This book (small, short, and an easy read) can be a good shot in the arm for anyone who however unconsciously, feels that prayer isn't worth the time and the effort. Writing out of a long habit of silent meditation, Ors show us what kind of gifts prayer can bring into our lives.
As I began reading Ors' book, I indeed found it short and easy -- but the further I read, the more I wondered about Rolheiser's commentary on "prayer." It seemed more and more to me that Ors was recommending "mindfulness" more than actual prayer, although he doesn't use either term. His book seems to be more about "paying attention" in silence to whatever is going on in our lives physically, mentally, spiritually. He writes about sitting in silence -- a somewhat painful practice at first-- and just observing what is going on in our lives. So far, he has not referred to a more "spiritual" process of invoking God as a partner in our observation, or of asking Divine Intervention in our affairs.
In full disclosure, I must admit that I have not yet finished the book, so I'm sure there is much more to come. However, since I trust Ron Rolheiser's judgment, I decided to try Ors' insight. Although it has been only a few days since I began to practice silent observation, I can already see that it is making a huge difference in my life with very little effort.
As with most older people, I often find myself wide awake in the middle of the night -- either because I have gotten up for the bathroom, or just because I have gone to bed too early and have gotten enough sleep by 1:00 am. Over the years, I have learned to welcome this awake time as a time of prayer instead of struggling to go back to sleep. After having read a few chapters of The Biography of Silence, I decided to practice Ors' method of simply observing, or of "paying attention" to my body, my mind, my spirit without commentary or narrative or even, at this point, prayer about the conditions.
My first observation that first night was of something that was actually keeping me awake: for a few weeks, I had been getting out of bed every day with some pain in my back, hip, and legs. I realized when putting up Christmas decorations a few weeks before, that my legs were hurting so badly that I had to sit down for awhile. I lay there in the middle of the night just paying attention to the pain in one leg, observing where it was, where it moved, and so on. No commentary, no real thinking about it. Just observing. The next morning, I began observing the pain in my hip and back as I arose and moved about the day. Paying attention to this one thing.
I did not pray about it or worry about it. I had no anxiety -- I guess I had been chalking it up to creeping old age for some time. But here's the amazing thing: it sort of dawned on me that although our mattress was only 4 years old, I might be needing more support than it was giving me. So I went to Walmart and bought a mattress topper that relieves pressure points and then put a small board under that for support. Bingo! no more leg pain, no more back pain! Simply by paying attention to this one thing.
And I began to notice afterwards how many things in my daily routine I was not paying attention to. Simple things, things that can fly under the radar without much consequence. So now I find myself slowing down every day to simply "pay attention" in silence, without judgment, without worry, without really trying to fix things. Just observing. And I realize now that simply paying attention is a form of prayer.
I think I'll keep reading The Biography of Silence. Thanks, Fr. Rolheiser!
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