Quietism
“What is Quietism?”
It is a level above Noise-ism.
Quietism teaches that spiritual peace, and even perfection, can be achieved through quiet, inner contemplation. The practitioner of quietism seeks to subdue desire and become totally passive, spiritually.
This is the opposite of singing and praying out loud.
In quietism, one can achieve a ‘sinless state’ by inward contemplation, ridding the soul (mind) of all troubling desires. The aim of quietism is union with God, a state of pure consciousness.
The Eastern Orthodox Church suggested, “The supreme aim of life on earth is the contemplation of the uncreated light whereby man is intimately united with God”.
A state of imperturbable serenity was seen as a desirable state of mind by philosophers such as Epicurus, Pyrrhonian, and the Stoic school, and also by their Roman followers, such as the emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Quietism was mysticism within the Roman Catholic Church during the late 1600s. The Cathars’ denial of the need for sacerdotal rites has been perceived as a form of quietism. The founder of the Quaker movement, George Fox, recognised that spirituality is achieved by paying attention to the Holy Spirit – the godhead – through silence.
In these ways, Quietism resembles Buddhism.
There is a natural, silent stillness within us all;
it’s what we are … after all!
Distracting this natural, silent stillness within us all
is an unnecessary antidote.
