  The silence of the desert elders is called hesychia, which
means stillness, silence, inner quiet. However, it is much
deeper than just an external quiet. A person can live alone and
still experience much noise within and a person can live in the
midst of a crowd and have a true sense of stillness in their
heart.  There is always a shadow side to silence—the kind of
silence that keeps hidden secrets and abuses. This is not the
life-giving silence the desert elders seek. Silence can be
poisonous, as when someone's voice is being silenced or when we
silence ourselves out of resentment or anger. Think of times
when you have engaged silence as a weapon in a relationship.
There is also the silence of hopelessness or giving up, feeling
overwhelmed by life. Or silence that comes when we feel another
has all the answers and our voice doesn't matter.  The desert
monks are talking about silence that is life-giving. They urge
us to seek a particular quality of silence that is attentive and
emerges from a place of calm