In this work of silence, our true self emerges

Silence is a very powerful force, true silence. Not the negative silence of ‘I’m not going to speak to her ever again’, or the negative silence of brushing under the carpet just in case people get upset, or deceiving the world about it because it is too dangerous to let out. Not that negative silence of repression or deception, but the true silence in which we experience an expansion of our minds and opening of our hearts, and we experience a new kind of communi-cation and communion with other people. This is the test of silence, that it brings us to peace with ourselves and with others. And in this work of silence, our true self emerges. 

( Finding Oneself 1 Laurence Freeman )