“I am convinced that the ear, on its own, is the essentials as it is the door that leads to the essence of all things, to the Being just as it also represents its opening to the world through the body. - Dr. Alfred Tomatis
17 and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son,[a] with whom I am well pleased.” Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
- Matthew 3:17-4:1
The wilderness isn’t a place of weakness, it’s a place of strength.
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
- Mark 1:35
Times of busyness requires more quiet time with God, not less.
And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
- Mark 6:31
“Internal noise is the running commentary in our heads on everything. The replaying of a lousy conversation with a friend over and over again. Our lustful thoughts for the girl or guy down the street. Our fantasies. And not just sexual; our revenge fantasies - imagining saying this or doing that to our enemies of choice. Our worry - the chipping away at our joy and peace with the hammer of ‘what if?’ The obsessing over hypothetical scenarios, role-playing the future, catastrophizing. Idealizing. Dreaming of the perfect life, which in turn poisons our actual lives.” - John Mark Comer, Pastor & Author
Symptoms of not prioritizing time with God:
Distance from God
Distance from yourself
Anxiousness about hypothetical situations or the future
Feeling exhausted
Feeling the need to escape reality
Living on edge; Having a short fuse
Four practical steps to enter into silence and solitude:
Find your eremos (a dedicated, quiet place).
Take your time.
Face the good, bad, and ugly in your own heart. Allow God to deal with those things.
Embrace the silence.
More important than talking to God is listening to Him.
Be still and know that I am God…
- Psalm 46:10