The Pooling of Silence

When we come together to sit in Centering Prayer, we are contributing to an accumulation or reservoir of silence. Thomas Keating calls this "a pooling of silence," defining it as "a kind of liturgy."

Liturgy, literally "the work of the people," is the storyline that binds us together as a worldwide community of God. Through the liturgy of silence, we are never alone, because we are surrounded by the thousands of folks who are praying with us around the world.

We may not think of silence as a kind of liturgy, just as we may be deaf to the silent spaces between the notes in a piece of music. The violinist Isaac Stern said "the music happens between the notes," implying that the silence creates and emphasizes what occurs on each side of the silence, before and after. Yo-Yo Ma, the renowned cellist, speculated that the transfer across the space between two musical notes could be like crossing into a different universe and then "suddenly the second note is a revelation."

It seems that our postmodern culture has forgotten the power of silence and wants to eliminate it from our lives. Every waking moment is filled with listening to TV, radio, podcasts, videos. It seems that most people walking, riding bikes, or working out at the gym have earbuds filling the space that used to be silence. We have become so addicted to noise in our ears that some even need sound machines to sleep!

Our communal silence in Centering Prayer is an intentional way of sharing our oneness with God and each other. Just as our voices join together in singing a hymn of praise, our silence unites and becomes one in this prayer without words. Just as a choir brings a blended unity to a song that cannot be matched by a soloist, so our cumulative silence in Centering Prayer becomes so much more than our individual silence.

In our silence, we give consent to God's presence within and among us. Whether God's presence is felt or unfelt, the silence represents and continually reminds us that God is here and now. Our minds may try to crowd the moment with thoughts of yesterday or tomorrow, but the silence stands as a spaciousness that cannot be filled.

The pooling power of silence is experienced in the hush of a large crowd. Whether in a sanctuary, theatre, or arena, anyone who has heard a gathering of hundreds or thousands come into a silence where "you could hear a pin drop" knows the power of silence multiplied among us.

Silence opens a space for God to be known. God roams wild in this unbounded silence, unconfined by our words and concepts. Some have heard God's "still, small voice" in this space. Whether we hear an audible voice in times of silence, God tells us to "be still and know that I am God."
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As we join together in Centering Prayer, not only physically in a room together, but the thousands around the world who are simultaneously praying with us, we join the silence of our souls and allow God to make his divine presence known deep within and among the silence of our hearts.