The Silent T'ai Chi Ch'uan Retreat
and Silent Meditation

Let t'ai chi relax the body,
Let silence relax the mind.

-Tom Krapu, Ph.D.

What others have said about silence:

"To relax a person's mind is the most significant obstacle to overcome in practicing T'ai-Chi. It takes a great effort to train and exercise one's mind to relax (or drop one's "self" bag)."

- Professor Cheng
(An Experience I Cherish, by Tom Krapu)

"By relaxing the whole being deeply into the silence, one becomes quiet, rooted, and secure."

- Mr. Robert Smith (2001)
J. of Asian Martial Arts, 10, 1, p. 67

Shhh! Be Vewy Vewy Quiet, I'm Hunting for my Sanity!
By Monique I. Cuvelier
Article written based partly on an interview with
Dr. Tom Krapu on Silent Retreats

Shhhh! Don't You Know You're on Vacation?
By Joanne Kaufman
Published: March 20, 2005, New York Times
Article written based partly on an interview with
Dr. Tom Krapu on Silent Retreats

"True silence is the rest of the mind. It is to the spirit what sleep is to the body; nourishment and refreshment."

- William Penn

"In the silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness."

- Pythagoras

"All profound things and emotions are proceeded and attended by Silence."

- Herman Melville

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."

- Mother Teresa

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of time and science."

- Albert Einstein

"Karma Repair Kit: Items 1-4
1. Get enough food to eat,
and eat it.
2. Find a place to sleep where it is quiet,
and sleep there.
3. Reduce intellectual and emotional noise until you arrive at the silence of yourself, and listen to it.
4. ""

From "The pill versus the Springhill Mine Disaster",
by Richard Brautigan

More on Silence:

Rabbi Sidney Greenberg spoke of the value of Silent Meditation in these eloquent words:

"In silence, there is the opportunity to reflect quietly, to resolve nobly, to probe deeply. In a noisy world, we need to make time to listen to those voices within us and above us which will only be heard when all is hushed around us. Daily, the prayer book reminds us too, that we can worship God, not only with 'the words of our mouths' but also with the 'meditations of our hearts'”"

From: The Power of Silent Meditation

Silence is therefore the first language a Freemason uses and which will aid his meditation. If he does not know how to remain silent he will be an Apprentice all his life, even if he has risen several degrees.
The first duty is therefore to reflect about one’s self, to meditate in order to discover and eliminate the waste, to educate one’s mind. He will remain in silence all the time he is an Apprentice but, when he is finally allowed to speak, there will be no longer anything in his way of communicating that he has not meditated over and over again.

From: Silent as a "Method"

Meditation is one of the most powerful tools there is to help us restore the harmony within and to gain access to our bodies' inner intelligence.

In meditation, we rediscover the silence in our mind and make it part of our life. Silence is the birthplace of happiness. It is where we get our bursts of inspiration, our tender feelings of compassion, our sense of love. Meditation is a journey to freedom and self-knowledge.

From: Why Should I Meditate

SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

- The second virtue of Benjamin Franklin
From: Benjamin Franklin hisAutobiography 1706-1757

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© 2002, Thomas M. Krapu, Ph.D., All rights reserved.