Silence

"All mystics insist on the use of particular methods for the attainment of their desired goal--the experience of the Presence of God. These "Children of the Light" [Quakers] are no exception to the rule. They all insist with much emphasis on the value of silence. It is a method as old as the beginning of inward religion. There must be a hush from the din of the world's noises before the soul can hear the inward Voice; there must be a closing of the eyes to the glare and dazzle of the world's sights before the inward eye can see that which is eternally Real and True... One sees at once that silence is no passive state, but that rather it is the highest activity of which the human spirit is capable, and the careful reader will note that these "Children of the Light" propose no easy way by which the soul is given a lazy holiday. All their words announce that silence is no mere absence of noise and talk, but the focusing of inner attention on the Will of God, the attuning of the human to the Divine." - Rufus M. Jones, editor, Selections from the Children of Light

For more on silence: http://www.friendsinchrist.net/fic_sil.shtml