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Comment by codr7 | Hacker News Reader

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.

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I’ve once met a German saying that I wholeheartedly adopted, “blessed be those who have nothing to say, and nevertheless remain silent”.

(Don’t remember the German original - I don’t speak German)

There’s also a more philosophical take from Wittgenstein IIRc.

"Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muß man schweigen."

(That's the Wittgenstein, not the German saying.)

Das ist die ganze Eleganz dem Wittgenstein, wer bin ich kein.

I searched and found "Gesegnet seien jene, die nichts zu sagen haben und den Mund halten!" which is the desired quotation but it's attributed to Oscar Wilde [1] so probably originally English since Oscar Wilde is also quoted to have said "Life is too short to learn German" (though he did learn German according to Wikipedia).

[1] https://www.gutzitiert.de/zitat_autor_oscar_wilde_1481.html

Googling this version (with a couple of words I remembered), brought me to a page with the version I heard before but it does not seem to be sourced:

Selig sind die, die nichts zu sagen haben und trotzdem schweigen

(And google also found something I assume is a singular version: "zu sagen hat und trotzdem schwiegt")

[0] http://events-stg.clasadvising.arizona.edu/nichts-zu-sagen-z... , last paragraph at the time I looked.

Tell me about it.

I've lived here for three years, with a native speaking partner; but it's just not happening much.

Before that I spent three years in school studying German, all gone.

I don't like the language very much, I guess that could be part of the difficulty. It's just too damn complicated, the same way C++ is complicated.

> I don't like the language very much, I guess that could be part of the difficulty. It's just too damn complicated, the same way C++ is complicated.

Interesting comparison. I find computer languages incredibly easy to pickup. Human languages on the other hand have been much more difficult. I only speak English and sometimes even then my words come out in the wrong order or I forget words entirely (+).

(+) I once forgot the word "and" - as a result I struggled for a day to speak/write many complex sentences.

Wow. Thinking about this, I think I could take on the "not speaking part" fairly easily. Although I'd still exclaim stuff out loud about my own performance at whatever I'm doing (e.g. foot tripping, "nice work dhead!").

Giving up writing is also possible given I'd have no devices around or paper. But giving up reading would be the toughest. Trapped in my own mind for a month, I'd need LONG forest walks. I'd basically have to walk all the time.

Were you allowed humming?

I know, I've unfortunately been slipping back into that nasty habit.

But I realize that it's a show my ego puts on for other egos; because that's just part of what egos do, mock any sign of being human.

Fortunately, the ashram is located in the middle of nowhere with plenty of wild nature to explore.

We were encouraged to not make any sounds at all, or gestures/miming; beyond what was absolutely critical.

And yet you must still post.

What hope is there for me, then?

Trust me, I would rather not stick my head out in the shark pool at all.

But we're all in this together, and it's like watching a train crash in slow motion.

Doing my best for all is the only thing that makes sense to me.

Where was this ashram?

Southern Sweden, surprisingly enough :)

https://www.yogameditation.com/retreats/the-3-month-sadhana-...

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