A vow of silence is a personal, voluntary oath to refrain from speaking, often associated with religious faith. The duration varies, and it can be for contemplation, repentance, sacrifice, control or manipulation, political protection, or statements. It doesn’t necessarily impede communication. People can use non-verbal gestures, writing, or sign language to convey ideas. It’s important to differentiate these promises from silences on medical or psychological grounds. It’s a voluntary act and shouldn’t be confused with trauma-induced silence or physical inability to speak.
A vow of silence is a personal, voluntary oath to refrain from speaking. There are numerous reasons for taking such a vow, with many people associating this concept with expressions of religious faith. The duration depends on the purpose, with common reasons for refraining from speaking including contemplation, repentance, desire for sacrifice, control or manipulation, and political protection and statements. A commitment not to talk does not necessarily impede communication. People should differentiate these promises from silences on medical or psychological grounds.
Duration
The terms of the vow of silence vary and depend on the circumstances that bring about it. An oath to stop talking permanently is the least common, although some people accept this level of commitment. Others commit to silence for a specific amount of time, such as a year or just a particular part of the day, while some vow to remain silent until something is accomplished or a certain event occurs.
Major and minor silence
In some regions, those in cloisters or monasteries participate in what is known as the Great Silence. They may not speak at all during this time, which usually covers the time between evening and morning prayers. Individuals also engage in the Lesser Silence, which lasts from morning prayer to evening. People may speak to pray or to convey really critical information, but they don’t welcome pointless conversation.
Purpose and goals
Contemplation
When an individual takes a vow of silence, the primary intent is often to promote religious contemplation. He usually believes that when a person stops talking, she is forced to look inward, to think about the nature of faith and her own personal beliefs. In theory, without the distractions that come with conversation, he is better able to focus on spiritual development or pursuits. Many individuals link this to the idea that God or another Higher Power doesn’t always communicate with words, that true connection and understanding comes in moments of divine stillness.
Repentance
Sometimes, a person stops talking because they want to show they’re sorry for something they’ve done. She gives up her voice, which she values as a way to deal with the guilt. If someone who has been offended offers sincere forgiveness, or if the person taking the vow comes to feel somehow compensated for what happened, her silence usually ends.
Substitute for material sacrifice
It’s relatively common for people of faith to take a fairly minimalistic approach to living, buying, and using only what they truly need. They focus on the underlying principle that too much “stuff” makes it difficult to be active in religion, because so many tasks and responsibilities come with material wealth. Christians, for example, point to Jesus’ command to forsake material things to follow him. When someone has already reduced his stuff, his voice can be one more thing to sacrifice.
Controlling and manipulating relationships
A vow of silence is sometimes part of relationship or social manipulation. A child, for example, might give the “silent treatment” to punish other children or to let them know that they are not happy. Some adults also use this technique as a way to passive-aggressively assert some control, particularly when angry.
Policy protection and statements
In some cases, a political or other prisoner stops talking because he doesn’t want to reveal incriminating or sensitive information to his captors. Usually, this type of vote only applies when someone tries to interrogate the prisoner, although some individuals never talk to anyone because they don’t know which people are trustworthy. More rarely, someone uses the tactic simply as a political statement, knowing that the media might pick up on his story of silence and inevitably have to bring attention to his cause.
Not verbal communication
One misconception about a vow of silence is that it effectively prevents a person from fully communicating. In fact, an individual who does not want to talk can convey ideas quite clearly in many cases with non-verbal gestures and expressions, such as hugging someone they are happy to see. Writing things down is another strategy, with contemporary individuals also using tools like email and smartphones. Sign language also occasionally comes into play. While interrupting the speech doesn’t completely isolate a person from others, they may choose specific ways to interact in a way that maintains the intent of the vote.
It is worth noting that an individual may specifically stop talking as a way to purposely change his or her ways of communicating. When a person cannot rely on speech, what he can convey in body language, notes or other tools is often more honest and brief, devoid of much of the fluff and drama that consume wasted time and drain energy. . With someone who expresses themselves this best, relationships and a general appreciation of the world often deepen once the vote is over.
Vote perception
Speech is a normal part of everyday social interaction, although the acceptable amount of speech varies from culture to culture, and as a result, friends, family, and acquaintances don’t always understand a vow of silence. They might see a person who takes it as unstable, for example, or as being out of touch with the rest of the world. The community’s ability to understand the motivations behind it, however, is important. Other nuns, for example, are generally accepting of another nun stopping speaking because they share the mindset that vowing can yield spiritual benefits. It is not uncommon for a person to travel to a different place before putting it into action so as not to suffer the same social disapproval.
differentiations
Vows of silence are usually completely voluntary, meaning that even if an individual begins to repent or sacrifice, they want to stop speaking on some level. They should not be confused with silence which sometimes occurs after physical or emotional trauma and which is associated with psychological difficulties, because this problem often requires the person to get professional help before their mental and social functioning is restored. People also need to separate it from the physical inability to speak, which can be the result of many different medical conditions and procedures. “Vocal rest,” which is a common treatment for inflammation of the vocal cords and surrounding tissue, falls somewhere in between, because people often willingly stop talking to protect their vocal health.
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