The fall after I graduated from college, I spent a month living at a contemplative retreat center in high desert outside of Sedona, Arizona. Silence was the order of the day...and of the night. Those who lived or stayed at the center spoke only at meals or to give instructions for the daily work we did to maintain the center, and during our morning and evening worship services. The rest of our time was spent in silence. In the entrance to the retreat center's common space hung a banner with these words: