"The Other Side of Silence" by Morton Kelsey is a love letter addressed to Protestants about the inward journey and the special bounty of imagination. This paperback is a completely revised and updated version of a book he wrote 20 years ago. Kelsey brings more than 50 years of parish life, college teaching, and lecturing all over the world to bear on the challenge of encountering the Divine in meditation. He defines this practice as "the art of letting down the barrier that separates our rational consciousness from the depth of our souls."
Since so many people are unfamiliar with silence, Kelsey presents several aids to achieving it, including the Jesus prayer, attention to breathing, Zen, yoga, and practicing the presence of God. He hits high stride when he discusses uses of images in meditation. The author celebrates dreams as a gateway to the inner world and also has some good things to say about journal work.
For Kelsey imagination is a special gift of the Holy Spirit and a faculty that enables us to experience adventures on the other side of silence. The final section of this excellent volume contains his own imaginative encounters with the Divine through entry into biblical stories, poetry, and prayer.