Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode Escaping the modern world and your noisy mind
Author Pico Iyer has traveled the world, but he finds his greatest escape in a monastery a few hours from his childhood home. He shares why he finds so much peace in silence and how you can too.
About Pico Iyer
Pico Iyer is an author and essayist, best known for writing about his travels. He has written 17 books include The Open Road, The Art of Stillness and, most recently, Aflame: Learning from Silence, where he offers a glimpse into monastic life and what you can learn from solitude. For the past several decades, he has regularly spoken and traveled with the Dalai Lama and has made more than 100 retreats at a Benedictine monastery in California. He has given 5 TED Talks and written for over 250 periodicals worldwide, including Time, The New York Times, Harper's Magazine and the Financial Times.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Harsha Nahata, with help from Rachel Faulkner White, and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. A special thanks to Pico Iyer for field recordings from the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHourand email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
Web Resources
Related TED Bio: Pico Iyer
Related TED Talk: The art of stillness
Related TED Talk: Where is home?
Related NPR Links
Fresh Air: Years ago, writer Pico Iyer lost everything in a wildfire. This is what he learned
TED Radio Hour: Amid conflict and difficulty, can we ever find paradise?
TED Radio Hour: How to travel more without going anywhere
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