THE MODERN SILENT YEAR Silence Checklist PREPARATION (Before Day 1) ☐ Define the vow clearly (no speech / emergency-only speech) ☐ Choose start + end dates ☐ Write a one-page intention statement ☐ Inform family, friends, clients in writing ☐ Create an emergency exception rule ☐ Prepare “I am taking a vow of silence” message/card ☐ Set up auto-replies for email, DMs, and texts ☐ Reduce upcoming social and work obligations ☐ Secure income that doesn’t rely on speaking ☐ Tell on

A list of essentials for your vow of silence. 1. Define the rules of your silence Decide upfront: no speaking at all, or exceptions for emergencies? Will whispering, singing, or mouthing words count? Clarity prevents loopholes later. 2. Set a clear intention Write why you’re doing this—inner peace, spiritual practice, detox from noise, self-mastery. You’ll need this reminder when it gets difficult. 3. Choose a start and end date Make it ceremonial. A clear boundary gives the

In twenty-twenty-five, we learned too late That every thought could seal a certain fate, For words once freed refused to fade or sleep, They stayed to count the promises we keep. We spoke in posts, in stories, streams, and lies, In filtered truths and borrowed battle cries, Each sentence dressed to travel far and fast, Yet built to live forever, not just last. A whisper now could start a public fire, A joke could rise and hang us on the wire, Context drowned beneath a scrolli

Silence arrives on careful feet, A measured hush, a softened beat, It settles where the loud once stood, A quiet pulse, both sharp and good. It does not shout, it does not plead, It gives the soul the space it needs, A held-in breath the world forgot, A pause between the wounds we’ve got. In silence, truth removes its mask, No crowd, no noise, no need to ask, The heart speaks plain, the mind goes still, The will remembers how to will. Silence is not the lack of sound, But dep