“The Mud” in my life has been caregiving, death and grief twice. Out of these experiences the lotus has arisen, but not completely and not without intense inner work. You see, outer work is valuable but without inner work, the lotus does not stand a chance.

Inner work is invisible to everyone but it must take place or the lotus will not bloom. The Work is the milieu in which my inner work is done. In silence I lean toward peace while my ego leans towards power. It is the same with all of us. As hard as we work, the ego is doing its dastardly thing.

Human beings are complicated while silence is oh, so simple. The mind is churning out its ridiculous and monotonous thoughts while the inner Self says nothing.

Listen carefully; this is about energy and how it works. The ego drains your energy while consciousness soothes you. Silent consciousness is the lotus in the mud.

There is no such thing as chance or accident as far as human souls are concerned. There is a pattern from which we cannot stray. We must die to thought and rise into silence. We all know how hard that is, but our efforts will take us a long way.

Sitting in silence, the mind tries to escape into thought.

Escaping into thought has never worked, not once. Oh, practical thought is necessary to survive in the world, but silence is about the higher worlds.

I once wrote that if we listen, we hear a symphony of silence. I once heard the angelic choir and I shall never forget it.

So keep sitting with your thoughts as you breathe in and out. The one who listens to them is not the one that is thinking them!

Vicki Woodyard