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The Still
Small Voice
by
Darla Isackson
The Sacred Grove
Copyright 2002 IRI
If I were the
adversary with all his centuries of practice at tempting and deceiving,
I would surely have learned what works best to thwart mankind. I
suspect I would choose as a primary purpose to distract people from
the guiding, testifying, comforting voice of the Spirit. Left on
their own in the natural man state people become (for the moment
at least) an enemy to God. So I would use all my accumulated knowledge
to present a million tantalizing options and noisy voices to preempt
and drown out the still voice of perfect mildness (Helaman 5 30),
the still small voice which whispereth (D&C 85: 6).
As Satan accomplishes
this goal in an incredibly effective way in our society, our
goal to hear the Spirit and teach our children to hear it becomes
ever more elusive. We are tempted away from things that matter most
by an array of incredibly attractive pastimes, media blitzes, and
electronic toys that our ancestors could never have dreamed of.
Hints from twenty-first
century technology promise us even more noisy things to do and less
time to do them. Yet the roar of jets and the speed of space travel
will never bring us closer to God; the computerized highways may
leave us spiritually stalled. Could we become "past feeling" because
we have not made ourselves available to the promptings of the Spirit
whose technology changeth not? I believe the basics of technology
have come through the power of inspiration. However, is it possible
that the super information highway of cable and fiber optics could
preempt the transformation of knowledge from the Spirit of the Lord
to our spirits?
Everywhere
we go there are technological temptations--most of them noisy, most
of them optional. I choose the noise of distraction when I hop in
the car and turn the radio on, cranking up the volume to a level
that eclipses all possibility of quiet meditation. Children choose
it when they walk in the house and immediately flip on the TV. Even
if only in the background (many say the TV keeps them company while
they do their work) the noise can be like static that keeps us from
picking up the still small voice. Many times we aren't really listening
to what the TV or radio are blaring to us, yet the very feeling
of the words, music, and sound-effects can influence us negatively.
Even if we develop the habit of tuning out all that noise, that
very habit makes it easier to tune out the Spirit-- and each other.
Sit
Long and Talk Much
Our
stake president suggested a couple of years ago that we needed to
get back to "the good old days" before the media had crowded out
the sounds of each other's voices, when people used to visit. Maybe
part of the challenge in learning to listen to the Spirit is that
listening in general is becoming a lost art. Sunday all five of
my sons and I sat around the table together for the first time in
awhile. We listened to each other for more than an hour! Why is
that sort of thing so unusual? Do pharisaic "to-do" lists sometimes
keep us from doing things that matter more? I have to admit that
I have sometimes experienced a visitor unannounced and unpurposeful
at my door as an intrusion on my "schedule." I easily forget what
it is like to "sit long and talk much" as my stake president suggested
we do with each other. I see a correlation: when I become "too busy"
to visit with others, to listen to their concerns, I suspect I am
also "too busy" to ponder, pray, and invite the direction of the
Spirit.
Choosing
the Environment of the Spirit
What
environment is most conducive for inviting the Spirit? How much
of the time do we choose that environment? During the paralympics
I was privileged to attend a sledge hockey game at the E-Center.
It was largely an inspiring experience to watch severely handicapped
men who had achieved such an amazing skill level and were in no
way lacking in the competitive spirit! However, the noise level
was deafening. They piped in jarring music at a decibel level that
made conversation impossible. "Scream!" cue cards were brandished,
the young people followed the cue.
The volume of
the soundtrack in movie theaters and the music at dances is often
so loud that we truly cannot "hear ourselves think" much less hear
anyone else talk or hear still voices in our hearts. To add to the
effect of the overpowering volume, the images on many TV programs,
movies, and video games change every fraction of a section, leaving
no time to consider, to ponder, to make judgements, to consult our
consciences, even to enjoy. Could high-speed bombardment of images,
ideas, and noise be part of a technique by the adversary to keep
our minds so busy there is no room for Him?
If young children
are allowed, even encouraged, to be in this high-speed, high-noise
environment a good share of their waking hours, how can they learn
to listen to their inner voice, and when can they process and sort
out all the information thrown at them? When can they feel the light
of Christ within them? How can they hear the Spirit? Most technology
can be used for righteous purposes. We can choose the environments
that allow us to benefit from them. Conference and many other edifying
Church programs are available to us via television. Who among us
viewing the movie The Other Side of Heaven about Elder
Groberg's missionary experience could avoid the positive spiritual
impact, the message of God's purposes in adversity, of His mindfulness
of each of His children? Too often, however, these technological
wonders portray worldly images and sounds that tend to make it more
difficult to hear the still small voice.
It is up to
us to choose our family environment wisely. We can work together
in gardens away from the noise, go on family activities to places
where the quiet of nature can create an environment for hearing
the Spirit. How wise the counsel of Church leaders to have quiet
times with our children--scripture study, family prayer, family
home evenings, personal interviews. How rare and precious the quiet
time of the sacrament, the quiet environment of chapels and temples.
After the spiritually edifying and moving Nauvoo temple dedication,
(made possible to members all over the world by the technology of
satellite transmission) members of my stake filed out of the chapel
in perfect silence. The contrast from our usual Sunday exodus impressed
on my mind the beautiful reverence of silence. How fortunate the
young people who shared in that experience where time stood still,
past and present merged, and the very veil of heaven seemed pierced.
There is no doubt the whisperings of the still small voice could
be heard in such a setting.
Finding
a Spiritual Oasis
Every
Tuesday morning I play the organ in the temple baptistery. In the
summer the chapel is often full of young people waiting their turn
to do baptisms for the dead. The first few times I watched them,
I thought, "What a waste of time! It's too bad more of them can't
come during the slow times so they wouldn't have so long to wait."
But soon I became aware of how precious these minutes were for them.
They were experiencing a true oasis in the noisy deserts of their
lives. No one was calling them to come set the table or do their
homework. No TV show was beckoning, tempting. No blaring music distracted.
They had nothing to do but think, pray, contemplate, or read scriptures
or church magazines. It was one of those precious and rare slow-down
times that can create the contrast we so desperately need in order
to notice that we are truly alive, truly moving through space. And
in those quiet moments I'm certain many of these young people experience
the sweet feeling of spiritual promptings. Once held in consciousness,
the experience begs to be repeated. When we find ourselves spiritually
disconnected while travelling the dry and barren deserts of life,
our oasis experiences compel us to seek the Spirit again and again.
And the promise is sure: as we seek, we find.
The challenges
our complex, corrupt, fast-paced society presents to our children
are astronomical. It helps for parents to be aware, to be forewarned
and forearmed. Amazingly, one of the most deadly dangers to spiritual
sensitivity is reflected in the oft-heard lament of young people
who, although they live in the whirl of more stimulation and information
and options than any other generation that has ever lived, cry out
repetitively, plaintively, "I'm bored." How could it be?
How
Do Young People Get Burned Out and Bored to Death?
I
am often reminded that both the noise and the pace of our lives
can keep us from feeling the Spirit. In a Newsweek article
printed December 15, 1997 called "Burned Out and Bored," Ronald
Dahl, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center, said, "Our fast-paced lives lead kids to seek every-bigger
thrills with ever-decreasing satisfaction."
Could it be
that reason this lifestyle isn't satisfying is because it is tailor-made
to shut out the voice of the Spirit?
Ronald Dahl
told of taking his nine-year-old to the amusement park where the
boy discovered he was finally tall enough to ride one of the fastest
roller coasters in the world. Mr. Dahl said, "We blasted through
face-stretching turns and loops for 90 seconds. Then, as we stepped
off the ride, he shrugged and, in a distressingly calm voice, remarked
that it was not as exciting as other rides he'd been on." He goes
on to relate the dilemma of parents spending more and more money
for more and more thrills for children less and less satisfied and
more and more bored.
Dr. Dahl tells
of his pondering to discover answers to the question, "How can it
be so hard for kids to find something to do when there's never been
such a range of stimulating entertainment available to them?" He
said the constant intensity of the stimulation is part of the answer.
"What creates exhilaration is not going fast, but going faster.
Accelerating from 0 to 60mph in a few seconds slams the body backward
with powerful sensations, but going 60 for hours on the interstate
causes so little feeling of speed that we fight to stay awake. At
a steady velocity of 600 mph we can calmly sip soft drinks on an
airplane. Thrills have less to do with speed than changes in speed."
The
Hurry Syndrome Affects Children Too
Dahl
suggests that we look carefully at the speed of our children's lives
in general. Think about it: is the typical child's schedule where
the morning rush to make the school bus is matched by a rapid shuttle
through after-school activities analogous to travelling on the freeway
with no stops, no slowdowns, no rests? Dinner, too, is often a series
of snacks eaten on the run. If they manage to rush through their
homework in time, kids want to 'relax' in front of highly arousing
images on the television or computer screen. Dr. Dahl notes that
even when tired, children often find stimulation through exciting
activities and that fighting off tiredness by going faster can turn
into a habit that is hard to change.
Going
Nowhere at Breakneck Speed?
He
continues, "Most important, as thrills displace needed rest, sleep-deprived
kids have trouble with irritability, inattention, and moodiness.
[I can't help but think how difficult it is to hear the Spirit when
I am exhausted because I haven't been getting enough sleep.] Ironically,
stimulants seem to help children with these symptoms. [Short term
benefit--long term detriment] I'm concerned about the cumulative
effect of years at these levels of feverish activity. It is no mystery
to me why many teenagers appear apathetic and burned out. . . Constant
access to high stimulation may also create patterns of emotional
imbalance. An adolescent moving too fast emotionally for too long
can experience the same sense of stillness as the airline passenger
traveling at breakneck speed."
The
Law of Opposites and Opposition
Do
Dahle's thoughts explain a lot about our current crop of kids? Could
we take the analogy a little further in regard to our need for changes
of speed to our need for contrast of experiences in every avenue
of life? Doesn't God's plan for mortality include contrasts between
good and evil, between light and darkness, between sickness and
health, pleasure and pain? The media can certainly be used as an
example of the contrast since we can see the extremes of each in
its various uses. Is the point to choose as much good, light, and
pleasure as possible and help our children do the same? Yes and
no. If we we sail swiftly on the wings of well-being, knowing no
need, feeling no relief from discomfort because we have none,where
is the learning, where is the joy? When do we tend to seek the Spirit?
When all is well and we have everything we want? No, when we are
lacking.
Boredom
vs. Gratitude
Surely
our children learn more from contrasts than they could ever learn
from sameness. Boredom is the opposite frame of mind from gratitude
and seems to happen when children are rescued from natural consequences,
are not required to work to enjoy material things, and are buffered
from the contrasts between having and not having. They don't appreciate
pleasure if they are kept from experiencing pain. When we try to
protect our children from contrasts or from deprivation, we unknowingly
are attempting to erect a screen between them and the Lord's wise
all-knowing plan. We may keep them from the very experiences that
would motivate them to reach out spiritually, to listen carefully,
to seek and hear the still small voice.
Turning
off the World to Tune into the Spirit
The
need to help our children find alternatives to the thrill-seeking
fast lane and find their own oasis in life's desert seems evident.
Only through the Spirit can we be led to Living Water. Only through
the Spirit can the Lord speak to our souls, comfort and heal and
guide us through life's difficult journey. By finding ways to choose
a slower, quieter version of life ourselves we can set the example.
Dahle concluded
his article by saying, " I am convinced that nothing could be so
important as finding a more balanced path, rediscovering slower,
simpler pleasures before we all become burned out and bored to death."
Perhaps this
secular author didn't realize that the reason nothing could be so
important, is that only in this simpler lifestyle are we likely
to create island of time for ourselves to listen to the still small
voice. Because it is still, because it is small, we need not only
ears to hear, but a modicum of quiet and solitude. Only when we
turn off the TV, turn off the blaring music, turn off the computer,
and listen--can we hear the priceless promptings of the Holy Spirit.
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Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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