There are two silences. One silence I choose to keep when I need to hear a word that will heal, instruct, or console. The other silence comes when I have heard something so powerful, so real, that words, spoken or written, would only diminish its power.
Inner stillness is perhaps our greatest ally. Gandhi once wrote that silence brings "the highest potency and is self-acting power." Prayer, meditation, reading scripture (which is, to me, alive with silence, embedded with sacred codes about our deepest mind) -- even quiet walks -- become healing acts. These quiet the world's noises and provide clues about who we are and our healthiest directions.