Solitude Not Quiet

Quiet is not about praying.  You can be quiet because you will get a reward or hit if you make noise, but in neither case are you praying.  Solitude on the other hand is conducive to deep prayer.  Solitude is not about being alone, but about being within oneself in stillness, without words or specific thought-filled agenda.  You can have solitude on an airplane, though it is not quiet.  Churches are generally more quiet than in solitude.  Actually, many churches are quite noisy.  Walk in.  Do you hear the background sound of the air or heat unit?  Often the answer is yes.  Quiet can be hard to find, but solitude is not.  It is a learned practice.  Just ask anyone who does an 11th step in recovery.  Or someone who has learned a practiced method of meditation.  It is why we have methods. Without this, most people who try on their own, never get beyond feeling alone or bored.