Not even 5 minutes for me

I’m curious to know, is sign language permissible?

i wouldn't mind if other people were quiet. smirk

I'm a loner by nature but in a group situation I'm incorrigibly irrepressible. Me and my desk were once put out in the hall because I would not stop chatting with whomever the homeroom teacher put me next to. I'd talk to a frigging door nob! AND if it's not coming outta my mouth it's written all over my face.
T-shirt to my thighs and no tight clothing is my life! My fav long t says HAPPY HEATHEN in rainbow colors on the front of it.

I've developed my own style of 'meditation.' Years ago I had a bicycle accident and ended up with mild whiplash and rotator cuff issues. I started finding stretching exercises on You tube and now use those exercises (I've added a few more) during my meditation. I start off with breathing and other mindfullness (which I try to incorporate all the senses even smell). At our 'stage of life' it's important to incorporate kegels, which I do. In between I do a stretching routine (all from a sitting position). I even stretch my jaw (my dentist is impressed with that part of my face - which BTW is also included in the stretches). The time goes fast. Sitting in a room full of people and being totally silent is boring and I would also not last.

I've gone several days without speaking. I just didn't need to.

If a person wants to go on a silent retreat, just go camping. It will cost less and you can make your own rules of conduct, instead of having "spiritual Nazis" trying to dictate how you behave.

I have no problems with solitude and being alone and keeping to myself.

Well, I feel like I was silent during the whole first year of the pandemic. Except, I know I joined in at least a few of the Zoom get together of this group.

@Gwendolyn2018, @Unity, @Mitch07102, @Garban, @HippieChick58, @RichCC, @Fernapple, @Garban, @Lauren,

UPDATE:

This morning Claire called me laughing. "Mom, I got kicked out in 30 minutes!" she said. "When I walked in, the building stank of vomit and fear. It was gross. They read what I wrote on the application. A creepy old lady took me up to a small room and said I had too much trauma and needed to leave now."

"She was afraid of my inner light and strength," Claire said. "I tried to project kindness to everyone."

"I had to pack up and walk through the dining room with my bags in front of the whole group while they were eating. Nobody called to check if I was all right."

"Claire, that was cruel," I replied. "You didn't deserve it. I thought that place was a controlling cult from the start. I feel proud of you for getting kicked out. They were intimidated by your inner strength. Good for you!" We laughed.

"I called my boyfriend and he laughed," Claire said. "His brother got kicked out of that same place on day one last year. Dad laughed, too."

"I drove to Olympia and checked into a nice hotel," Claire explained. "I had a nice dinner, swam in the pool, and soaked in the hot tub. It was lovely. Now I'm going to drive home. This is great because now I have 11 free days to get ready for my studio opening."

The Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce is promoting Claire's yoga/meditation studio ribbon-cutting opening. Typical of millennials, Claire is great at networking.

Only 12 days ?

That sounds very interesting.
It would definitely be difficult for me.
Certainly there are benefits to this practice.
She's a pretty girl. Everything isn't for everybody.

Good for her and the self-discipline. I could probably do it, but it doesn't appeal to me.

I live alone, but with cats, and I talk to my cats when necessary. My job is telephone customer service, so I'm talking all 8 hours long, I am grateful for my lunch time when I read my current book and don't talk to anyone. Honestly though, I wouldn't want to HAVE to go 12 days without talking. I think you'd miss out on meaningful connections with other people.

Do they use signs and hand signals to communicate?
I assume AMESLAN is forbidden.

How do they tell people 'ok time for bed' or 'time for food'?
I can only picture it as a series of shorter (a few hours each?) episodes.

I'd be interested in her descriptions when it's done.

I played competition Chess in high school and though it was only for an hour or two or three at a time each round -- there are few things as silent as a room full of serious Chess players.

An interesting episode happened one year at the AZ high school state championship. The players are seeded so the better players tend to get weaker opponents in the early rounds and so on.

Not surprisingly a relative beginner drew a monster in the first round.
But he was winning!
The favorite started playing more and more slowly -- delaying the inevitable.

Eventually that was the only game still active and the rest of the tournament -- maybe 50 or so of us -- stood around watching -- absolutely silently.
We were all state tournament level players so we knew exactly what was about to happen. It was fascinating watching a beginner knock out a monster in the first round.

Then the weaker player made a mistake! Everyone in the room saw it immediately and knew it. But the beginner didn't understand for a moment.
He was the center of attention of the whole state tournament one moment then suddenly the whole room full of watchers sighed and turned away.

The panic on his face was intense. He knew he'd screwed up but he didn't know how yet. He went from being a total hero to losing his game in an instant.
All without a sound.

Tournament Chess can be weird. It's yet another situation where people take themselves too seriously for good or bad.

My thought is. That if you would find it very challenging, then you would probably get more from it than your daughter will.

Not everybody gains or gains equally from all experiences.