“In the presence of whales a hush falls over people. Sacred awe, so profound that it becomes the deepest of meditative silence. Even when children are present they intuitively drift into the quietest of quiet. We have entered a temple of soaring grandeur, into a sacred space that transcends all cultures, all language, and all religions. Our hearts, our bodies, our thoughts, and voices respond. It is a place of “ah” where awe dwells.
What is it about silence, this sacred hush? In this silence there is a soft gentleness. Unconsciousness drifts away and one becomes supremely conscious. This is not imposed silence that evokes an urge to rebel and make noise, this is not the cold silence of anger refusing to speak, or the awkward silence of not knowing what to say. It is the silence of reverence.
In this silence, as in all types of meditation, the clutter of life falls away, all of the details and “shoulds”, plans and goals dissolve. The whales and the sea absorb them. The sense of internal and external ceases. As the quiet ensues, the mind and body expand, becoming different, somehow more, deeper, wider. We are touching and being touched by awe. In this cathedral of the sea, the awe radiates into exquisite love and we are engulfed in an embrace.”
Chorlton Unitarians 