Pythagoras taught his studens silence before he taught them anything else. He believed silence to be the first part of contemplation and the way to enter into a relationship with the “music of the spheres”, the celestial rhythm of creation.

Genesis is full of the words, “and God said...” Speech is a proven method of creating! Silence was in the moment before God spoke. Psalm 46:10 tells a way to know God’s essence, “Be still, and know that I am God.” The Aramaic word for silence is Duma(h) or Douma, considered an angel of death (corresponds with the word doom). Duma is considered more of a fallen angel, and Shateiel is the twin who kept faith with God. Silence is a quality that can both harm and heal. Consider well how you speak and what you say, and know that oftentimes it is wise to be still before you use the power of your voice.

Imagine yourself in the high desert country. It is a comfortable day, the sun is just right and the wind is very low and lazy. The sage smells warm and edible. The sky overhead is the bluest you have ever seen.

Imagine you have been climbing upwards at a very easy pace through large boulders colored in tans, browns, and sandstone. As you have climbed higher and higher toward the blue sky, you have left the world and its noises behind you. In fact, your worries also seem to be dropping behind you. Far below, blanketed by distance and silence, is the world of automobiles, buildings, jobs, and people. Up here, among the silent rocks, it is just you and God.

As you come around the next huge boulder, you see an enormous angel dressed in pure whie witting on a large stone. It guietly looks at you and gestures for you to sit. Together you sit in the silence, among the warm stones, which echo eternity. This is Shateiel, guardian of the Silence, and she has shared her quiet moment with you. Shateiel’s companionable silence allows you to experience in ways other than with your mind, your heart becomes still, and as it does you relax even more. You sit until you think you can hear the sounds coming from the Earth herself. As you relax even more, you may hear God’s voice as a hum coming from the ever blue sky above you. As you return to the world below, your daily world, Shateiel’s gift of inner peace through silence will be with you.