"...Stillness is an art I have yet to master. When I attempt to isolate myself, lingering in prayer and basking in the Lord’s presence, I quickly discover that I can’t stay focused. My mind wanders, and prayers that begin with “Dear Heavenly Father…” end with “…I wonder what I will have for lunch?” Left to its own devices, my brain betrays me.
As it turns out, I am not alone, and this “betrayal” is actually a necessary part of the spiritual process. The Christian mystics identified a phenomenon that would later be labeled “the rush of a thousand voices.” As one settles into prayer and isolation, circumstances quiet. The immediate, pressing needs dissipate, and the mind suddenly discovers it has space to breathe. In that moment, all those thoughts, memories, struggles, and contemplations which have been pressed to the far corners of the psyche come rushing forward in one chaotic stampede. In the midst of this, those sins which we have justified become exposed, those crises which have burdened us settle their weight back onto our shoulders, and those decisions we have been putting off suddenly burst into immediacy. The rush is uncomfortable. However, before one can truly practice stillness, there must come a purging married to prayer." [More...]
Rush Of A Thousand Voices « Of Dust and Kings
As it turns out, I am not alone, and this “betrayal” is actually a necessary part of the spiritual process. The Christian mystics identified a phenomenon that would later be labeled “the rush of a thousand voices.” As one settles into prayer and isolation, circumstances quiet. The immediate, pressing needs dissipate, and the mind suddenly discovers it has space to breathe. In that moment, all those thoughts, memories, struggles, and contemplations which have been pressed to the far corners of the psyche come rushing forward in one chaotic stampede. In the midst of this, those sins which we have justified become exposed, those crises which have burdened us settle their weight back onto our shoulders, and those decisions we have been putting off suddenly burst into immediacy. The rush is uncomfortable. However, before one can truly practice stillness, there must come a purging married to prayer." [More...]
Rush Of A Thousand Voices « Of Dust and Kings