At the office, you’re never fully disengaged from the people around you, or from your phone — which continues to provide a constant stream of input throughout the day. Many people think about the disciplines of solitude and silence the way they dream of getting a second home on a lake, or quitting their job, or traveling the world — something enjoyed vicariously in their imagination but not realistically within reach. Instead of getting out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off, or immediately checking your phone upon waking, lie there for a few minutes in silence; you’ll often receive very potent insights at this time. Quiet cannot be deemed essential to solitude for a similar reason. The corpses near me, crawling with lice, did not bother me. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; as we’ll discuss below, engagement with others provides an important balance to solitude. In solitude we foster a bond with others that the closeness of physical intimacy actually stymies in some ways. We all want to feel like people understand us. Your perspective may feel opaque, like a jar of muddy water that’s been shaken up. Silence and solitude remain firmly planted in the “Wouldn’t it be nice if…” category. Discipleship SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES FOR THE CHRISTIAN LIFE By Donald S. Whitney Lesson 9 Silence and Solitude “Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.” Philippians 2:12b (NLT) A Ministry of Rockpointe Church . “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” —Henry David Thoreau. As Fermor acclimated to his silent, solitary surroundings, he discovered he’d been living with a debt of inner exhaustion of which he’d been completely unaware: “I found that my capacity for sleep was becoming more and more remarkable: till the hours I spent in or on my bed vastly outnumbered the hours I spent awake; and my sleep was so profound that I might have been under the influence of some hypnotic drug . well described by Ohiyesa (Charles Eastman), a Sioux tribesman, even giving themselves painful electric shocks, As Manoush Zomorodi told me in my podcast interview, Turn your coffee-making/drinking routine, into a silent, rejuvenating ritual. Stillness. This solitude prepared him for the arduous mission ahead. Solitude and society are in fact equally important; each acts as a vital enhancement and balancing mechanism for the other. On the other hand you can become a hermit and never experience its power. Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. We can further define solitude on the basis of intentionality. Buttimer recommends incorporating “sacred pauses” into your day. If man is constantly exiled from his own home, locked out of his own spiritual solitude, he ceases to be a true person. Then, during your solitary retreat, you can mentally sift through this predigested intel and watch for what intuitions arise in your soul. Whether alone or among people, we always carry with us a portable sanctuary of the heart.” —Richard Foster. Do you think Jesus was strengthened by his time on the mountain? . . Commute to work in silence. We have radios in our homes, in our offices, and in our cars. SOLITUDE + SILENCE : JESUS AND THE LONELY PLACE Speaker: Darren Rouanzoin Date: 02-11-2018 — THE GARDEN CHURCH "in Long Beach as in it is in Heaven." Pray that God will lead you as you practice the disciplines of silence and solitude. Such discussions beget their own insights, which we can then mull over in solitude. We take disparate ideas and then push them together and come up with new concepts. To do what you must, and let people interpret your behavior however they will. Even when you’re around those who allow you to “be yourself,” social interaction demands great vigilance and requires a high level of energy and control. Every culture and era has offered distractions to busy hearts, minds, and bodies with words, ideas and more things to do. Do people in today’s world find it difficult to find “quiet time?” What are things that can either hinder or encourage this type of quality time? Did anybody have a bad week? Excited? We resist silence and solitude for the same reason we spurn rigorous self-examination: we’re afraid of what these disciplines may reveal about ourselves. And humans hate boredom. Scared? Don’t share anything on social media for an entire week. 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