What is a Silent Group?
Eckhart Tolle says that presence increases when a group of people meet in Stillness.
When meeting with others in silence, and when listening from that inner Stillness to words that come from a person who is awake to her/his true nature, a possibility opens for you to connect- with complete naturalness- to that who YOU ARE at the deepest and most essential level. The simplicity and naturalness of how this happens in a group of these characteristics can often be very surprising.
If you are going to create a new group, you may find the following advice useful, and don’t forget to send us all your information by email in order to add the group to the list.
The groups neither have a rigid structure nor need a great amount of people. Sharing the Stillness is the key.
Creating a Group
Look for a spacious and comfortable space where you can listen to or watch a recording. In order to acquire this material you can consult the web sites of different teachers. Look at Links section for more information. You can also contact us for more help or for one of our CDs with Spanish translations of Eckhart and other teachers, which are being recorded at the Elche/Alicante Silent Group sessions.
If you wish to register the group on Eckhart Tolle’s web site, go to the "GROUPS and TEACHERS" - "Local Groups" section on his site.
Structure of a Silent Group
You can use the format recommended by Eckhart Tolle. Start with 10-20 minutes of silent meditation, followed by an hour of listening to or watching a recording, and finish again with 10-20 minutes of silence. When you feel ready, you can leave the room in silence.
If it is necessary to communicate something to the group, some informative sheets can be left at the exit. It is also advisable to let people make a contribution (e.g. 2 euros) as they leave. In this way, the group always has some money to either buy auditive material or pay any expenses that arise.
Format Silent Group "total silence"
- Conscious music for half an hour (19:00h - 19:30h)
- Silence
- Bell sounds informing that is 20:30h so that there is some idea of how much time has passed (by special request!)
- No official closure: as usual, everyone just leaves when they feel ready
- Opend or closed eyes? There isn't a correct or incorrect way to sitting in silence together. It is true that opening your eyes and looking around from stillness can be very deep...looking at everything without labelling, without interpreting...
- Gazing at other people? I mention this because some people have felt disconcerted on having this experience. If your eyes are open it's quite probable that at any given moment you might exchange glances with somebody else. You can choose to continue gazing...in our society this is very uncomfortable or at least, very intimate...or not to continue gazing. It's not important. The key is to be respectful and gentle, never demanding with your gaze. If you continue looking at each other, breathe deeply, perhaps noticing your inner body, the gaze becomes the mirror of the soul and it can be very beautiful. Again, without judgement, without comments...and if there are opinions, demands and fears...we all very well know who we have found in order to observe: the human mind, the ego.