/Spirit of the Living God who loves us each completely, thoroughly, just exactly as we are.  Take 10 minutes (by the clock) each day to begin with or join others in Stillness and Silence.  We don’t have to put on our best Sabbath behavior, clothes or manners.  We are already loved, we just need to show up to feel it reflected back to us.  Knowing Wholeness comes from the Silence.

“There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub.”   Elisabeth Kubler-Ross