Wendy Robinson is now a member of the Orthodox Church, by which I am making the assumption she means Greek, but I'm well aware it could be any number of other Orthodox churches.

At some point in her life, she considered herself to be a Quaker. I assume--indeed she alludes to this--that she became comfortable with silence during that time, and was drawn to the contemplative practices of her Orthodox community.

In her book she writes of not only the facets of silence, but how to approach it. Being present to the moment helps one discover for one's self the presence of God, of the movement of the Spirit. Listening deeply to God is much the same as listening to another: we must quiet our own racing thoughts in order to receive the divine presence. True prayer becomes a shared space between ourselves and the holy.

This is not a book to read once and shelve. My strong feeling is that reading it again will open myself to more nuances than I have been able to absorb in one reading. ( )