Inner Light

The Inner Light is an intangible object that is experienced by Quakers as the manifestation of The Spirit within you.

Light is sought from within

Friends seek the Inner Light by turning their attention inward. It may be experienced as insight, a sense of clarity, a prompting towards action or a feeling of peace in times of difficulty. For each person, the experience may be different and can be difficult to put into words.

Yet experiencing the Inner Light within does not mean that Friends understand it as something they create themselves. Its source is The Spirit. The experience is inward and personal, but the Light does not belong to the individual.

Illumination

Light allows us to see. A candle illuminates a darkened room; daylight reveals what was previously hidden. Light has therefore also become a metaphor for knowledge, understanding and revelation.

The Inner Light works in much the same way. Friends may experience it as illuminating something that was previously difficult to see or understand. It may reveal an uncomfortable truth, offer a new perspective or bring greater clarity about how to respond to a situation.

Not necessarily providing an answer, sometimes what the Inner Light illuminates is simply something that needs our attention.

Finding Light in silence

Silence gives Friends space to become attentive to the Inner Light. In Quaker Meetings, the distractions of everyday life can begin to settle, allowing thoughts, concerns and insights to be noticed without immediately acting upon them.

Quaker Pierre Lacout described this experience in 1969:

“In silence which is active, the Inner Light begins to glow - a tiny spark. For the flame to be kindled and to grow, subtle argument and the clamour of our emotions must be stilled. It is by an attention full of love that we enable the Inner Light to blaze and illuminate our dwelling.”

The Light in everyone

Friends do not understand the Inner Light as something reserved for particular people. The possibility of encountering The Spirit within is open to everyone.

This has consequences for how Friends see other people. To recognise the possibility of the Inner Light in another person is to recognise that their life and experience deserve attention. The Light may be encountered within ourselves, but it also encourages Friends to look beyond themselves.

Letting the Light shine

The Inner Light is not only about what happens inwardly. What it illuminates may change how someone lives, treats other people or responds to the world. An inward experience can therefore have outward consequences.

Friends can be thought of as stained-glass windows. In daylight, stained glass reflects the light around it. But when illuminated from within, its colours become visible through the darkness. In much the same way, the Inner Light becomes visible through the lives it helps to shape.

The Inner Light in The Quakers in 100 Objects

Unlike most objects in this collection, the Inner Light cannot be held, displayed or preserved. It can only be experienced through the illumination it brings and the difference that illumination makes.