If I have learned one thing, it is that every good thing comes from silence, for silence is our true nature. We impose noise on a potentially silent world and then wonder what happened to our peace.

The morning silence is the easiest to learn from. You are fresh from sleep and problems have not overwhelmed you yet. So you sit and relax and become silence itself.

Thoughts come from the ego and badger you into being noisy. Taking thought is like taking aim at a mirage!

You can say no to noisy thoughts and when you do by law they disappear.

My sitting continues throughout the day. It is my main practice and it has taught me the nature of surrender, for surrendering to silence is what brings me the most peace.

Go back to the New Testament and read it with new eyes. “Behold, I make all things new.” Everything that Jesus said is esoteric wisdom. The masses may parrot it but they do not believe it.

The true student is known by the true master and in that connection we come to know ourselves, to know the “I am.”

“I am” is not just an eastern teaching. It is an ancient truth covered over like a billboard with trashy images on it. Take hold of “I am” and you will be holding the hand of the cosmos.

At this point you must allow gratitude to form in you; you must let it bow to the “I am” because it is what gives your life meaning.

Vicki Woodyard