During my last term in the three-year course of study and training required to become a licensed Practitioner1, I created a spiritual practice that I call Morning Silence. This practice enables anyone to open an “access channel” that leads down to the still waters of creativity within. It’s very simple to do:
When I first feel myself beginning to wake up of a morning, when I’m in that in-between state of being not quite awake and not quite asleep, I invite my creative unconscious to provide answers and solutions to whatever project, or whatever topic, I have chosen as the focus for that session of Morning Silence. I place my request on what I call the altar of silence. And then I just lie there in silence, with eyes closed, as close to sleep as possible. Always—well, almost always—the images and ideas come. I then write them down as fast as I can, for they can quickly slip away once you open your eyes and drift up from that drowsy state.
Please note that the purpose of Morning Silence is not to think, but to sink . . . deep down into the brain-state level known as Theta, or even deeper into the upper tiers of Delta. My method of descent into the still waters is to become one with the rhythm of breathing as, like a pendulum, it swings slowly back and forth between inhalation and exhalation.
With practice, Morning Silence becomes like a Muse: a source not only for new ideas but also, on later occasions, for adding depth and breadth to those ideas. If, in your studies or scholarly pursuits, you encounter complex ideas that seem to resist your understanding, you can use this practice to help you digest those ideas. As Milton Erickson reminds us, “Your conscious mind is very intelligent, but your unconscious is a heck of a lot smarter.”
This practice can also be used just before falling asleep, to set in motion a healing idea that will resonate in the creative unconscious during the night.
Note
1. A Practitioner in the organization called Centers for Spiritual Living, and specifically at Founder’s Center for Positive Spirituality in Los Angeles where Dr. Arthur Chang serves as Senior Minister. After more than 20 years, my status is now Practitioner Emeritus.