English Version | “Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation” - Rumi

Silence retreats have popularized themselves as a way to practice self-care, defining physical spaces where the absence of words is the rule and the inner piece is the law.

Fotografia de Yuji Sakai, © Getty Images
Fotografia de Yuji Sakai, © Getty Images

Chitterchatting has always been my sin of choice. The complaints that were made by my teachers to my parents were always focused on my incessant need to talk. To this day I have a certain resistance to silence (as it’s commonly known in the office, where my voice is an assured consistency). Maybe, because I speak so much, retreats where silence is mandatory, have always fascinated me. I admit that before I researched the theme, I ignorantly associated the practice of silence with religious orders, which is used as a way for divine approximation. Even if the catholic god isn’t present in the majority of silence retreats., the search for something that transcends our physical presence seems to be a common thread. By overcoming Christian associations, these retreats align themselves with other ideologies, such as Hinduism or Buddhism. In the first, silence goes by the name of Mauna, but the concept isn’t limited to its superficial interpretation, it’s deeper than just the absence of the word. The Hindu silence has a voice, the voice of who we really are; stripped from the distractions of our earthly ego, the sound of inner peace can be heard. In a similar way, in Buddhist philosophy, silence is the only means through which the true nature of the world can be perceived. Intimately connected to the concept of Vipassana, the practice of finding the true nature of reality, silence is the first step on this journey. The immersive activities that are classified as silence retreats are always somehow connected, or at least inspired by, Buddhist concepts. When it comes to options, that are plenty to choose, e from, from the most beginner-friendly, where silence is required for only two days and activities like reading or yoga are allowed, to the most hardcore ones, in which the whole purpose is just to meditate in silence, usually for up to ten days, and where communication of any sort, as well as any recreational activity, is solemnly prohibited. These ones are reserved for long-time goers, used to sitting in their own silence. But the majority of the ones most people go to aren’t quite as intense, as Pureza Fleming, a familiar name for Vogue readers and an enthusiastic participant in these kinds of retreats. “I've been going to an annual yoga retreat that requires two or three days of silence for years now.” Something the journalist, that has been practicing yoga for 20 years, believes is essential for her well being: “In a world where the noise is constant, being in silence and, most importantly, being able to silence the mind, is critical when the goal is to know ourselves: our emotions, our body.” Pureza has the belief that is shared by many — she understands silence as an opportunity to detox from the modern world’s evils. In that sense, retreats like the ones the journalist goes to, utilize silence as a cleansing strategy, complementing it with “an Indian technique known as Shank Prakshalana.” This strategy implies feelings of hunger as a way to connect our physical body with our thoughts.

Of course, not all retreats made in Portugal are based on the Buddhist philosophy. Even if certainly inspired by it, there are those that promote them in a more scientific manner, aligning themselves with the concept of mindfulness. Such are the retreats organized by Albertina Oliveira, professor, and researcher at the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences of the University of Coimbra. The concept, that is increasingly entering our lexicon, is commonly ambiguous, but, according to the researcher, the most definitive definition is the one from Jon Kabat-Zinn, a respected American medicine professor. According to him, mindfulness is a “state of conscience that emerges by paying attention, in an intentional manner, with purpose, to the experience flux, moment by moment.” The term is aligned with a school of thought that understands well-being as something that has to be practiced consciously and attentively. Silence is part of a strategy that understands the care for mental and physical health as a preventive activity, an approach clearly inspired by eastern medicine. These practices are not quite as esoteric as one might believe, there are plenty of scientific studies that correlate mindfulness strategies, among them silence, with the relief of symptoms related to several pathologies. From blood pressure to anxiety, with memory loss along the way, techniques utilized in silence retreats are extremely beneficial. Albertina Oliveira elaborates that these might be completely transformative, pointing to its contributions in “the clear help it provides in matters such as attention spans or physiological and emotional processes.” She continues: “It’s common to observe positive changes when it comes to the capacity to auto-regulate attention, as well as emotional and physiological states, facts that are verifiable in biomarkers associated with stress and processes of cellular repair.” The advantages associated with silence retreats aren’t merely theoretical, it’s practical evidence are more than many. According to Pureza Fleming, these retreats provide her with “unquestionable energy and physical prowess, With such clarity of thought that can only be propelled by silence.” But this silence, in its most primitive definition, isn’t enough: it’s not merely the absence of communication that does miracles, inner peace is necessary. The journalist reports, “it doesn’t matter how quiet we are if our mind insists on talking. That’s where yoga and meditation techniques come in. It’s not easy to silence the mind, but it’s possible to train it in that way.”

As one would expect, both of the interviewees agree that silence was never as necessary - the connection between it and our wellbeing isn’t random, it’s in fact causal. Because of the constant noise that characterizes our modern lives, its absence becomes particularly necessary. It’s not just the literal noise the University of Coimbra researcher blames for the generalized perpetual fatigue. It’s something else, much more serious. “Our lives in the modern society happen, in general, is a very unbalanced pace, prisoner to the rhythm, to the quickness, from the need to produce, it exhausts the human being,” explains Albertina Oliveira. The fact that we are constantly, incessantly, connected to each other doesn’t help. There’s this notion, popularized with the rise of social media, of “pics or it didn’t happen” — in layman’s terms, if you don’t share with the world what you’re doing every second of your day, the intrinsic value of what you’re doing is practically zero. As Pureza Fleming summarizes “We have never talked so much and still so little has never been said.” Even if the benefits seem disproportionate to its negative consequences, silence retreats aren't for everyone. The disclaimer is given to us by Albertina Oliveira: silence retreats can be extremely intense and, aligned with pre-existing conditions, can do more harm than good. They’re “not recommended to anyone with untreated disorders related to traumatic situations,” warns the researcher. Unmitigated skepticism can also contribute to making the experience unpleasant. These retreats are something one must do in a voluntary fashion, having an open mind is a basic prerequisite. The difficulty in achieving inner and outer silence can be exasperating, especially if the will to do it isn’t present. Pureza Fleming highlights that the retreats where at least one person doesn’t quit are extremely rare. “It’s important to be aware that you’ll deal with a lot of psychological drivel, especially as a beginner,” warns the journalist. Regardless of all the cautions made, both Pureza and Albertina suggest that attending a silent retreat, even if just once, is something everyone should do, even if it’s just to form an informed opinion. Starting slowly is key, living with the absence of words requires some practice. The researcher, that also organizes and coordinates these kinds of retreats, recommends that, for beginners, a one-day retreat or one of just a few hours, is the most advisable. These sorts of attempts can also be slowly incorporated into our daily life, you’ll just need to make a conscious effort to reduce how much we speak and write, both in “real” life and in social media, or similar communication traps.

Silence by itself isn’t particularly miraculous, worthy of divine adoration, it’s just a rare commodity these days. Social media, work, going out, the gym, friends, our family, all of those are the ways we fill our daily lives. It’s more than normal that we do so. But it’s equally as important to understand what stays (or what doesn’t) in the absence of all these things. A retreat isn’t exactly necessary to achieve this silence, it just has certain benefits concerning “staying at home”, filled with dangerous traps — the television, books, and sinful phone… That is the reason why retreats are recommended by so many: as a way to initiate our withdrawal from all the noise. We got used to the cacophony, we made it a synonym with the way we live our lives. It’s not an easy task to make friends with our silence, maybe that’s why it’s so urgent. In the words of Pureza Fleming, “no one said it was going to be easy, just that it was going to be worth it.”

Originally translated from Vogue Portugal's The Quote Issue, published April 2022.For full credits and stories, check the print version.