In both Quaker silent worship and in meditation, we can benefit by preparation. As we prepare to enter silence, we consciously choose to focus our inattentive mind, to gather our broken pieces of concentration, to be present to the richness of silence. This is not easy. For some, focusing on breathing or on the body can be helpful – feeling the natural breath, the rise and fall of the soft belly, sensing our physical body, noting our beating heart, feeling our clothes as they lie against the skin, even feeling the hair on our head. For others, the use of a word or phrase – “God is love,” for example – is calming, centering, and focusing. For others, cultivating a heart of deep gratitude is the best way of entering silence. Reflecting on our abundance and gifts, our measure of health, our loved ones, our share of success and prosperity is a way to calm a restless mind….

Silence and stillness are like two joints that form a hinge. They are integral halves of a spiritual, interior life. Quaker author John Punshon writes that stillness, not silence, is the sign of Friends worship. With stillness, we direct our inward attention. We become aware of being, rather than doing. “Silence is defined from outside, stillness from within.” The stillness of silent worship bonds us as a community of believers in the Divine Presence of God. Stillness is enhanced by moments of prayer and reflection in the company of others or privately. With stillness we faithfully wait in patience, directing ourselves to God. Simply being, reflecting on the place of God in our lives, is a discipline.

–Valerie Brown in Pendle Hill Pamphlet 386: The Mindful Quaker