ThePower of Silence

Includes interviews with the Chief Rabbi, the Bishop of London and the Dalai LamaExplores the power in silence not only in spirituality but also in theatre, music, psychotherapy and the pursuit of peace and reconciliationExplores the practice of silence all over the world, from India to Egypt, the Lebanon to the USAAfter gaining a first class degree at Oxford, Graham Turner worked for the Scotsman and the Sunday Times. He then became nationally recognised as the BBC's first Economics Correspondent. Thereafter he worked for the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph writing substantial features which had considerable national influence. He currently lives in Oxford.Silence is a mysterious and unfathomable realm, perhaps the most under-used of all resources, and one our modern culture has all but obliterated by turning up the volume control. Graham Turner explores the power that can be found in silence through interviewing monastics, religious leaders, composers, actors, psychotherapists, prisoners and peace workers about their experiences of practising silence. Ranging from Christian contemplation in the Egyptian desert to Vipassana meditation in India, from the shared silence of Quaker meetings in Oxford to the profound stillness of the Alps, this is a powerful book about a great gap in modern human awareness.In the modern world, we are assaulted on all sides by noise; but silence can change your life and this book explains why and how.Preface \ 1. Silence? No Thanks! \ 2. India: Silence in the genes \ 3. Holy Men - and Women \ 4. No Words, Please \ 5. A Chance to Hear Yourself \ 6. Silences which Speak \ 7. Opting for the Quiet Life \ 8. Letting Go \ 9. The Silence of the Mountains \ 10. A Shared Silence \ 11. Better than Bullets \ 12. The Rigours of Zen \ 13 The Prisoner's Tale \ 14. Desert Fathers \ 15. The Power in SilenceGraham Turner explores the power that can be found in silence through interviewing monastics, religious leaders, composters, actors, psychotherapists and peace workers about their experiences of practising silence. A profound book about a great gap in modern human awareness.