I can manage three days of silence if I'm allowed a notebook. But
interrupting it to talk to a jesuit comes close to cruel and unreasonable
punishment.
Which gets me to thinking: what stranger would I be willing to talk to
briefly once a day within such a setting?
Mark
At 04:33 PM 1/6/2005, you wrote:
>Stephen Vincent wrote:
>
>>I just received a sign. Stepping down off my porch to get my mail, a young
>>man with a limp and a cane was walking by. On a string necklace hanging from
>>his neck, he bore a handwritten tag on his chest, "Practicing Silence" - in
>>nice large school teacher black ink script, no less.
>>Silent Meditation is conquering this City! It's been a fun week talking
>>crazy and sometimes maybe smart on this lovely list. But I got my sign. For
>>what it's personally worth, I am going quiet for a while. Indeed, not to
>>pretend to be sanctimonious, maybe it's time - it's so much in the air - for
>>a silence in sorrow for all those so recently, and terribly passed.
>>
>Admirable and something I, as a professional motormouth, would love to
>attempt. I used to attend Quaker meetings and the one hour of silence
>was quite powerful. You can come face to face with yourself and then
>try to move beyond SelfSelfSelf. There is a Jesuit retreat house not
>that far away that has 3-day silent retreats--you talk only to a
>spiritual director once or twice a day, the rest of the time is spent
>however you need to spend it: prayer, walking, reading, perhaps hearing
>music. All of which can amount to prayer.
>
>My girlfriend doesn't believe I can stay silent for 10 minutes much less
>three days. Maybe we're both right.
>
>ken
>
>--
>Kenneth Wolman
>Proposal Development Department
>Room SW334
>Sarnoff Corporation
>609-734-2538
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