ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the multifaceted meanings of the shamanic attribute of silence, its relationship to private, inner realities, such as the secret world of feeling; its role as the source all creativity and of all religious experience; and its negative connotations, as in ‘falling silent’ before shocking, dangerous, or numinous experiences and/or as a place to hide from reality or conceal knowledge. The various meanings of silence between people is explored, especially in the psychotherapeutic situation where silence can encourage projections and lead to transference neurosis if silence is used unconsciously and shamanically. The dangers of this are pointed out. Alternatively, this chapter shows how a therapist’s sensitive use of silence can lead to a space for emergent new life and what Ogden describes as the ‘analytic third.’ How silence can be restored after dissociation from the core of oneself is described, and some of the author’s experiences are used to illustrate this.
