silence
5 stories on this theme.
A Good Listener
Howard Colby Ives recalled how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá listened patiently to a clergyman's long questions, then spoke to him with such love that the visitor was transformed, and sent him off with an armful of roses.
Alone with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Howard Colby Ives followed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to His room in New York. In the stillness the Master simply asked whether he was interested in renunciation, and Ives, without words, left His presence with his soul treading the heights.
The Silence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Howard Colby Ives recalls how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá met every questioner first with silence, listening so completely that He seemed to listen with the speaker’s own ears.
The Question Answered by Silence
Howard Colby Ives asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá why he should believe in Bahá’u’lláh. After a long silence the Master spoke of the sincerity a minister's heart must have, and only months later did Ives realize his question had been answered.
The Heart That Speaks
At his first meeting with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Howard Colby Ives could not speak; after a long silence the Master placed His hand upon his breast, saying that it was the heart that speaks.