Thursday, December 01, 2005

Consciously Silent

"Consciously Silent

Every time, before you eat, take a moment to be silent. Close your eyes if you like, or just fix your attention on a neutral object or point. Take a few slow, deep breaths. Think about your body and that you’re about to feed and nourish it. Gather a sense of gratitude about the food, and know how lucky you are to have it when many others don’t. Remind yourself of your commitments to eat well, but just enough. Remember that you love your body, and yourself. Then be silent again for a little while.

Silence is anything but empty! When you put yourself and your thoughts aside, you let God come into your awareness. You come to sense that all is right and well with everything and with you.

Being consciously silent before eating can ground you, making you aware of the magnitude of what you’re about to do. You are taking another living thing’s life into your body. Food was once alive and by the act of eating it, you claim its life for yours. You are continuing the flow of God’s magnificently intricate eco-system with each bite.

The silence allows you to access the deepest part of your being -keeping your conscious mind's chatter at bay for a moment – for you to experience the truly awesome living God-energy that you are.

Return to the beginning of time, to the beginning of creation for a moment – in silence. "

Norris Chumley