We invite retreat participants to explore a period of minimal speaking on the retreat. This is from going to sleep Saturday night to the start of lunch Sunday morning.

We don’t have a good word for this in English – and the words we do have tend to sound severe or rather library-ish. Silence! Quiet! All a bit bossy and not what is intended at all…

The aim is to explore how we experience being together while not speaking much or at all. Perhaps the best description is being taciturn – to only speak if it’s really necessary and to stop speaking when you can. It is not about being silent or quiet in what we do – in fact the more we can move and do stuff normally the more it gives us material to be mindful of during periods of not-speaking. During Taciturn Time meals, there is no need to eat or drink any differently to how you normally do. And if it is too complicated to mime passing something, just say what you need to say and then return to not speaking.

During these periods of being taciturn together, it is fine to speak if you need to ask someone on the retreat something and for them to answer. The practice of being taciturn is to return to not-speaking when you can.

When interacting with anyone who is not on the retreat, you do what is best for you and them. While the centre staff are used to people being on silent retreat, there is no issue with you being in conversation with them. The centre staff will know when we are in Taciturn Time. Similarly, if you are talking to friends and family on the phone during Taciturn Time, you do what is best for you.

So Taciturn Practice is something we do as retreat participants together – it does not automatically include other people we interact with.

During this period of Taciturn Time, you can agree with someone else on the retreat to be in conversation if that is what you and the other person agree to do. And if you do choose to be speaking, this can be anywhere – it is can be really interesting to be choosing to be taciturn while being near others speaking: it can create waves of reaction in your mind that offer great opportunities for cultivating mindful awareness and compassion. If you need to discuss something with Tim or Annette during Taciturn Time, just do so.

From this it may be clear that this period of being taciturn is not about rules or doing this right or wrong. It is about noticing what happens in our minds, emotions, bodies, behaviours and interactions when we choose to be together in a way that is less familiar. The term ‘Silent Practice’ or ‘Silence’ is often used to describe these periods on retreat, but these terms can seem very heavy and formal sounding for what is, hopefully, a playful and intriguing period of practice time.

Holding the whole experience with curiosity, playfulness and light-heartedness works well –finding you have slipped automatically into talking with someone and noticing how your mind reacts when you realise this can be a far richer experience than remembering to be taciturn for the whole period.

We will still be offering guided mindfulness practices during the practice periods in Taciturn Time.

We will end the Taciturn Time at the end of the Sunday morning practice. There will be the option to begin speaking to reflect on the experience in the practice room, or, if you prefer, to leave the practice room at that point, and choose your own time to begin speaking with others again on the retreat.

Note: For anyone who wishes to have longer periods of Taciturn Practice Time we can arrange for you to sit in the dining area at a designated table for taciturn practice if you prefer. Please let Tim or Annette know if you are wanting to have longer periods of Taciturn Practice. The additional retreat days after Monday lunchtime are mostly in Taciturn Practice Time.