I was listening to a college professor being interviewed on the radio and as he told of a time when he brought up the idea of solitude to his students, he said one of them asked “Why would anyone want to do that?” It made me sad.
I equate solitude with silence, and this made me remember a bus ride years ago in Honolulu, where I watched one person after the other get on plugged into their Walkmans. I felt sad then too, because it felt like they were isolating themselves and because I felt they couldn’t be without noise. (Of course we can never be without noise, we can only choose the noise we want to listen to.) Now we have Twitter, FaceBook, My Space and numerous other social media sites. We can be alone in our homes yet not be alone at all.
Solitude has its benefits. Though its meaning is akin to loneliness, I think it’s the state of being alone without being lonely. It is being at one with yourself, providing time that can be used for reflection, meditation, creativity or enjoyment. Think about this for a moment, everything we do, even those things we do with others, we actually do by ourselves, so solitude isn’t something to be wary of!
Moments spent in solitude give me a rich, fulfilling peacefulness. I enjoy the quiet or creative moments, coming away with a feeling of satisfaction. I love walking in a wooded area, feeling the energies of the trees, listening to the birds, smelling the rich loam. I love writing at my desk, with only the sounds of nature and my pets around me. I love relaxing in a bubble bath, reflecting on my good, or sitting in my prayer chair, experiencing a deep meditation.
In our busy worlds, solitude is something we have to cultivate. It sooths our nervous systems, clears our minds, empties and then fills our hearts. It replenishes our soul. This is the most important benefit of solitude – replenishing our soul!
Ernest Holmes writes in the Science of Mind: “We are on the path of experience, just waking to the real fact of our true being; as we awake we find we are surrounded by many false conditions, but there is something within which remembers the real state. If we will sit in quiet contemplation of good, as an inner experience, we will experience the good which we contemplate.”
In moments of quiet solitude, we remember who we are – Spirit having an experience we’re calling being human.
Be still and know that I am God.
SPIRITUAL MIND TREATMENT
As I go into the silence, I breathe deeply and can feel the presence of the Source of all there is. I spend time here, remembering that all that I understand Spirit to be, I am. Spirit is not only within me, It is all around me, and even more than that. It is everything, manifest and unmanifest. It is Life Itself.
My soul yearns for me to consciously acknowledge it with spiritual nourishment. This silence is nourishment. As I move into the silent spaces between each breath, I let all thoughts be on God, the Beloved of my soul. I breathe deeply again, allowing peace to permeate every atom of my being. My body is refreshed and renewed. My mind is clear and my heart is pure.
I declare that I enjoy spaces of solitude in my life, and I cultivate more of them each day. These spaces replenish my energy levels and I am able to do what is mine to do with grace.
I am so grateful for the awareness of the beauty and benefits of solitude. I am grateful to be able to be in constant communion with Spirit. I release these words into the Law of Mind and know that they are done. And so it is.
