Convergence 1 – Week 11: Silence

Not yet trial-taught Not yet expert-reviewed

This week: read three short passages slowly, sit in silence each day (starting at 5 minutes and building up to 15), and do one household task in silence.

Measurable goal: sit in silence for 15 minutes on at least 5 of 7 days (the first two days can be shorter).

1. Traditional teaching

Week 1 practised pausing for one breath. Week 11 practises staying longer in silence. The three traditions below all value inner silence, but each finds something very different in it.

Christianity: God amid the clatter of the kitchen

[Traditional teaching] Brother Lawrence (Lawrence of the Resurrection, 17th century) was a Carmelite lay brother in Paris who worked for many years in the monastery kitchen. This tradition teaches that believers can live in the presence of God at all times, not only at times of prayer.

A note on context: the book records Brother Lawrence's conversations and letters, written down by others. [Inference] Here silence is not the absence of noise, but a mind turned towards God in the middle of work. The "blessed sacrament" is the consecrated bread in which Catholics believe Christ is present.

Judaism: a still small voice

[Traditional teaching] The Book of Kings tells how the prophet Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, where God appeared to him. This tradition teaches that God is recognised not only in great power, but also in stillness.

A note on context: the Hebrew phrase at the end of verse 12 (qol demamah daqqah) is translated in many ways: "a still small voice" (JPS 1917), "a sound of thin silence". Right afterwards God questions Elijah and gives him a new task. [Inference] In the story, silence is where God's word is heard, not an end in itself. The Jewish reviewer will say how it is commonly read.

Non-dual traditions (Upanishads): when senses and mind are still

[Traditional teaching] The Katha Upanishad tells of a dialogue between the boy Nachiketas and Yama, lord of death, about the Self (Atman). Its last part teaches how to still the senses and the mind in order to realise the Self.

A note on context: Swami Paramananda divides the Katha Upanishad into six parts; these verses are often numbered II.3.10–11. [Inference] "Yoga" here does not mean physical postures, but keeping the mind still. "Yoga comes and goes" is a reminder that stillness does not hold itself in place forever. A reviewer from this tradition will say how it is commonly read.

Where the traditions differ

[Expert judgement] All three value inner silence. But they differ on these points:

[Expert judgement] Buddhism (not quoted this week) also teaches sitting still, but does not turn towards a God or a Self. This week does not compare those differences in depth.

This week's exercise is simply sitting in silence; it is not a prayer or a meditation method of any tradition. If you have a faith, you can use the time in the way of your own tradition. You do not need to accept the beliefs of any tradition, and the week should not be read as saying the three traditions are "really the same".

2. What science finds

• [Verified] The review of 47 randomised trials (3,515 people) cited in Week 1: mindfulness meditation programmes reduce anxiety, depression and pain by a small-to-moderate amount, but are not better than other active treatments such as exercise or behavioural therapy. (Goyal et al. 2014)
• [Verified] A meta-analysis of 23 randomised trials of religious or spiritual interventions in mental health care (excluding prayer for others at a distance): these interventions reduced anxiety symptoms; for depression the results were weaker. The programmes varied widely and study quality was limited. (Gonçalves et al. 2015)
• [Verified] A review of 83 studies: about 8% of meditators had an adverse experience (about 4% in experimental studies), most often anxiety and depression; this can happen in people with no previous mental health problems. (Farias et al. 2020)
• [Inference] There is no review of "sitting in silence" without any particular method. Sitting longer does not mean better; that is why this week builds up gradually.

Limits: the figures are averages across many different studies and do not predict what will happen for any one person. This exercise does not replace treatment if you have a mental health problem.

3. Practice for adults

About 8 minutes a day at first, building up to about 18 minutes.

1. Read slowly (2 minutes). Choose one of the three passages. Read it slowly twice, the second time quietly aloud.
2. Sit in silence (5 minutes on days 1–2; 10 minutes on days 3–4; 15 minutes from day 5). Sit on a chair, back straight but not stiff, phone notifications off. Do nothing: no reading, no listening, no trying to think or trying not to think. When you notice you are thinking, just know "thinking" and come back to the breath or the sounds around you.
3. Note it (1 minute). One line: "Today I sat for ___ minutes. What I noticed was ___."
4. One household task in silence (during the week). Like Brother Lawrence, choose an everyday task (washing up, sweeping, hanging out laundry) and do it in silence, with no phone and nothing to listen to.

Note: [Expert judgement] if 15 minutes is too long, stay at 10; the aim is to sit regularly, not to sit long. Sitting in silence can bring up old thoughts or feelings; if they are too strong, open your eyes, get up and walk about, and shorten the time.

4. Kids' corner 6+

Game: "Listening to the bell fade" (5 minutes, with an adult playing too)

1. The adult lightly strikes a small bell, or taps a spoon on a glass.
2. The child closes their eyes (or looks down) and listens as the ringing fades.
3. When they can no longer hear anything, the child raises a hand.
4. Play three times. Then ask: "When it was quiet, what other sounds did you hear?"

Each silence lasts only a few tens of seconds. Do not make the child sit still for long. If the child does not want to close their eyes, let them keep them open. If the child gets bored, stop the game.

daynentang also has a lesson, Walking slowly, eating slowly (in Vietnamese), for families with children aged 2–8.

5. Stop practising if

• You feel panic, have flashbacks of trauma, have a lasting sense that you or the world are "not real", lose sleep for several nights, or have thoughts of harming yourself.
• Anxiety or low mood rises after sitting, or you hear or see things other people do not.
• If so, stop and see Get help now.
• If you have a history of psychosis, bipolar disorder or severe PTSD, ask a doctor before sitting in silence for long; this week keep each sitting under 10 minutes until you have asked.

6. Foundation skills on daynentang

daynentang has a lesson, Neo lại khi cảm xúc dâng cao (anchoring when emotions run high), useful if a strong feeling comes up while sitting. It is currently in Vietnamese only; your browser's translate option can help.

7. Practice for today

Before you sleep, turn off the light, sit in silence for one minute, and just listen to the sounds around you.

Scientific sources

• Goyal M, et al. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Internal Medicine, 174(3), 357–368. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.13018
• Gonçalves JPB, Lucchetti G, Menezes PR, Vallada H (2015). Religious and spiritual interventions in mental health care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. Psychological Medicine, 45(14), 2937–2949. doi:10.1017/S0033291715001166
• Farias M, Maraldi E, Wallenkampf KC, Lucchetti G (2020). Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation-based therapies: a systematic review. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 142(5), 374–393. doi:10.1111/acps.13225