It has been pointed out that one of the main differences between spirituality and religion, is that religions seeks to talk to God and to be heard; while spirituality is the practice of listening to God. Those who have grown up under the heavy hand of religion and have been preached to by preachers, priests, rabbis, and parents, are not expected to think for themselves. Instead, they are required to absorb and to accept all that they have been told. The time that they spend in prayer “talking” to God is generally supplicating, begging, and pleading for something and for which in return, they promise to be “good”. If God were actually someone “up there listening”, he – or she – could not be heard amid the loud laments and pleas of the one praying. It is akin to a situation where two people are talking at the same time, but neither is hearing what the other one is saying because they only want to be heard, and because they do not believe that the other has anything of value to say.
Those who are on a spiritual path, seek first, the silence. They sit quietly, they breathe deeply, and they listen intently. Oftentimes, simply quieting the mind, meditating or observing nature is all that they need. As they sit in silence, they begin to know “the peace that passes all understanding.” It is in these quiet moments that the need to speak subsides and the ability to listen grows stronger.
Water has long been known to be a conductor of messages from the subconscious. People often report having received their greatest ideas or answers to problems while in the shower or the bath. Once the art of listening has been developed, an epiphany can occur at an unexpected time and an unexpected place. When we seek to understand, rather than to control the events in our lives, we ease the grip of anxiety. We can release attachments to particular outcomes and relax into not knowing, knowing that answers will present themselves at the perfect moment and in the perfect way. Outside approval is no longer needed when we seek inside, rather than outside of ourselves. Our intuition will never let us down, but we must be willing to be quiet – as quiet as a church mouse – in order to hear it.
