The Quiet Place

The Quiet Place

It’s very still here.
There is a peace and silence that is deafening.
It is a place where nothing seems to be able to touch me.
It is a place where I can stand and
     watch the whole world spinning by,
          whirling in its array of activities
               and struggles
                    and conflicts
                         and joys
                              and anguish;
yet I remain still, untouched.

It’s neither a warm or cold place.
It’s neither an easy or difficult place.
It’s neither a sad or happy place.
It just is.
There is no activity here.
There is no hurry to get to the next appointment
     or finish the next project or to …
there is just IS.

There is a certain detachment that allows observance here.
There is no judgement,
     but rather a tremendous and profound permission granted
          from some unknown source
               to simply be and accept.

Others could confuse this place with depression,
     for in this place there is such an absence of emotion.
But when you settle into this place,
     you realize that there is profound peace.
This is not depression.
This is oneness.
Feelings run deep here,
     yet merge into the oneness of being.
Pain and joy are one.
Sadness and elation are one.
Ecstasy is the constant state — yes, bliss.
Yet this is not how I would have described those terms
     in my human ego’s perceptions.
Ecstasy and bliss are states of being,
     not states of doing.
And the ego know nothing of being.
The ego only knows doing.

How does one get to this place?
Everyone is on their way to here in their own time.
Every experience is preparation.
Every moment is a step closer,
     even when you feel like you are running the other way.
It’s all part of the journey to the quiet.
It’s a place where everything is reduced
     to its simplest form and meaning.
It’s a place where the criteria for choices becomes
     whatever allows you to continue being;
          not getting caught up in doing.
Many struggles may lead you to this quiet place.
Yet when you arrive,
     suddenly there is peace.
Everything else has simply fallen away.

How did I get here?
Carrying wood.
While carrying and stacking firewood to provide heat for the winter,
     I suddenly arrived here.
Carrying wood made sense to me.
Carrying wood helped me to get to “being” instead of “doing.”
How long can I stay here?
Each time I arrive here I am able to stay longer,
     but then my ego pulls me back into “doing.”
Yet each time I come back here,
     I get into deeper chambers of this quiet place,
          and I get more comfortable with “being” and not “doing.”

It’s very still here.
This place is where God lives within me.
This place is my soul.
This place is my oneness with every creature
     and with every point in time.
This place is my truth, my essence.
This place is sacred and to be honored above all else.
This place is Love.

Intuitive Living: A Sacred Path by Alan Seale