A quiet place is the think tank of the soul

 

Krista Tippett, host of the public radio show On Being, interviews acoustic ecologist Gordon Hempton about his lifelong adventures in the sound and silence of nature.  Hempton is founder and vice president of The One Square Inch of Silence Foundation. He has produced more than 60 albums of natural soundscapes. Shih Fu Catherine recommends you listen to this interview with earbuds to enjoy the natural sounds that are woven throughout the hour.

Silence is an endangered species, says Gordon Hempton. He defines real quiet as presence — not an absence of sound, but an absence of noise. The Earth, as he knows it, is a "solar-powered jukebox."  Hempton says to really listen, whether to nature or another person, you first have to quiet your mind.  He says "Quiet is quieting."

Take a hike with him through the Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula.

"Good things come from a quiet place: study, prayer, music, transformation, worship, communion. The words peace and quiet are all but synonymous, and are often spoken in the same breath. A quiet place is the think tank of the soul, the spawning ground of truth and beauty.

A quiet place outdoors has no physical borders or limits to perception. One can commonly hear for miles and listen even farther. A quiet place affords a sanctuary for the soul, where the difference between right and wrong becomes more readily apparent. It is a place to feel the love that connects all things, large and small, human and not; a place where the presence of a tree can be heard. A quiet place is a place to open up all your senses and come alive."

http://onbeing.org/program/last-quiet-places/4557