What were we losing by living surrounded by noise? Or rather, what would we gain by rediscovering quiet?
MB: Why did you write The Lost Art of Silence?
Sarah Anderson: We live in an increasingly noisy world and so I decided to take a look at times and places which were quieter. What were we losing by living surrounded by noise? Or rather, what would we gain by rediscovering quiet? And so over the years the idea for a book on silence evolved, and The Lost Art of Silence is the result. In 2005 I had had a magical time in the Antarctic—we had disembarked from our Russian ice-breaker into inflatable dinghies and were weaving in and out of the icebergs. At some point the engines were turned off—we were totally still and quiet—and then it began to snow. That silence and completeness has stayed with me, and the experience was a trigger for the book.2
MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?
SA: My own journey has involved dipping into various traditions and searching for that often elusive stillness. Over the years I have done several silent retreats—both Christian and Buddhist—since I do believe that one’s internal silence needs to be cultivated. I find that often when I am painting I can become so absorbed in what I am doing that I can tap into what can seem like a universal silent space.
MB: Whom do you hope to reach in your interesting and important book?
SA: Since I believe that everyone could benefit from more silence in their lives, I hope that the book will have a universal appeal. This is in no way a self-help book, but I do give suggestions as to where people can go to find silence—possibly in ways and places they hadn’t thought of. For example art galleries, cemeteries, walking, and, paradoxically, concerts.
MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?
SA: Some of the topics around silence that I consider are maybe fairly obvious—silent retreats, meditation, and solitude; anyone embarking on a spiritual path will probably encounter silence along the way, since silence is at the core of most religions. The book examines both historical and contemporary figures who have advocated the importance of silence and who show how crucial it is for creativity, harmony, and relating to others.
Silence can generate a harmony and rhythm with the universe: “In that instant I could feel no doubt of man’s oneness with the universe.…It was a feeling that transcended reason.…The universe was a cosmos, not a chaos,” wrote Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd about his time in the Antarctic. Most of us probably walk without giving it much thought, but talking to someone whilst walking might disturb the “harmony of body, mind, and soul” wrote the British academic G.M. Trevelyan.
From Pythagoras, who was aware of the feeling of unity that can come over us when we contemplate mountains, rivers, or the sea in silence (“Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb the silence,”) to the contemporary writer Annie Dillard, connecting with nature has always been a way into silence.
But I also look at ways of finding silence through the arts. Art can move us and can be a way into harmony, peace, and silence; architecture, art, music, literature, and poetry—all have the ability to bring us to a profound silence. “Great poetry is a mosaic inlaid into silence,” wrote the Swiss philosopher Max Picard, and literature is full of poetry and prose that encourage silence, starting with the dark, joyless, and silent world of Beowulf and continuing through the works of Wordsworth, Tennyson, D.H. Lawrence, and R.S. Thomas among others. Ralph Waldo Emerson compiled a list of classics or sacred books that merited being read silently (“Let us be silent—so we may hear the whispers of the gods”), and the contemporary writer Colm Tóibín finds that “the amount of silence around things” is a frequent starting point for his work. Engaging with paintings on a deep level is another way into silence—they can use a silent language to speak to us. I often sit in an art gallery and draw a painting—and as I do so, I am aware of the silent link that exists between myself and the artist whose painting I am copying.
Paradoxically music is a way into silence too— the musicians I spoke to all told me that it is the silent pauses that are important: “The notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes, ah that is where the art resides,” said the Austrian pianist Artur Schnabel.
However no book on silence would be complete without its darker side—so I also write about—war, prison, solitary confinement, and censorship.
MB: How does your book differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?
SA: My book, which might be described as a cultural history of silence, also includes my own experiences. And I think that that is what makes it unique. I try and demonstrate how many routes there are into silence—through my own story and through ways that people possibly hadn’t thought about.
MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about the importance of silence in their lives, they will try to have more quiet time for themselves and grant that right to others?
SA: I think that if people realized how silence could help their creativity and peace of mind, they would try and incorporate it into their lives. And one’s own silence can be of great benefit to others—the art of silent listening has been proven to be beneficial.
References
1) Sarah Anderson founded the Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill in 1979, the shop that was later featured in the film Notting Hill. Her publications include Anderson’s Travel Companion, Heaven’s Face Thinly Veiled, Inside Notting Hill, Halfway to Venus: A One-Armed Journey, and most recently, The Lost Art of Silence. She has traveled widely and now paints wherever she goes and has had several exhibitions of her work. Instagram: sarahanderson1150.
2) I wrote about my similar experience in Antarctica in The Power of Exploration to Lift Our Spirits and Open Our Hearts: Why It's Essential to Listen to the Hidden Sounds of Nature.
The Art and Power Of Connecting to the Sounds Of Silence
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13.12.2023
What were we losing by living surrounded by noise? Or rather, what would we gain by rediscovering quiet?
MB: Why did you write The Lost Art of Silence?
Sarah Anderson: We live in an increasingly noisy world and so I decided to take a look at times and places which were quieter. What were we losing by living surrounded by noise? Or rather, what would we gain by rediscovering quiet? And so over the years the idea for a book on silence evolved, and The Lost Art of Silence is the result. In 2005 I had had a magical time in the Antarctic—we had disembarked from our Russian ice-breaker into inflatable dinghies and were weaving in and out of the icebergs. At some point the engines were turned off—we were totally still and quiet—and then it began to snow. That silence and completeness has stayed with me, and the experience was a trigger for the book.2
MB: How does your book relate to your background and general areas of interest?
SA: My own journey has involved dipping into various traditions and searching for that often elusive stillness. Over the years I have done several silent retreats—both Christian and Buddhist—since I do believe that one’s internal silence needs to be cultivated. I find that often when I am painting I can become so absorbed in what I am doing that I can tap into what can seem like a universal silent space.
MB: Whom do you hope to reach in your interesting and important book?
SA: Since I believe that everyone could benefit from more silence in their lives, I hope that the book will have a........
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