# Sanctuary of the Soul  ## Metadata - Author: [[Richard J. Foster]] - Full Title: Sanctuary of the Soul - Category: #books ## Highlights - Thomas Kelly notes that for a group to experience the Shekinah of God there needs to be some individuals who are already "gathered deep in the spirit of worship.... In them, and from them, begins the work of worship. The spiritual devotion of a few persons ... is needed to kindle the rest, to help those others who enter the service with tangled, harried, distraught thoughts to be melted and quieted and released and made pliant, ready for the work of God and His Real Presence." ([Location 342](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005FQ5WTS&location=342)) - To center down in a Quaker context means to let go of all distractions and feelings; to become fully present to what is happening here, now; to silence our mind, which is askew with meandering thoughts, and our mouth, which is full of many words. ([Location 349](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005FQ5WTS&location=349)) - To be "gathered" means a breaking down of the wall between our separate personalities; a blending of our spirits and hearts together; an experiencing of the language of worship as "we" rather than "me." ([Location 350](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005FQ5WTS&location=350)) - To keep from running ahead or lagging behind the Spirit's leading sounds straightforward enough. But it is an essential counsel if we are to balance our all-too-human tendencies toward the extremes of unbridled enthusiasm or backward reticence. ([Location 352](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005FQ5WTS&location=352))