WORDS with ARIANA ROSENBERG
FOR Silent Smile author Mirjam, art and healing have always been a part of life.
Born in the French part of Switzerland, she started meditating in her early teens before going on to study glass design, art therapy and gestalt therapy as well as training as a death doula.
In her early 30s Mirjam focused on her work as a meditation teacher, facilitating healing groups and retreats across Europe, the US and later Australia to support people with depression and anxiety, cancer patients and those with terminal illnesses.
Eight years ago she picked up her paintbrush again to capture the divine beings she kept seeing in her meditations.
Mirjam meditates, prays and speaks sacred mantras while creating the paintings, which can take more than six months to complete; the process is similar to Orthodox priests who are famous for their Russian icons.
Her work as an author is unusual because Mirjam says she was guided to write Silent Smile – The Sacred Teachings of Love.
Mirjam says it took her 11 years of learning deep inner stillness so she could “receive” the book, clearly hearing a voice dictating it to her. Like her art, it wasn’t a sudden tumbling of words and Silent Smile took seven years before it was published earlier this year.
“The response of the readers is quite overwhelming, so many reported that their lives have been changed by reading Silent Smile,” Mirjam said.
Being the “scribe” for Silent Smile and practising its teachings, Mirjam says it’s taught her to love herself unconditionally and heal; she’s ditched her inner doubts and lives with a sense of inner peace and love in all situations.
“There is also trust that there is something greater than us – some may call it the divine – looking after us,” she said.
“When we open our heart, we can feel the support that is always there for everyone.”
Mirjam, who spent time living in Germany and France before Fremantle captured her heart 17 years ago says it’s a “very beautiful and inspiring” home.
“The people in Fremantle are friendly and there is a beautiful sense of community. It is also quirky and with so much culture,” she says, adding its heritage homes remind her of Europe.
Mirjam says Silent Smile isn’t easy to sum up because of the breadth of its wisdom and number of teachings, but one of its main messages is that humanity’s true nature is love and inner peace, which can be found by peeling back the layers of conditioning.
“Silent Smile guides us how to find our true self. It shows us how to peel back layers of conditioning to find true inner peace,”
Self love and love for the divine go hand in hand, she argues, with the book saying all religions come from the same divine origin and can be seen as the different aspects of one god.
Mirjam is working on an audio version of Silent Smile while the book is also being translated to German and Spanish and she’s got plans for Youtube videos and podcasts to make its teachings available online.
On September 3 from 7 – 9pm, Mirjam will open her art studio to people interested in participating in her next monthly study group. There will be special healing meditations while Mirjam goes into detail about a particular chapter and teaching of Silent Smile so people can help incorporate its teachings into their everyday lives.
Email info@silentsmile.com for further details.
She’s also holding a weekend retreat on September 16 – 18 at the Fremantle Yoga Studio in the E-Shed on Victoria Quay.
People can book online on the Fremantle yoga website/or at the door.
To get five free chapters, buy the full copy or get the latest info on Silent Smily head to www. silentsmile.com.
It can also be purchased at New Edition and Powerlabs in Fremantle and online.