Silence, as we learnt from class the other day, can be a very different experience for individuals. For some, who are used to it, can be meditation whereas for others it is just simply boredom. Meditation allows for questioning and growth but it is hard to get into that frame of mind. To free yourself completely and to follow every thought through to its end, relinquishing control of everything else and taking control of yourself can be hard to achieve. To sit back and not think about what you have planned out for the rest of the day when you have twenty minutes in hand, and to let your mind loose is not something easily done at this day and age where you are programmed to think all the time.
Silence, however carried a very different meaning for the Quakers. Their religious congregations and the silence practiced there were about revelation from God. The silence that they experienced was vastly different from ours as they had a purpose to their silence - looking for revelation from God. To sit with a group of people and trying to hear God speak is obviously different from sitting in a classroom with your fellow classmates and experiencing the same silence. For the Quakers, everyone shared the messages revealed by God. There were no leaders or priests, as we see in masses today, where they are assigned the authority to preach and everyone listens to them. This builds a sense of community as everyone has the liberty to stand up and share what they have learned from God. The fact that religion came from everyone is what theirs so unique. It was something shared and learned by all.
