“Sitting in silence with others can be deeply
healing. You’re not waiting for their next words. You’re simply going deeply
into the moments together, united by this quiet you share. As you open to it,
you can listen for what this rich silence is saying, to each of you and to both
of you.”
— James Miller & Susan Cutshall
Silence between two is always a
risk because we’re all so apt to break it and ruin the therapeutic framework
with words in an attempt to bring clarity of meaning to the moment. Of course,
so many moments are beyond faithful description or categorisation—especially
those in the realm of emotional richness and supernatural spirituality. There’s
too much of humanity in words and not enough of God.
God becomes realer to us in the
awkward silence—an awkwardness that transforms into sweet spiritual revelation
as we remain faithfully open to it and in it.
So words fail us, but we have an
all-sufficient sense that they will be our panacea, probably because verbal or
written communication with words is the most palpable way of expressing
ourselves.
But in the midst of pure healing space,
words have no role; no territory. The Spirit transcends all definable meaning.
The communication media of silence
and other wordless modes takes us immediately into a divine space where healing
may occur.
Practicing Healing Presence
How might we show that we care any
more than by allowing the sacred to enter the space between us and the one we
help; to respect them so much as to allow the silence to heal where words
cannot. We remove ourselves—in the role of therapist or carer—as the potential
barrier to the healing. We are merely a facilitator or conduit arranging the
environment to bring God’s will to bear. We would be invisible if we could.
Only those with eyes, ears, hearts
and minds fixed on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) can heal in his name. That might seem
obvious. But if we don’t ‘increase’ God and decrease ourselves (John 3:30) then
we will be an imposter.
Practicing healing presence is all
about utilising the power of silence in poignant moments, particularly when
persons are temporarily open to receive either holy revelation—as 1) a concept
of understanding, or 2) a means of the action to take in order to become
healed—or the healing itself.
***
There is healing in silence, where
our faith transcends words. God doesn’t need our words in order to heal us or
others, and, though words can play a role, they generally get in the way,
distract us, or complicate matters even more. Much more may be communicated—for
healing—through spaces and interactions devoid of words, but rich in unspoken
meaning.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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