Silence

MONASTIC life includes a large amount of silence both externally and internally.  In this day of MP3 players, DVDs, CDs, iPODs, computers, cell phones, pagers, Blackberries, and more it seems hard to escape noise.  Even within the mind, there can be the idle chatter of To-Do lists, worries, criticisms, and more.  The prime reason for seeking the silence is to turn away from the world and oneself and to turn to God.

Here is a minute of silence to help.

Here is an article on silence

Silence that Screams by Rev. Fr. Joseph J. Allen

The easy part, might be, is to turn off the external noise and retreat from the world. The hard part for some is to escape ones own thoughts. Here are some suggestions:

• Fill ones mind with prayer
• Read spiritual writings
• Read The Bible
• Sometimes it might help to meditate on an image.  Orthodox Photos has over 1,800 from icons to monasteries to the Holy Land.