Emptiness is true medicine for the soul

Emptiness is true medicine for the soul. All great teachers have indicated this. My favorite sage is Ramana Maharshi; he was also an inspiration for my friend Peter.

We start off walking the path with great excitement and anticipation. We long to understand what needs to be understood. Ironically, the last thing to be understood is that silence is our true nature!

This is because human nature is constantly yakking about itself and therefore not listening to the silence.

Listening to the silence is beneficial to every part of our being and we prefer yakking.

Social life is one big yak-fest in which no one has ears to hear the silence.

The ego needs to be insulted and denied its false claims of legitimacy.

Vernon Howard taught his students how ignorant they were of their true nature. He knew that Sunday school lessons or words given from the pulpit would not help them to grow.

Under Vernon we were learning to suffer consciously rather than mechanically.

This teaching technique began with Gurdjieff, who insulted anyone daring to come close to him. Most teachers and students prefer to ramble endlessly about the light.

Being silence brings a renewal of energy and more energy can then be redirected to our messy complicated lives.

In the silence we come to know how we are forced to lie on the social level. We then value truth all the more.

Be still and know that I am God. Amen.

Vicki Woodyard