I experienced true silence on South Sister about half way up, before you get out on the ridge where the wind is blowing, we stopped for a break and someone remarked on how quiet it was and we stopped! We were silent for like 3 minutes, and it was hard at the beginning, the awkwardness of silence was hard to overcome. But after a minute there was an overwhelming calm, a pervading peace and I could feel God. There was no cars, no factories, no music, no television, no talking. I could barely hear my heartbeat and that was it, and it was then that I experienced God. I can't even get this silence on hikes around the area. You can still here the city and it's noise and turmoil. I definitely can't do it at home, why would I be silent when I have an Ipod full of music? and a T.V. with 500 channels? And beer! Beer can drown out the silence really well.
Why do I want to keep the silence down? I think I am scared of silence, because it makes me vulnerable, it forces me to reflect on myself. Instead of just looking at other people and they're crap, I have to look at my own. That is when God steps in, that is when I am experienced.
But that is just me.
