Real inner silence is a fundamental change in the way we approach the life and living in the world. In moments of calm we can feel suspended in silence, but that mood vanishes after immersing ourselves in the affairs of everyday life. To live inner silence calls for a different point of view. It calls for a clear-eyed exploration of my sense of self and all the defenses and behaviors I put up to protect it. It calls for embracing the truths that I am not more important that anything or anyone else, that I am going to die, that everything I care about and work for will also pass away, that the limits imposed by my self-image are unnecessary and detrimental to my wellbeing. That I and all of us are all mysteries. Inner silence is the result of completing revamping our lives to the point that each becomes part of something incomprehensibly vast. Only from this vantage point do we feel clear and peaceful, and everyday life becomes an experience of elegance and lightness. As frightening as all this may sound, it is infinitely better than the alternative–a life based on illusion and self-absorption. The yearning for what was, for people in our life, for a feeling of security, these feelings are still there, but they no longer have power because we know our real situation:  single candles burning for a brief time, floating in a universe of uncountable stars.

In this series of classes, we will use energy passes, breathing exercises, and guided visualizations as an avenue to wake up our magical side and the certainty that we are simply part of “it.”