Do you think that silence is a valid spiritual discipline?

Question

Classically the three vows a monk took were poverty, chastity and silence. Do you think silence is a beneficial spiritual practice? Have you practiced it? Do you still practice it? If yes, what does your practice look like and is it an important part of your spiritual life?

Answer 1

"Silence is the way !" This is what spiritual teachers declare !
Take a telephone, and call somebody, and see what happens when both speak incessantly at the same time and continuously !
When even one of them becomes silent for a very few moments, he can listen, and perhaps understand what the other is saying.
This is quite easy to understand !
The problem with inner silence is that it is not only difficult to understand, it is all the more difficult to practice !
Only when the lips become silent, the mind starts its chatter more violently. And it takes a while for the mind to gradually become silent, and when that happens, the receptivity, perception of life, awareness of the consciousness is at its peak !
Then everything happens by ITSELF !
Try it out even a little.. the cost is nil, the rewards (irrespective of the efforts) is proportionately assured, and proof of validity of this answer becomes truly experiential !

Answer 2

Silence is indeed valid. Try being silent for a day. It is extremely hard. I have tried it. My desire to give my opinion or to weigh in on everything was over powering. It made me realize a lot about myself and how I interact with people. You would be surprised what you can really hear when you stop talking. I would like to try it again. I think I will wait till both kids are grown to do it. It is almost impossible to be a mom and not talk in some way.
Love & Light
Sharon
One Planet = One People

Answer 3

Probverbs especially has a lot to say about the perils of undisciplined speech:

Pro 10:14 The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool hastens destruction.

Pro 10:18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
Pro 10:19 When there are many words, sin is unavoidable, but the one who controls his lips is wise.
Pro 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is pure silver; the heart of the wicked is of little value.
Pro 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.

Pro 17:7 Excessive speech is not appropriate on a fool's lips; how much worse are lies for a ruler.
Pro 17:8 A bribe seems like a magic stone to its owner; wherever he turns, he succeeds.
Pro 17:9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but whoever gossips about it separates friends.

Pro 17:27 The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding.
Pro 17:28 Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning, when he seals his lips.

I must admit that a time of silence would do well for me personally!

Answer 4

Yes I do. I practice silent prayer. It is in the silence that one hears the Voice of God. I have been on retreats where silence was practiced entirely by the retreatants and it is an awesome experience. It is an emptying of oneself so that one can be filled with God. I try to spend a few hours in silent reverent adoration weekly if not daily.

Answer 5

Very much so. When you are silent, you can hear much more than if you were talking. As a christian would put it, it is when you are listening to God, that he will speak, or some such thing like that. Pagans also believe that, as do many others. I am usually silent upon first waking, and at random times during the day. When things are quiet, I'm not humming, whistling or anything, I'm just listening. This applies to wherever I am, as well.

Answer 6

Yes it is. I wish all Christians would adopt a vow of silence, which includes posting messages on the Internet as well. :P

Answer 7

silence isnt a valid spiritual discipline in my mind. the mind is a complex thing why should we silence our thoughts or ideas, if we do it will only stop us descovering the real truth about ourselfs. your mind is were you learn answers to everyday life. so make yourself silent your stopping your creativity.... speak to yourself you will never know what you will discover and learn... i do some times sit in silence to relax and think but only for a short while. i can let life go by me, in silence. you only have one voice so use it.

Answer 8

You can read in the bible, Matthew 12 32-37. Every word that man speaks will be judged, depending on the goodness of his heart....will either bring forth goodness or evil, and on the day of judgment we will give an account. "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

When I spread the Word of God, I let the Holy Spirit guide me, as well as the bible, and my testimony. When in public, it is important to show by example Jesus in your life.....walk the walk and talk the talk. On Yahoo, you can't do that, so spreading His word is all I can do.

Answer 9

I think that thinking before you speak is important. In Proverbs it often talks about a loose tongue, a loud mouth, etc. So I do believe that you should sometimes hold your peace, however I do think there are times to speak, teach and lead.

Answer 10

i do practise sitting in silence , it is part of my meditation
to be still with yourself , to have no need for words , to allow material thoughts to go
i feel that sitting in that still is when you raise yourself above this physical world
bringing you closer to god but also closer to yourself