I am teaching a class this semester at Guilford College called, “The Practice of Silence.” The class is both what it sounds like and a lot more. We are studying the Quaker theology behind the Quaker practice of silence but we’re also studying it from the broader lens of building focus, attention, and learning how to be still. And yes, in each class we have extended periods of silence or do some kind of mindfulness exercise that helps us build our attention.

For those wondering: We have three main texts books. The first is the amazing book by Jenny Odell, “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.” The book is great if you are interested in reading stories and practices that are meant to help move toward a more attentive life. Odell’s writing style is beautiful, meandering, and is itself a kind of experience in calmness. My students have said it best when they talk about how some of the parts are kind of slow, but how much they like the slowness of the chapters because they feel like she is intentionally leading them in practices that bring about just what she is writing about. We’re also reading some of John Puhnson’s “Encounter with Silence” for the Quaker angle and “Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive and Creative” by Manoush Zomorodi for a little more around technology.