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Improving Upon Silence
The most important step in developing skillful speech is to think before speaking (or writing). This is called mindfulness of speech. Few things can improve the nature of our relationships as much as the development of skillful speech. Silence offers us, and those around us, the spaciousness we need to speak more skillfully. When we speak with greater skill, our true self—our compassionate, loving self—emerges with gentle ease. So before you speak, stop, breathe, and consider if what you are about to say will improve upon the silence.
- Allan Lokos, from “Skillful Speech,” Tricycle, Winter 2008
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I like very much, what Pythagoras says about silence.
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What can be done to help?
and even when we speak, one word skillfully placed is a jewel more valued than a bagfull of brilliant insights.