Why Silence? Revisitng the foundations of Quaker worship

'Why Silence?' explores the heart of the Quaker way. Founder George Fox came to realise that the experience of 'soul-silence' (though never a term he used), rather than being a goal at the end of an arduous journey, was actually the starting point. It was not something we could achieve by our own striving, but something that was given to us out of pure grace, and without this gift from the outset, the spiritual journey was impossible. Practically everyone who experiences 'soul-silence' speaks of it was being the place in which we encuonter our True Selves and shed something of our False Selves. Although its source lies within each of us, we don't get it, it gets us - the moment we open ourselves to it; the moment we clear away the mind stuff that's been stopping the flow. For it's not an experience we access through words; it is a felt experience - something we sense through our bodies, rather than appreciate through our thinking. Following a revisiting of this experience, 'Why Silence?' offers a collection of spiritual practices to help overcome those blockages which prevent a deepening of 'soul-silence'. It provides an admirable guide for use at home or in worship workshops.