God relates to the world, not just in speech, but also in silence. This silence is in no sense a rupture in the relationship but rather the continuation of that which was the Father’s togetherness with the Son in the Holy Spirit in eternity before the creation: one being in love. — Adrienne von Speyr
What is the relationship between silence and speech? Isn’t it rather like the relationship between music and silence, or between a film and the screen upon which it is projected, or between printed words and the page upon which they are printed?
It’s easy to assume that silence and speech are somehow intrinsically opposed to each other, the way day is opposed to night or indifference is opposed to love. But the Swiss mystic Adrienne von Speyr (1902-1967) invites us to consider that silence and speech, at least in regard to God, are not so much a binary as a spectrum. Silence, after all, never goes away, not even during speech — for silence is the foundation of speech the same way that a sheet of paper is the foundation of writing.
For von Speyr, there is no ultimate distinction between silence and speech, for they are “one being in love.” In other words, there is a fundamental nondual unity here that goes deeper than any apparent difference or distinction. From the heart of that nondual unity, we can see that, mystically speaking there is no foundational difference between words and the absence of words — for both are immersed in the unconditional love of God, and it is in that love that all distinctions and differences melt away into blessed oneness.
It’s important to remain mindful that the fundamental unity in all things does not mean we no longer need to experience or respond to the ordinary tensions and conflicts of existence. Divine unity and nonduality do not exist in spite of the normal divisions and disconnections of our world, but rather they manifest through or even within the ordinary distinctions of existence. Trusting in the infinite unity of divine love does not excuse us from the struggle to end injustice and dismantle privilege. On the contrary, the nondual presence of divine love serves to empower us and help us commit to building a more truly just, equitable, and inclusive world.
Even when it seems like we are caught in the tensions between good and evil, or between justice and oppression, or between conflict and reconciliation, we can remember that at the deepest level of all, we are one — and we can know, experience and share the deeper/deepest unity. This is the vision that supported von Speyr’s life as a mystic and writer. That vision is accessible to everyone, and to the extent that we immerse ourselves in that vision, we are made available for divine beauty and the wisdom that flows to us, through us, and to the world at large. All contains love, all is real, all invites us to know truth and goodness and beauty. We simply embody the miracle — and do what we can to share the miracle with others and with all.
Quotation source: Adrienne von Speyr. The Boundless God (p. 68). (Function). Kindle Edition.