0:00:03 > 0:00:06So, are you a bit fed up of this...
0:00:10 > 0:00:14..and longing for a bit more of this?
0:00:14 > 0:00:18# The sound of silence... #
0:00:21 > 0:00:23Coming up - silence.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27We meet the broadcaster who swapped the studio for a silent retreat,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29the 21st-century hermit
0:00:29 > 0:00:32and a school assembly like you've never seen it before.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36Plus, some reflective hymns and a performance by Hayley Westenra.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47What with Songs Of Praise, Good Morning Sunday
0:00:47 > 0:00:49and the demands of having a family,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51the idea of a bit of peace and quiet, I have to say,
0:00:51 > 0:00:52is rather appealing.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55I've travelled to many places with Songs Of Praise over the years
0:00:55 > 0:00:59and one trip I particularly remember was to the Holy Land.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02The sheer tranquillity of standing beside the sea of Galilee -
0:01:02 > 0:01:06it was one of the most peaceful places I've ever been to.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08Well, our first hymn speaks of resting by Galilee
0:01:08 > 0:01:10and the calm hills above.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01That first hymn, Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04was based on words taken from a poem from John Greenleaf Whittier
0:04:04 > 0:04:06who was an American Quaker.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Quaker meetings for worship are traditionally held in silence.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12Not something you'd imagine would appeal to your average teenager
0:04:12 > 0:04:14who's more likely to be talking on a mobile phone,
0:04:14 > 0:04:16or playing loud music in their bedroom,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20but the students at Bootham's, a Quaker school in York,
0:04:20 > 0:04:21are surprisingly quiet.
0:04:27 > 0:04:33We all go into the hall and everyone goes silent.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37It's quite interesting that we manage to get silent
0:04:37 > 0:04:40so quickly when we're all so loud normally.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46It's odd, it's not a silence that is enforced by teachers.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49It's a silence that just sort of happens.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Everyone just stays completely silent
0:04:52 > 0:04:55and there's no-one on their phones, or texting in the background,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and no-one talking to each other or anything like that.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02We're all sitting facing each other.
0:05:02 > 0:05:08I think that's the visual symbol of sorts of how we are equal,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10how none of us is more valuable than the other.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13Even the headmaster sits facing towards the centre.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17When you're younger, you don't actually get a lot from it,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19it's something you have to do.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21You sit there and think, "OK, I can last for ten minutes,"
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and then as you get older and you have more work
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and you've more to do and life gets more stressful,
0:05:27 > 0:05:31it's sort of calming and a good opportunity for reflection really.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37You can be praying while in the silence but a lot of people
0:05:37 > 0:05:41do choose to sit and think about what is to come in the day.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48"Be aware of the spirit of God at work in ordinary activities..."
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Anybody is free to speak.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54Anybody at all from year seven to the oldest member of staff.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58If I'm moved to speak and minister then I don't know what it is,
0:05:58 > 0:05:59it's indescribable,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03but it is like something that is kind of pushing you to minister.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07"..In our sorrows as well as our joys.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11"Are you open to new light from whatever source it may come?"
0:06:11 > 0:06:13I think you're supposed to understand that there's
0:06:13 > 0:06:16God in everyone and...
0:06:16 > 0:06:20with the silence you can tap into that.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25It's not about someone telling you what to do.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28It's all about you and it's all about God and about connecting you two.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31You don't really need anyone in the middle to help you,
0:06:31 > 0:06:33you can just do it yourself through the silence.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39It's taken seven years for it to become enjoyable.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Being young today means often things are very transient.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Clubbing and all these things and pop culture, and everything
0:06:45 > 0:06:48sort of moves by very fast, so it's nice,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50I think it balances it nicely.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58It calms me quite a lot.
0:06:58 > 0:07:03It's a bit like meditating, where you don't think about anything
0:07:03 > 0:07:06but when you're in a room full of people who are doing the same thing,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08it feels a lot more powerful.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00Author Sara Maitland has spent the last ten years
0:10:00 > 0:10:02trying to figure out more about silence
0:10:02 > 0:10:06and what relevance it might have in the 21st-century.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09She swapped her previously busy life for a remote cottage
0:10:09 > 0:10:11in the wilds of Scotland.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14I come from a very large family. I was a vicar's wife,
0:10:14 > 0:10:18which is very noisy, I was a student in the late '60s,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21which is very noisy. And then...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23about the millennium year, oddly enough, partly because
0:10:23 > 0:10:27I turned 50, partly because my youngest child had left home,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31I was suddenly in a place where I could choose to do anything.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35And what I chose to do - and have never regretted -
0:10:35 > 0:10:37is pursue the whole question
0:10:37 > 0:10:40of silence, which had come to interest me very much.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44One thing I find in the early practice of silence is,
0:10:44 > 0:10:46it's very, very hard to do in your own house.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50I really do do a lot to keep the noise level
0:10:50 > 0:10:53in my house down - I don't have a television,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56I don't have a tumble-dryer,
0:10:56 > 0:11:01I don't have a radio, I don't have any sound on my computer,
0:11:01 > 0:11:04and also, I have a dog now, which is a big mistake!
0:11:04 > 0:11:07Dogs are anti-silence! But they are also pro-health.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10She gets me out when the weather is really bad. It's very good for me
0:11:10 > 0:11:13to have to take her for a walk.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17The silence is only for me - it's not an end in itself.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21It's only to have the opportunity for concentration on prayer.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25What Christianity has always taught
0:11:25 > 0:11:27is that it's the Holy Spirit who prays in us.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29If we are talking all the time, it is very hard
0:11:29 > 0:11:33for the Holy Spirit to get His bit in -
0:11:33 > 0:11:37that we have to somehow learn to silence ourselves enough
0:11:37 > 0:11:40to share the Holy Spirit's prayer with the Holy Spirit,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and I think that lies behind all the methods of silent prayer.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47It's God that is doing the praying - we're just the vehicle for it.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51And if you shut up for a bit, you might enable God
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and learn more about what God's up to.
0:12:10 > 0:12:19# Silence in Heaven
0:12:21 > 0:12:29# Silence on Earth
0:12:31 > 0:12:38# Silence within
0:12:38 > 0:12:43# Thy hush, O Lord
0:12:43 > 0:12:47# O'er all the world
0:12:47 > 0:12:53# Covers the din
0:12:58 > 0:13:02# I do not fear to speak of thee
0:13:02 > 0:13:06# In mortal kind
0:13:06 > 0:13:15# And yet to all thy namelessness
0:13:16 > 0:13:22# I am not blind
0:13:24 > 0:13:30# Only I need
0:13:30 > 0:13:36# And kneel again
0:13:36 > 0:13:41# Thy
0:13:41 > 0:13:49# Touch to win
0:13:56 > 0:14:07# Silence in Heaven
0:14:07 > 0:14:16# Silence on Earth
0:14:19 > 0:14:23# Silence
0:14:23 > 0:14:30# Within. #
0:14:53 > 0:14:57Sara Maitland is living a life of silence and prayer,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00but even hermits have to leave the house sometimes.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02- Morning!- How are you doing?
0:15:02 > 0:15:05- Not so bad - you?- Weather all right, isn't it?- Oh, glorious!
0:15:05 > 0:15:09'The idea is... that I only go out once a week.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12'I can't say I always achieve this, but in theory,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14'I go out on Sundays, I go to Mass
0:15:14 > 0:15:19'I do a big shop, and if I've forgotten to buy anything,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21- 'I have to do without it.' - Thank you.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24If you live in a very, very rural place,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27you become extremely community dependent
0:15:27 > 0:15:31in ways that do break silence, but are so good...
0:15:31 > 0:15:32that it's worth it.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37So, let's share with each other the sign of peace.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39The Body of Christ...
0:15:39 > 0:15:42I have a very, very lovely congregation,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46who are very supportive of what I do, and I like them very much.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- Amen. - May Almighty God bless you -
0:15:49 > 0:15:51the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54- CONGREGATION:- Amen.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57I think a lot of people think I'm not a hermit at all, actually!
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I don't do hermit things - I brush my hair
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and I have people to stay occasionally.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06I go away sometimes.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08I'm a jobbing writer, and I keep at it,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11because I have to pay the mortgage,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15like everybody else - I just happen to be able to do it in my own house.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20If you live a life that is more and more silent,
0:16:20 > 0:16:24the prayer just becomes easier to, I don't know, slip in and out of.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28The edges of prayer become more blurred - so, although
0:16:28 > 0:16:32I have these formal prayer times, I like to think at least
0:16:32 > 0:16:34that I pray more and more of the time.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39Anything that is an attempt to let God communicate with us
0:16:39 > 0:16:40is prayer.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Personally, I practically never hear the voice of God,
0:16:44 > 0:16:48if by that one means words, either internally or externally,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52that I hear. What I DO feel in silence is the presence of God,
0:16:52 > 0:16:55the presence of that love and sustenance and power.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32But first, let's start as we mean to go on - Shania Twain kicking us off
0:18:32 > 0:18:35as we head towards a very packed show.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40In 2006, broadcaster Trish Adudu's world was shattered
0:18:40 > 0:18:42when her father died.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Faith was always a part of my life growing up.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50My dad was a big figure - huge African,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54head of the family, really strong Catholic.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Your father passing away, erm,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59- rocked your faith massively. - Mmm. Yes.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03When he died suddenly - you know,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06within seven days, he was dead, of cancer -
0:19:06 > 0:19:09part of me was praying, thinking, "He's going to come through this,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11"God's always been there for us."
0:19:11 > 0:19:13And so when he went,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17something died completely within me, spiritually.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22In 2009, Trish swapped the studio for silence,
0:19:22 > 0:19:26as part of a BBC documentary series The Big Silence.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32the idea was to see, you know, what impact would silence have
0:19:32 > 0:19:35on very, very busy people.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39And so we went into this monastery, where we were sort of mentored
0:19:39 > 0:19:42by, er, monks, which was very interesting!
0:19:42 > 0:19:45And then we went into a Jesuit retreat
0:19:45 > 0:19:48for round about two weeks, and, erm,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51there was no way, going into that silence,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54did I ever think it would have an impact on me.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Were you not desperate just to get back to your room
0:19:57 > 0:19:59- and get on the mobile phone?- Yes.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01When I first got there, I begged Father Christopher,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04who was in charge of this experience - wonderful man -
0:20:04 > 0:20:07to take my mobile phone, because I knew the temptation
0:20:07 > 0:20:10of ringing home and saying, "Get me out of here!"
0:20:10 > 0:20:13And to be honest, it was really difficult.
0:20:13 > 0:20:18I remember one time, I was finding it so difficult
0:20:18 > 0:20:22to be silent that I went and made a little placard.
0:20:24 > 0:20:25Actually,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27being alone, I wasn't alone -
0:20:27 > 0:20:31I was with God. But for me,
0:20:31 > 0:20:36being alone was not talking to people, and it was scary.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39So, what did you do, sit in your room or...look out the window?
0:20:39 > 0:20:41I tended to go for a lot of walks.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44But as you continued in the silence,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48you had to just be still.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51I think what's sort of sad, I suppose,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53is that had my father not died,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58I probably wouldn't have had this fulfilling relationship with God,
0:20:58 > 0:21:02because grief is the one thing that forces you to stop
0:21:02 > 0:21:04in a very busy life.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13# Be still my soul...
0:24:06 > 0:24:09MUSIC PLAYS ON RADIO
0:24:09 > 0:24:13After Trish's eight-day silent retreat, she returned home
0:24:13 > 0:24:16to her normal life in the Midlands, her broadcasting career
0:24:16 > 0:24:19- and her children. - When I came out of the monastery,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23I was brilliant - I was doing silence very day.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26And then, you know, the kids' school report, and children's pantomime...
0:24:26 > 0:24:29- Real life.- ..and Christmas and Easter, and real life...
0:24:29 > 0:24:31WIND CHIMES TINKLE
0:24:31 > 0:24:33How do you incorporate silence into your life, then?
0:24:33 > 0:24:38Well, I go to my friend's house once a week.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42There is a lot of stillness, there is a wonderful, still environment
0:24:42 > 0:24:47and a lovely garden. And so I come here and I sit with the chickens!
0:24:47 > 0:24:51And it allows me to move away from the children
0:24:51 > 0:24:55and my lovely partner Ezzy, just to be able to sit down
0:24:55 > 0:24:59and connect again, and because I'm close to nature, I feel here.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03Erm, it allows me to have that...
0:25:03 > 0:25:05SHE EXHALES
0:25:05 > 0:25:08WIND CHIMES TINKLE
0:25:08 > 0:25:12With the chimes and with the wonderful smells around -
0:25:12 > 0:25:14because it's a bit of a herbal garden as well -
0:25:14 > 0:25:18I feel as if I'm closer to God.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Harking back to the hymn we've just heard,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25it also talks about eventually being together with the Lord.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Do you feel, in a way, that that will come full circle
0:25:28 > 0:25:32- and it'll be you, your dad and God as well?- Definitely.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35When my dad died, for me the relationship with God died
0:25:35 > 0:25:37because my dad introduced me to faith.
0:25:37 > 0:25:44Stillness brought me back into faith, back into God. Back into...
0:25:45 > 0:25:49..the little girl that was led down the church with my father.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54- So silence has changed your life for the better.- Yeah, definitely.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57I've still got my flaws, I'm still mad Trish,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00I'm still running around as a mad mum,
0:26:00 > 0:26:02but I know God is with me
0:26:02 > 0:26:05and God has never actually left me,
0:26:05 > 0:26:11and that's a really, really comforting thought for me.
0:26:28 > 0:26:32# Let all mortal flesh
0:26:32 > 0:26:36# Keep silence
0:26:38 > 0:26:41# And with fear
0:26:41 > 0:26:46# And trembling stand
0:26:48 > 0:26:51# Ponder nothing
0:26:51 > 0:26:57# Earthly-minded
0:26:58 > 0:27:01# For with blessing
0:27:01 > 0:27:07# In his hand
0:27:09 > 0:27:12# Christ our God
0:27:12 > 0:27:19# To earth descendeth
0:27:19 > 0:27:22# Our full homage
0:27:22 > 0:27:27# To demand
0:27:45 > 0:27:47# King of kings
0:27:47 > 0:27:53# Yet born of Mary
0:27:55 > 0:27:57# As of old
0:27:57 > 0:28:05# On earth he stood
0:28:06 > 0:28:08# Lord of lords
0:28:08 > 0:28:15# In human vesture
0:28:16 > 0:28:19# In the body
0:28:19 > 0:28:25# And the blood
0:28:27 > 0:28:28# He will give
0:28:28 > 0:28:36# To all the faithful
0:28:37 > 0:28:39# His own self
0:28:39 > 0:28:47# For heavenly food
0:29:23 > 0:29:25# At his feet
0:29:25 > 0:29:31# The six-winged seraph
0:29:31 > 0:29:33# Cherubim
0:29:33 > 0:29:38# With sleepless eye
0:29:38 > 0:29:42# Veil their faces
0:29:42 > 0:29:46# To the presence
0:29:46 > 0:29:54# As with ceaseless voice they cry
0:29:54 > 0:29:56# Alleluia
0:29:56 > 0:30:04# Alleluia
0:30:04 > 0:30:08# Alleluia
0:30:08 > 0:30:15# Lord Most High. #
0:30:21 > 0:30:24Help us, Lord, to wait in silence.
0:30:26 > 0:30:32To hear that still, small voice above the busyness of our lives.
0:30:34 > 0:30:40Help us, Lord, to find the time for reflection and contemplation,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44to be still and know that you are God.
0:30:44 > 0:30:46Amen.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52Silence isn't something I've thought much about before.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55You know, in everyday life it's something you only encounter
0:30:55 > 0:30:59in libraries, courtrooms and maybe memorial services,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02but taking time to be silent seems to be about much more
0:31:02 > 0:31:05than just having a bit of a breather in an otherwise busy world.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08It allows a deeper connection to the divine,
0:31:08 > 0:31:12to that mysterious God whose splendour we can only imagine.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29Next week it's full steam ahead for Diane as she heads to Portsmouth,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32the UK's only island city.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36She meets the novice sailors on board the tall ship Fit For A Queen,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39gets to grips with some interesting sea creatures
0:33:39 > 0:33:42and there's magnificent hymn-singing from St Mary's Church.
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd