Ometepe
byOmetepe, Nicaragua (2015) A short ferry ride across Lake Nicaragua from the mainland, Ometepe Island feels like another world. Away from the bustle, the…
Silence frees us
by the daily asteriskSilence frees us from the need to control others. One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel…
Finding God in the silence
by Karissa Knox SorrellEditor’s note: Each Thursday, we feature a throwback piece from Topology’s predecessor, catapult magazine. In this essay, Karissa Knox Sorrell explores a critical shift…
It is listening
by the daily asteriskMany voices ask for our attention. There is a voice that says, “Prove that you are a good person.” Another voice says, “You’d better…
Practicing silence
by Naomi WengerAt The Hermitage Community, the contemplative prayer center where I serve, we often remark to new guests that we give the gift or “permission”…
Nothing about silence
by the daily asterisk[The modern age] knows nothing about isolation and nothing about silence. In our quietest and loneliest hour the automatic ice-maker in the refrigerator will…
Oral History
by Katie HoogendamGun shots against the low-slung sky though it is no season for hunting. Or perhaps it was firecrackers, not fourth of July; someone always…
Sounds and silences
by the daily asteriskWalking and talking are two very great pleasures, but it is a mistake to combine them. Our own noise blots out the sounds and…
Sounds like home
by Kirstin Vander Giessen-ReitsmaWerner likes to crouch in his dormer and imagine radio waves like mile-long harp strings, bending and vibrating over Zollverein, flying through forests, through…
Alive in silence
by the daily asteriskI discovered that I felt at home and alive in silence, which compelled me to enter my interior world and walk around there. Without…