Spiritual Calmness

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Calmness is one of the beautiful qualities of the spiritual person.

It includes calmness of the heart, nerves, thought, senses,

behavior and body. A quiet person's heart never becomes

troubled for any reason. He does not lose his calm no matter

how the problems are caused. As the prophet says

" Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall

not fear; though war should rise against me, in this I will be

confident " (Ps. 27:3). It is this type of calmness that comes

from faith.

If one loses ones inner peace, everything will look disturbed in

ones' eyes, and what is simple will seem complicated. This

complication is not from the outside but from the inside. When

the heart is calm the nerves will also be calm. In this case one

would not lose temper but, instead, quietly solve the problem.

If the mind fails to solve a problem, the nerves interfere to help.

The agitated nerves might announce the lack of a solution, and

the more the nerves are troubled, the more they get agitated..

A person with a calm heart and nerves would be able to obtain

quietness in thought and action. His thoughts will be balanced,

void of any disturbances. Therefore, he will act in a quiet and

sound way, far from anger or anxiety.

What helps a person to gain inner peace is outer peace, a

peaceful environment that. has no agitating effects. For this

reason, monks live in the peace of the wilderness, far from

noise, people's clamor, and any agitating news or incidents.

They would have usually got used to this calmness..

The life of loneliness and isolation generally brings calmness,

because all the senses are calm. As our saints say, the senses

are the access to thoughts. What you see, hear and touch gives

you thoughts. If your senses are at rest from gathering news,

you will be relieved from thoughts.

A quiet place helps the senses to be calm, and consequently

leads to the calmness of the thoughts, heart and nerves. That is

why many people avoid noisy places, seeking peace of mind.

Those who love calmness search for it with all their strength,

but others, alas, love clamor and could not live without it.

The Elements of Calmness

Calmness has to involve the human being's whole life: inwardly

and outwardly; what is apparent and what is hidden. Thus it

must include:

1. Inner calmness: which is made up of tranquility of the

mind, serenity of the heart and calmness of the thoughts.

2. Calmness of the body: which consists of the stillness of

the senses and calmness of movement.

3. Calmness of the nerves: which consists of the serenity

of the features and the spirit of cheerfulness.

4. Calmness of speech: which also includes calmness of

the voice.

5. Calmness of behavior: which consists of a serenity in

practical matters of life and in private behavior, and a

calm approach to solving any problem which the individual

might meet.

There are other things which are connected to all these kinds of

calmness, which are:

a. Peace of nature, a peaceful environment and quiet place

in which to live.

b. Virtues associated with calmness

c. Nature of calmness: is it true peace or just a superficial

or temporary calm, or the calmness of inexperience?

d. Practical examples of true calmness.

True Calmness

1. We cannot judge whether a person is calm or not until

his calmness has been tested.

A person may appear calm, because the external conditions

which surround him are calm. No problem or provocation has

yet occurred to put his calmness to the test. Though if you

clash with him he will probably show his real self, and show

whether he is calm or not.

It is only when one person clashes with another over a matter of

opinion or behavior, or when insult or injury befalls him or he

is faced with hurtful words that, according to how he behaves,

he can be judged as to his calmness.

It is the same situation if he falls into a problem or into

adversity, or becomes ill or faces some difficulty. All of these

could be a test for his disposition and his nerves. How does he

behave, how does he react? Does he lose his calmness, or does

he endure and solve the problem calmly?

This is the first test of true calmness. Any person can be calm

when circumstances are calm.

2. The second test, however, is how long the calmness

lasts. Real calmness is a continuous tranquility, something like

a characteristic. It is not to be calm for a period of time after

which a person loses that calm and changes its way of holding

out in the face of problems.

True calmness is not just training for endurance for a specific

period of time. It is a tranquil nature which continues in its

calmness however long the time and however the situation

changes.

True peace is not a veil behind which a restless character hides,

only to be brought to light by unexpected events!

The person who is tranquil by nature is not hurt by problems or

clashes, rather the contrary, they show up his compassion, his

gentleness and kindness of heart.

Saint the Apostle lived in difficult surroundings,

" in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, in stripes, in

imprisonments,... " , nevertheless he said in the introduction to

all this, that it was, " in much patience, " . (2 Cor.6:4-5) And he

said, in the spirit of faith, " Therefore we do not lose heart. Even

though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is

being renewed day by day. " (2 Cor.4:16). He also referred to

all his problems and hardships by the phrase, " For our light

affliction, which is but for a moment " . (2 Cor.4:17).

3. True calmness is not external but internal. This calmness

does not only show on the outside whilst a volcano rages

within. On the contrary, a person's internal peace is the source

and origin of his outer calmness. We will speak about this point

in greater detail when we talk about the tranquility of the heart.

4. There is a difference between true calmness and

impassiveness, which might well be a kind of coldness that is

meant to provoke.

The calm person, one who loves peace, is not only calm himself,

but tries to make others around him calm to spread peace

around them. But it might sometimes happen that a person with

strong nerves may put up with a fretful friend, replying to him

very calmly or very coolly in a way that actually provokes his

nerves even more, and makes him more agitated. This

increased agitation is then met with even greater calmness and

cold composure on the part of the one with the stronger nerves,

who takes pleasure in provoking his unfortunate friend and

making him an object of criticism in front of those present.

This sort of calmness is not at all what is meant by spiritual

calmness.

The spiritually calm person does not demolish another through

his own calmness. His fretful brother is entrusted in his care.

He is responsible for safeguarding his brother's nerves and

reputation and to lead him to find peacefulness too.

Consequently, he would not provoke his friend because he

himself is a lover of peace. He wants peace for others just as he

wants it for himself. He does not let the Devil of False Glory

attack him with a 'bogus peace', in which he would provoke his

brother to become his angry and agitated adversary by

maintaining a false, proud, superior calmness at his brother's

expense. Satan would indeed be pleased to see him induce such

an angry and exasperated state in his opponent.

The successful person does not gain spiritual satisfaction from

seeing the downfall of another, but rather, as a result of his own

calmness, spreads peace to all. He meets others calmly,

whether they are for him or against him. If he finds that the

other person is angry, he placates him with a gentle reply and

not one likely to rouse his anger. (Prov. 15:1)

5. The peaceful person may be calm by nature by being born

that way or, his calmness may have been acquired.

The naturally calm person does not make great efforts to arrive

at a state of calmness, because he shuns all that is not peaceful.

As far as acquired calmness is concerned though, this requires

effort and practice and is a subject which we will discuss later,

God willing. Every effort that is made to reach a state of peace

has its own reward.

A person who needs to strive to acquire calmness may attain

such a state gradually. But having attained it, he no longer has

to make such strenuous efforts because at this stage, he will

have become firmly grounded, stable and experienced in the

life of peace. Thus he retains that which he has acquired by

hard work and of course by the great assistance of God's grace.

Saint Moses the Black is a good example of someone who

acquired calmness through training. He was not born like that,

but in fact he started life as a cruel murderer. Then when he

entered the monastic life, he began to discipline himself in

calmness until he mastered it so well that when he was called

for his ordination as a priest, and the Pope ordered him to be

sent away in order to test him, Saint Moses left quietly, blaming

himself without feeling upset inside. Then, when they allowed

him to return, he went back quietly without hurting his dignity.

In view of this, it was not so strange that one of the saints saw

him in a vision being fed on honeycomb by the angels.

If you are not calm by nature, do not make excuses saying:

" What can I do?! I was just born that way!!

Even if you were born that way, or inherited a lack of calmness

from father or mother, that is no excuse. You can change what

you inherited. Someone who has not obtained natural calmness

can acquire calmness by training himself, and striving hard to

gain it. The qualities which a person is born with are not as a

fixed rule unable to be changed. They are so easily changed if

the good intention exists, accompanied by a sincere

determination, hard work and effort, then the Lord will give you

a new heart, removing from you the heart of stone and give you

a heart of flesh as he promised. (Ezek.36:26)

The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is

his success, his influence, his power for good.

Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.