Invitation

The Meaning of Selah

The word “Selah” is mysterious at best, found mainly in the Psalms of the Torah and a few other places in the Bible. Its use in the Psalms may indicate a musical interlude. It has been translated to mean “to pause” or “to stop and listen” or “to give attention to something heard.” For us “Selah” represents the space between words, the heart of silence, the space for contemplation.

It is a simple and sacred word that invites us to pause and ponder.

Selah…

When we pause good things happen. When we pause divine things come to our attention. When we pause the Spirit of Life fills our awareness and being. 

The Heart of Contemplation

Although contemplation is popularly understood to mean “thinking deeply about something,” its Latin roots provide the sacred meaning “to be with God, in the temple.” Christian contemplation has been described as “consenting to God’s presence and action,” “a gaze of faith,” or “a silent love.” Contemplation is a way of experiencing all of life as sacred and life becomes sacred to us when we experience it with an awareness of God’s presence.

It is a particular posture of heart that encourages our capacity to gaze, wonder, reflect, ponder, and respond…in the present moment. It is gazing upon God, waiting upon God, listening for The Divine, opening to the Sacred, holding silence in Yahweh, consenting to The Presence, and encountering God…in the present moment.