I did 3 months hard core full time Yoga in an ashram some years ago. As part of the program; I didn't speak, read or write for a month. Or cut nails or hair, but that's another story :) As an added bonus; the entire group followed the same program, which meant that I didn't have to listen to them either.

The main take home for me was that most of the things that I feel are really important to say in my daily life aren't. Once it was over, being expected to speak felt like a burden.

Anyone who found this story intriguing should immediately go buy "Climate: A New Story" by Charles Eisenstein. He explores how we use "war language" when talking about environmental issues and how that undercuts our efforts... then he proposes how we get out of that conversational rut, with allies, people on the fence, and even climate change deniers.

I naturally don't make small talk as much as people usually do, and came up with a saying when people tell me that I'm "so quiet":

If you're always talking, you can't hear what's going on.

John Francis's talk[0] was one of the very early TED online videos to go viral- definitely the first one I remember watching, introducing me to the entire TED format. Pretty powerful speaker.

That said, having studied ASL for a few years in University I find the view of "not talking" pretty simple. So much can be communicated without your vocal chords, so much can be "said" without speaking. Though, maybe that was part of his point.

[0] https://www.ted.com/talks/john_francis_walks_the_earth?langu...

Silent protest is hardly the same thing as not speaking in order "to learn how to listen to opponents."

Does a vow of silence include texting or email? He says in the video that he wrote mail, so I'm wondering where one would draw a line.

This article is very short but does a good job touching on an aspect of his life.

To anyone interested in John Francis, consider reading his book Planetwalker. It's beautiful, unique, and inspiring. Think I'll read it again soon.

Long term vows of silence actually seem like they can produce pretty unhealthy result also - this is a story of a situation where a couple of people died during a long term vow of silence.

https://info-buddhism.com/geshe_michael_roach-Death-and-Madn...

Edit: grammar + I'd note even many practices that involve asceticism give some warning about extreme asceticism - the "middle way" of Buddhism is middle between ordinary life and extreme practices.

im curious to know how he got through the oral defence of his phd. would they grant an exception for these circumstances? pretty cool

Sounds like he wasn’t doing much “active listening”

Canadian taxpayers give a billion dollars to the CBC every year. In return we get American-centric stories on the front page that seem to reflect our governing party’s ideology.