# Episode 138: Pico Iyer - What We Can Learn From Silence

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/keep-talking-1331245/episode-138-pico-iyer-what-we-can-learn-from-silence
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/keep-talking-1331245/episode-138-pico-iyer-what-we-can-learn-from-silence.md
Podcast: [Keep Talking](https://stenobird.com/podcast/keep-talking-1331245)
Published: 2025-01-17T10:01:19+00:00
Episode link: https://rss.com/podcasts/humans/1848379
Audio file: https://content.rss.com/episodes/14586/1848379/humans/2025_01_15_14_02_40_b2bdb035-d1d9-4019-b073-f98f0354c356.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/keep-talking-1331245/episodes/episode-138-pico-iyer-what-we-can-learn-from-silence
Duration seconds: 3472

## Resource

Pico Iyer is a novelist, a travel writer, and the author of many books, including his most recent, "Aflame: Learning From Silence," which is the subject of this conversation. ------------ Book Dan to do an interview or a meeting ------------ Keep Talking Substack Spotify Apple Podcasts Social media and all episodes ------------ Support via Venmo Support on Substack Support on Patreon ------------ (00:00) Intro (00:00) Intro (00:58) Santa Barbara, June 1990 (04:25) The New Camaldoli Hermitage (07:30) Pico's life when he first went to New Camaldoli (11:08) Silence elicits gratitude, what's shared and what's essential (16:10) Intentionally turning off technology (22:39) Creating a wise amount of "cathedral time" (25:53) Embracing silence as a non-religious person (32:03) Leonard Cohen exploring his inner landscape in silence (36:05) How Pico has developed from his 100+ hermitage visits (41:35) Saying no in order to prioritize space for silence (47:07) How to begin a life with more silence and contemplation (50:41) Silence as an antidote to despair (54:36) What Pico has learned from the Dalai Lama

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## Transcript

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