Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Clinton and I'm really pleased that you've joined and I'm excited that we're going to do some great learning together.

Today's lesson is called "Stillness and Silence." And it's taken from the Unit: Spirituality.

How do music and silence express belief? And we will be thinking about how silence is used by different religious communities today.

We have some keywords to help us with our learning.

The first one is meditation, and that's being calm and focusing the mind.

We've got contemplation, which is thinking deeply about something.

Silence, the absence of sound or noise.

And stillness, the absence of movement or sound.

And we have two learning cycles in our lesson today.

The first one, how does some religious traditions use silence? And our second one, why is silence important? So let's start with our first learning cycle.

How does some religious traditions use silence? So Andeep explains what we mean by theology in Religious Education.

"Theologians are interested in stories, texts and traditions.

We can better understand people's worldview by examining the deeper meaning of these stories, texts and traditions.

We can also look at the difference they make to people today." Thank you, Andeep.

So in this lesson we explore how religious traditions use silence to help us better understand Christian, Muslim and Sikh worldviews.

Izzy and Andeep are talking about silence.

Izzy says, "I don't like it when our house is too quiet.

Dad and I usually put on some music to fill up the silence." That's quite similar to our household actually, Izzy.

And Andeep says, "When I get home from school, I go to my bedroom to read a book or draw pictures.

It's nice to be quiet before my mom starts asking questions about my day." That is something that parents and carers often do.

Do you ever have times of silence or stillness in your life? How does it feel? Do you like it or maybe not? Silence can be found in many religious traditions.

Times of prayer and meditation might include stillness and silence.

People might be silent and still in their place of worship, or when they pray or meditate at home.

People who are members of the Society of Friends are also known as Quakers.

And Quakers meet for worship regularly at their Meeting House.

Quaker meetings are very simple.

They include a long period of silence so those at the meeting can spend time in contemplation.

Tamara is a Quaker and she tells us, "When I arrive at the meeting, it takes me a while to become silent on the inside and the outside.

I start by stilling my body and letting go of the busy thoughts in my head.

I prepare for worship by breathing calmly and listening to the silence in the meeting room." Tamara explains more about silence in her Quaker meeting.

"I like to say a prayer or think about some words from the Bible as I settle into silence.

When I prepare in this way, it helps me to focus on God and make the most of the time of contemplation.

I think about what's really important in my life." Thank you, Tamara.

I have a question for you.

Is this true or false? Religious services always involve talking or music.

You might like to pause this video to give you time to think about your answer or maybe to discuss it with the person next to you.

Come back to me and start the video again when you've got your answer.

welcome back.

So was the answer, true or false? Religious services always involved talking or music.

It was false.

Some people such as Quakers, hold services in silence without music or lots of talking.

During a Quaker meeting, everyone sits in silence and waits.

Someone might say some words to the group and everyone listens silently and thinks about those words.

And you can see there the group sitting quietly but also waiting for this inner light, this understanding in the silence.

John is a Quaker and he has a Christian worldview.

"The silence during meeting helps me to let go of the noisy words in my head and the concerns of the world.

The stillness in the room helps me put everything to one side for an hour.

I open myself up to focus on God." Thank you, John.

He also goes on to tell us, "Silence and stillness gives me time and space to experience inner light in the company of others who are also waiting for the presence of God.

If someone speaks, we use the silence to reflect on what they've said.

No one is rushing to make their voice heard." I have a question for you.

What usually happens during a Quaker meeting? Choose two correct answers.

Is it A, people sing songs of praise.

B, people speak meaningful words to the group.

C, people chat to each other.

Or D, people sit quietly and wait.

You might like to pause the video to give you some time to think about your answer and maybe to talk to the person next to you about the answer.

Come back to me and start the video again when you have your answer.

Welcome back.

So the correct two answers were B and D.

People speak meaningful words to the group and people sit quietly and wait.

Well done if you chose B and D, that's great learning.

Now I have a task for you.

Who has the best understanding of how religions use silence.

And you can use the case studies to help you explain.

So Andeep says, "Silent means making no sound and keeping still.

When you are silent, you might have deep thoughts or ideas." Meanwhile, Izzy says, "Silence means there's no noise at all.

It's like an empty space where nothing happens." So pause the video to give you time to work on your answer, whether that's on your own, with a partner, or in a small group.

And come back to me when you are ready to look at some model answers to this question.

Welcome back.

So you might have said, "Andeep shows understanding of silence because he says that being still helps people to think deeply about what's important to them.

Tamara and John focus on God and inner light at their Quaker meeting.

Izzy does not show understanding of silence because even though there is no noise, it's not empty.

The stillness has deep meaning for people like Tamara and John who worship in silence at their Quaker meeting." Well done if you chose Andeep and use the case studies to explain a little bit more about why he's right.

I'm proud of your thinking.

So we're going to move on now to the second part of our lesson today.

Why is silence important? So Izzy and Andeep want to find out more about why silence is important to people with different worldviews.

Andeep says, "I understand that silence is important because it helps people to think deeply.

I wonder if people with different worldviews use silence and stillness in different ways." It's a good thought, Andeep.

Izzy said, "Let's ask some people with different worldviews how they use silence." Excellent, both of you.

So here's Mandeep and he has a Sikh worldview.

He attends his gurdwara.

And he tells us, "At the gurdwara, we pray and sing praise to God.

We chant his name, 'Waheguru.

'" And that you can see a picture of somebody coming before the Guru Granth Sahib at the gurdwara.

Mandeep explains that silence is about listening.

"There are times of stillness between the chants and the music.

In the silence, I reflect deeply on God and the wisdom of the Guru.

I think about the words I've heard on the outside and I listen carefully to my own inner thoughts." So silence is not an empty space.

"Silence and meditation are important practises for Sikhs.

When we meditate, we are not doing nothing.

We pause our speech and still our bodies so that our minds and spirits can make contact with God.

Silence gives me time to think deeply." Thank you, Mandeep.

So I have a question for you, is this true or false? Meditation means being still and doing nothing.

You might like to pause this video to give you some time to think about your answer or maybe to discuss it with a partner.

Come back to me and start the video when you have your answer.

Welcome back.

Was it true or false? Meditation means being still and doing nothing.

Show me your thumbs.

The answer's false.

Well done if you got that right.

Why? People who meditate make their body still, but their minds might be focused on connecting with God or finding wisdom.

So it's still on the outside, but internally you are still doing things when you meditate.

Well done if you got that answer correct.

Nadia has a Muslim worldview and she attends the mosque.

And she tells us, "We are called to prayer five times a day.

The muezzin chants the call, 'Come and pray.

'" Nadia explains how the call to prayer affects her.

"Our days are so full of busyness and noise as we all go about our lives.

The call to prayer is like a big pause button.

It makes me stop and be still.

Some prayer times are very short, but it's still a time for me to be quiet and connect with Allah, with God." And Nadia goes on to explain how movement, stillness is important to her at those prayer times.

"Muslim prayer has a selection of movements and positions.

Between each movement, there's stillness, and between the words of the prayers there is silence.

I know the rituals well, so it's easy for me to focus on Allah, God," while she's doing those.

Thank you, Nadia.

So which of these is not included in Muslim prayer? A, silence.

B, songs of praise.

C, words and actions.

D, movement and stillness.

You might like to pause this video to give you time to think about your answer and maybe to talk about your answer with the person next to you.

Come back to me and start the video when you've got your answer.

Welcome back.

So, which of these is not included in Muslim prayer? A, B, C, or D? It's B, songs of praise.

Well done if you got that correct.

Now, Brother Sam has a Christian worldview.

He lives in a contemplative community with other Anglican monks.

"In our community, we meet together to say prayers four times each day." And Brother Sam explains contemplation.

"Prayer and contemplation give rhythm and meaning to my life.

My day is punctuated with times to be still and focus on God.

Contemplation connects me with God and also with the wider world as I think deeply and pray for people and situations where life is difficult." So Brother Sam uses special prayers in his community.

"Community prayers are contemplative.

We use Psalms, readings and prayers.

I know the words so well, but there's always something new to understand.

We do not rush.

We take our time because we find God in the silences between the words." Thank you, Sam.

So I have a question for you.

What is contemplation? Is it A, just being silent.

Is it B, thinking deeply.

Or C, words and actions.

You might like to pause this video to give you time to think about your answer or to work on it with the person next to you.

Come back to me and start the video again when you've decided is it A, B, or C? Welcome back.

So what is contemplation? The answer is B, of course, it is.

It's about thinking deeply.

Well done if you got that correct.

Sofia is trying to explain how silence is used in religious communities.

So parts of Sofia's explanation are incorrect, and we want you to rewrite her explanation so it becomes correct.

So listen to her words and see how you can correct them.

"Religious worship always includes music and sound.

Sikhs only sing or chant in their worship surfaces at the gurdwara.

The call to prayer tells Muslims to talk and move about.

Christian contemplation means emptying the mind and thinking about nothing at all." So can you pause this video and that will give you time to work on your answer where you can rewrite Sofia's answer to become correct.

Come back to me when you've done that.

Welcome back.

So this is how you may have corrected Sofia's answer.

"Religious worship sometimes includes times of silence.

Sikhs might meditate as well as sing or chanting in their worship services at the gurdwara.

The call to prayer tells Muslims to pause and pray.

Christian contemplation means connecting with God using readings and prayers." Now of course, you may have written your answer differently, but if you've used information from the lesson correctly, then well done, that's a great answer.

So we have got to the end of our lesson today.

Let's look at the main things that we have learned today.

Silence can be found in many religious traditions.

Most Quakers use silence and stillness as the centre of their worship.

Quakers talk about waiting for God and finding inner light.

For some people, meditation and contemplation is a way of connecting and finding God in worship.

Silence might allow time for listening.

We can understand Christian, Muslim and Sikh ideas about silence by asking people about what they do.

Well, thank you very much for being with me as we've done this lesson.

I hope you've learned some new things and enjoyed your learning.

I've enjoyed being with you, but I'm gonna say goodbye now and I'll see you at another lesson at another point.

Goodbye.