The Altered State of Silence
The Altered State of Silence - Promoted by Both New Agers and Christian Leaders
Different than finding
a quiet place away from noise and distractions, the silence is
referring to a stillness of the mind.
Ray
Yungen, author of A
Time of Departing, says it is like putting the mind in
neutral. Contemplatives say it is like tuning into another frequency.
New Agers call it different things like a thin place, sacred space,
ecstasy; whatever it is called, both New Agers and Christian leaders
are telling us we must practice silence and stillness if we really
want to know God. Here is a sampling:
"What you need is stillness and silence so that the sediment can settle and the water can become clear." —Ruth Haley Barton, "Beyond Words"
"The basic method promoted in The Cloud is to move beyond thinking into a place of utter stillness with the Lord ... the believer must first achieve a state of silence and contemplation, and then God works in the believer's heart."—Tony Jones, ATOD, p. 174
"Progress in intimacy with God means progress toward silence.... It is this recreating silence to which we are called in Contemplative Prayer.—Richard Foster, Be Still DVD participant
"It is through silence that you find your inner being."—Vijay Eswaran, In the Sphere of Silence, excerpt from website.
"This book [In the Sphere of Silence] is a wonderful guide on how to enter the realm of silence and draw closer to God."—Ken Blanchard
"[G]o into the silence for guidance"—New Ager, Wayne Dyer, ATOD p. 18
"While we are all equally precious in the eyes of God, we are not all equally ready to listen to 'God's speech in his wondrous, terrible, gentle, loving, all embracing silence.'"—Richard Foster, Prayer, Finding the Heart's True Home, p. 156.
"When one enters the deeper layers of contemplative prayer one sooner or later experiences the void, the emptiness, the nothingness ... the profound mystical silence ... an absence of thought." —Thomas Merton biographer, William Johnston, ATOD, p. 33
"In the silence is a dynamic presence. And that’s God, and we become attuned to that."—Interspiritualist, Wayne Teasdale, ATOD, p. 55
"I do not believe anyone can ever become a deep person [intimate with God] without stillness and silence."—Charles Swindoll, ATOD, p. 190
"The most important human activity in the life of any believer is spending time with God in meditation," referring to his 3 part series, Meditation: The Power of Silence.—Dr. Charles Stanley, Be Still DVD supporter (This meditation series is mentioned at the 19 minute mark on the 4/11/06 radio broadcast)
From the Be Still DVD:
"One of the great things silence does, it gives us a new concept of God."—Calvin Miller, Be Still DVD participant
"[I]f we are not still before Him [God], we will never truly know to the depths of the marrow of our bones that He is God. There's got to be a stillness."—Beth Moore, Be Still DVD participant
