Quakers tackle religion in a very different way to any other religion I know. I sometimes call Quakers spiritual but not religious.
Quakers have virtually no set belief, but trust in silence to seek the Spirit.
This exploration looks briefly at one way that Quakers respond differently to the mainstream.
John Admin
Giving things time
This exploration arises from my Quaker background, and is a summary of a conversation between 7 people this evening.
What happens when people are perfectly comfortable going into silence, even in the middle of a conversation?
Perhaps, slowly, over time, they change, becoming more confident to speak and then act when it matters. Silence produces challenges, possibly conflict, which the silence itself will resolve.
Openness will accelerate as challenges are met. People who once seemed different (gay, trans-sexual, mentally ill, different culture) become equally valued.
The odd thing is, when the conversation tonight started, not one of us understood the changes that we had made in ourselves. It took silence to allow the topic to flower or crystalise in the way it did.
We realised that this is what made Quakers different from the norm, but it is also very powerful.
Try to notice when challenge and conflict are around, but do not be in a hurry to condemn or judge. Silence will transform a situation into something different.
