if you are in the uk go and watch the big silence on iplayer. it's a three part series hosted by christopher jamison, the benedictine monk who was the abbot in the monastery tv series a few years back. it's a similar series – 5 people take on the challenge of engaging with silence. programme one you meet the people and they have an initial introductory weekend. programme two follows them on an 8 day silent retreat. on this retreat each day they have one meeting with a spiritual director/guide. and programme three (yet to be shown) follows them back in their lives to see what difference this might make or how they might integrate silence back into busy lives.

it may not sound the most exciting television viewing but programme two was astonishing. it beats a lot of other reality tv shows into dullness and trivia. all of the five people had quite transformative experiences through encountering silence (and themselves and God in the silence). only one of the five was a christian.

there is a web site linked to the series here – growing into silence