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Silence as a Spiritual Practice
Posted on December 1, 2025, tagged as Addiction Recovery, Alcoholics Anonymous, Spiritual Growth
Howard Thurman wrote, “There is very great virtue in the cultivation of silence, and strength to be found in using it as a door to God.”
There is an incredible amount of noise in our lives. Dogs bark, children scream and chatter, the radio and television blare, there is traffic noise, planes fly overhead, our phones emit noises constantly…and on and on. We are accustomed to noise and don’t give it much thought. What we have little experience of and tolerance for is silence. When all gets quiet, we become restless and stir something up. We turn on the TV, go online, make a phone call, say something to somebody…anything to break up the silence. To emphasize the idea of our intolerance of silence, think about the last time you were in an elevator with strangers, and nobody said anything—an uncomfortable moment.
During all this chatter we are also somewhat aware that we have spiritual needs that are not being met. Along with this awareness, however dim, there is also a sense of uncertainty about how to do anything about it. How do we become more spiritually aware? One approach would be to find a way to be quiet. We must admit that not only is our environment noisy, but we are noisy as well. So, it is not just about finding a quiet place to relax, to meditate, to think, to pray, or whatever, but also how to make ourselves internally silent.
There is a line in the psalms that says, “Be still and know that I am the Lord.” I cite this line, in part, to say that the need for silence as a means of spiritual awareness has been known for thousands of years. It also suggests that to be spiritually aware one needs to slow down and reflect… to be still.
Many people who succeed in finding a time and place to be silent are those who wake up early and have a designated place to reflect or pray. Such people usually have specific books they read out of to guide their thoughts along spiritual lines. Sometimes they meditate. Some do yoga or other physical practices to focus their attention. Morning probably is the best time for people to find silence, but each person must look at their circumstances and decide what will work best for them, if they decide to seek moments of silence.
There is something profoundly basic and fundamental about silence. Some of us believe that the universe that we know and live in was created by some force or entity, typically referred to as God. For many, the idea of God does not work for them, and they rely on a humanistic philosophy or find something else that fits with their world view. In the “East the Void” is thought of as the source of creative energy. But even leaving the source of the universe out of the discussion, let’s consider for a moment the idea of the origin of the universe as originating at a single point in a “Big Bang.” This is not a modern concept. Rabbi Moses de Leon (1240-1305) suggested such a theory.
It has occurred to me that it must have been very quiet before the Big Bang—no sound—just concentrated spiritual energy. You may have your own thoughts that both challenge and comfort you if you make the time and place for silence in your daily lives. Go for a walk; get up twenty minutes before you normally do; find a way. If you decide this is important you will make the effort, and if you do, you will find that from the quiet comes spiritual refreshment that will improve the quality of each day.