The Way of Silence; Silent Retreat Changed Life: Where Two Decades of Therapy Failed, Silent Retreat's Silence Shattered Lives

In the fast-paced modern life, we are constantly speaking, writing, screen scrolling, and surrounded by the noise of dialogue. Marriage, children, career success... Even after achieving everything, there is a strange dissatisfaction and emptiness in the mind. The famous American writer Boris Fishman was going through a similar situation. When it seemed that even two decades of therapy and constant conversations were not improving his life, he chose a unique 'silence' path. He got this opportunity at a silent retreat in Georgia. How life changed after this, know from Fishman ... "My thirties seemed to be full of achievements. Marriage, children, two well-known books and a job as a professor at the university, there was everything. But there was deep discontent within. The relationship with the wife was strained, the joy of parenthood was buried in responsibilities, the books were appreciated, but not the reader. Due to the job, I was 2400 km away from the family... Totally desperate. Years of therapy and negotiations could not offer a solution. Words brought me success, but the emptiness within me grew. Social media and constant noise had deepened this unease. An acquaintance told me about the 'Silent Retreat'. It was an ordinary Christian silent hermitage. No luxury, no Wi-Fi. I wasn't a Christian, but I was so tired of the shattered life that I decided to go there. The ashram was a simple monastery nestled in the middle of the fields. I found a small cottage with the necessary facilities. After depositing the phone and laptop, I had literally nothing left to do. When I stopped speaking, for the first time, the voices of nature began to be heard. I would walk around the fields barefoot, listen to the chirping of birds and feel the rough bark of trees. Years later, I understood that 'living in the present' is not just an idea, but an experience. Even looking at the steering wheel of the old car felt extraordinarily real and meaningful. In that wide solitude of silence, when the noise of the phone and the incessant rush of words subsided, the fog of the mind began to dissipate. It was then that I realized that the deepest purpose in life is love and the greatest responsibility is to convey it to the loved ones. My world didn't change immediately after I returned from the retreat. The next book was also not successful, and family problems persisted. When I went there again recently, I understood the deep truth of life. "The people who come here are not in the race to be famous, but they are good people. Then I realized that I was losing myself in trying to fit in everywhere and impress others. Silence taught that true freedom is to be free from the pressure of being a special person. Today I am more calm, because silence introduced me to my true identity. -Boris