Subscribers to the newsletter, Raven’s Bread, may borrow books from the Raven’s Bread Ministries Lending Library of 150 select volumes about hermit life. A catalogue of the books available will be sent, via email or postal mail, to anyone who requests it.  Up to three books may be borrowed at one time by sending $3.00 to cover P&H. These books may be kept for one month and returned at the reader’s expense.  (Sorry, but library books cannot be sent outside the USA)

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Raven’s Bread Ministries
18065 NC 209 Hwy.
Hot Springs, NC  28743
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Silence, The Mystery of Wholeness by Robert Sardello
 All spiritual traditions value Silence. The Tao Te Ching speaks of the Tao as "for lack of a better word, the Great Way. It flows, circles, flows and circles." So described, the Tao is probably the same as Silence, for the currents of Silence that I describe later are within this kind of imagination. Meister Eckhart says this of Silence: "The central silence is the purest element of the soul, the soul's most exalted place, the core, the essence of the soul." Here, the exalted place of Silence as constitutive of soul correlates with all that this book says concerning a new manner of living the great inner life. Pythagoras said, "Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb the silence." Silence is autonomous. It is beyond us; our task is to coordinate our being with the greater Being of Silence. The traditions have always recognized the autonomy of Silence. Silence is not something that we do, nor is it a personal capacity. We can become quiet and by doing so the door to Silence opens. Krishnamurti agrees: "This quietness, this silence is the highest form of intelligence which is never personal, never yours or mine. Being anonymous, it is whole and immaculate." Lao Tsu speaks of Silence: "The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return. They grow and flourish and then return to the source. Returning to the source is Silence, which is the way of nature." Here, what is spoken of as the Self corresponds with what in this writing we speak of as the capacity of attention necessary to find and be conscious with the Silence. Of the many things Rumi says of Silence, here is one: "Sit quietly, and listen for a voice that will say, Be more silent." (pp 1,2)