By Mark Stavish, M.A.
25 January, 1993
Updated: 02 November 2022
The following document was written in early 1993 in Providence, Rhode Island for a series of classes being held by the the local affiliated body of the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC). It is being presented here as its contents will be useful to those new to the Path of Return, as well as more experienced practitioners.
To “enter in the Silence” is the most profound aspect of all practical mysticism. We say practical because it is something which is applicable to our daily, mundane lives and affairs, as well as our spiritual life. This is not to say that our lives are divided into two distinct, almost separate spheres. Quite the contrary! Increasingly, as we advance on the path of the Inward, or Contemplative Life, our so-called “Inner Life” and our so-called “Outer Life” increasingly resemble each other. The profound and powerful realizations of the spirit impregnate our consciousness with ideas, desires, drives, and impressions that carry over into our daily affairs, and at times direct them with an “Other Worldly” power and presence that is felt by even those around us. The techniques that we apply to solving our spiritual problems and questions, or ‘mysteries of life,’ we find also answer our daily affairs as well. We must remember the Hermetic injunction of “As above; so below” or more aptly, “As Within; so Without.” Any system or philosophy that fails to recognize this basic fact of life can be called into question regarding its use in the spiritual (as well as holistic) development of humanity.
What is most amazing is, while the world cries out for the Peace of Inner Silence and is surrounded by information, both traditional and more modern; it often fails to find what it wants and most needs. It is like a man dying of thirst on an island in the middle of a lake filled with clean, pure water! While part of the blame for this rests, full square on the shoulders of the established “keepers of the keys to heaven” (or organized religion as we know it), the rest of the responsibility lies within each individual. Ultimately, within each individual is where ALL RESPONSIBILITY resides, and where we must go to find the Silence.
As stated, “the Silence” we are talking about here is not just a physical science, but an emotional and mental stillness that allows each of us to experience the stillness that can only exist in the presence of God, and that existed before the moment of Creation. It is here, that we come to experience our truly Divine origin, and where we realize our rightful place as a co-creator with the First Cause of all Creation. We in accordance with Divine Law; it is where we worship the Divine Source of everything and know firsthand the Divine Mind, Love, and Will manifest in every aspect of creation – from the atom to the seemingly infinite reaches of the celestial spheres!
“Be Still, and Know that I AM God.”
This was the injunction given to Moses and the Old Testament Prophets. It is more than just a simple sentence, or statement of fact. It is first an introduction of what to do: BE STILL. But what is stillness? It is the absence of motion, or power that can be directed./ Thus, we can be still in several ways:
- Physical and Biological Stillness
- Emotional Stillness
- Mental Stillness
- Spiritual Stillness
As can easily be seen, each of these types or forms of ‘Stillness’ are not really separate from one another, but build on each other as in stages progressing toward the final stage of Spiritual Stillness.
“Be Still, and Know that I AM God,” is also a statement of fact (…Know…) based on the direction of experience of the Godhead. We are told that in stillness we can have a personal, experiential knowledge of God. This differs from an idea of God arrived at either through intellectual gymnastics, or as ordained by an authoritarian clergy. Instead, it is personal knowledge!
The “I AM” is also an affirmation of the experience, and a means of having the experience. That is, we can read or say the phrase with emphasis on the knowledge of the stillness as the presence of God. We can also read it as an affirmation of our own Divinity, experienced in the center of Divine Stillness. A stillness that only we can enter for ourselves, but is ever-present within us as the ever-present grace and consciousness of the Divine.
When Moses encountered the “Burning Bush,” he asked it, “Who are you?”
To which he received the reply, “Eiheh Asher Eiheh.” This has been translated as, “I am that I am,” (Others have translated it as “I am becoming.”) In either case, the most important aspect of the phrase is on the affirmation of being, I AM, and that which affirms: that I am; or self awareness, consciousness, and self created-ness. When this is repeated as an affirmation, suggestion (statement of fact) by one in heartfelt and earnest prayer, one is stating that they desire to know and experience their Inner Self, devoid of any superficial trappings.
When we seek to experience the I AM of our being, we are asking to experience Being itself. All that we may have believed ourselves to be, our body, feelings, even our thoughts, are stripped from us (or willingly offered as a sacrifice) so that we may know ourselves, and hence, know God. It can even be rightly argued that it is a prerequisite that we make a willing sacrifice of our body, emotions, and mind before we can attempt to have is the “I AM” experience. Any attachment, conscious or unconscious will prohibit the experience. The only way around this is to recognize our need to detach from these aspects of our consciousness, and to ask for the help of the Divine in our overcoming them in an attitude of enlightened detachment.
When we speak of detachment however, it is critical to remember that we are talking of true detachment, born of a dispassionate concern. While we take care of and enjoy the pleasures of physical life, and the strength and the power of our emotions and mind, we recognize that they are but passing instruments of our soul. We love them for what they offer us, but we take them off like an overgarment when the time comes to experience our “I AM,” either in meditation or at death.
It is an obvious understatement to say that this is not an easy task, and that it takes each of us an unknown number of lifetimes and experiences to bring us to the point where we seek union with the Divine in the Stillness of our heart. The amount of time it takes to develop the skill required to enter into the Silence freely and at will is equally unknown and dependent on each seeker. Only dedication, devotion, and an increasing sense of Inner purity expressed in our life through daily action can lead us to the desired goal.
Often when we seek to learn how to experience silence, the world suddenly sounds loud to us. When we sit to meditate, our bodies cry out! Everything begins to ache, pinch, itch, or suddenly desires our immediate attention. When we learn to redirect our thoughts away from our body, then our minds, or emotions, will wrestle for our consideration. We remember every detail of yesterday’s breakfast, argument with our spouse, or the workplace. Once we have calmed down one thought or feeling, another, or a combination of several rise to take its place.
Once we have stilled the body, emotions, and mind, then the ego will cry out for supremacy. Great sense of self importance may attempt to distract us. Suddenly, we are separate from our fellow human beings because of our newfound practices. Spiritual, or Luciferian Pride, seeks to pull us from the necessary humbleness that will lead us into the Silent Inner Sanctum.
One of the most well-known examples of this kind of internal distraction and the reward for overcoming it is in the “Vision of Ezekiel,” in the first chapter of the First Book of Ezekiel in the Old Testament. Ezekiel is ‘taken up into heaven’ (or his Higher Self), and the many types of beings are disclosed to him. There, at the end of his spiritual journey, he heard “the Speaking Silence, in the midst of fire” (Ezek. 1:1-2:2).
Elijah was directed by God and went up to the top of Mount Horeb (made a spiritual journey) and was told to wait for the appearance of God. This was after he had been visited by an angel (his Higher Self) three times and fed with bread and water, and lodges in a cave (dwelt in meditation and seclusion). He experienced the blowing of a great wind, the rumblings of an earthquake, and the presence of a great fire (the symbolic tests of air, earth, and fire) as well as the traditional disruptions of the mind (air), body (earth), and emotions (fire). These three elements also represent the internal stages of inward progress, as well as a method of achieving it.
THE FOUR STAGES OF ELIJAH’S ASCENT
After removing himself from the troubles and turmoil of the world (going to the mountaintop), Elijah enters into a cave (into his own inner consciousness) and the Word of God “came unto him,” (his Divine Consciousness revealed itself to his calmed outer mind, as it focused inward). He is then asked why he is there. What does he want form his Higher Self? He responds that he wants to serve God, and then if instructed to go out onto the mountaintop where he is subjected to three tests of the elements: air, earth, and fire. Upon the completion of these tests, he hears the “still small voice” (19:12) within. These also represent the phases of the ascent of consciousness.
The “renting of the mountains” by the air represented Elijah’s solidified ideas (the mountains being broken before God, where God was not) into smaller pieces. On a practical level, it is the control of the breath, or breathing, in order to focus the mind. After the wind came and earthquake. This represented the trembling and fear as Elijah climbed higher and closer to God, and away from his earthly ego and his loss of attachment to material, physical things. The fire represents Elijah’s passions and emotions, and his final control over them, and focusing of them (stilling them) so that he can hear the ‘still small voice’ of the Divine. He is then sent back into the world to do the Will of the Creator.
Like Jesus later, Elijah was visited by the Angel of God, fasts for forty days, and then is tested three times before being sent on his mission.
JOHANNES KELPIUS: COLONIAL MYSTIC OF THE WISSAHICON
In his book, A Short, Easy, and Comprehensive Method of Prayer (1761, Philadelphia, PA), commonly known as A Method of Prayer, Kelpius outlines his method of prayer and instructions for history disciples. While much of the work deals with the effects of prayer and the need for an unceasing prayer that burns within, as well as essays on the Inner Fire and what to do when the spiritual drive begins to ‘burn low,’ there is also a section on silence. For Kelpius, the Prayer of Silence is the highest form of devotion a soul can offer unto God. It is in this Silence that God speaks to the soul, and allows her to exercise her powers and abilities most strongly. It is interesting to note, that like his ancient and medieval Jewish and Christian kabbalistic predecessors, Kelpius looks upon the soul as essentially female, with full knowledge that the soul is seen as the superior part of humanity.
Like the Shekinah (Presence of God), or Divine Bride of the ancient and medieval Jewish mystical circles, or the Mystical Lover or St. John of the Cross, and later Christian mystics, Kelpius refers to the soul in feminine terms. Kelpius points out to the reader than, “…God takes delight in instructing the soul as soon as the soul is attentive.” He makes the point in his first pages that all personas are capable of prayer, and that prayer is an essential part of this life on earth, even though “a greater consummation follows.” The Lord’s Prayer of Jesus is viewed upon as the ideal prayer, for it instructs us to pray for “…His Will be done in (sic) Earth as it is in Heaven.” Kelpius is quick to point out that if we were not capable of “sinking … our wills in the Will of God…” then Jesus would not have told us to pray for it!
