If you begin to practice any sort of meditation, before long you'll hear about silent meditation retreats and how crucial they are to getting the most out of your practice.  I've been meditating since February, and by July I'd heard enough such comments, from varied enough sources, that I was convinced to at least look into it.  It's now the end of August and I got back from a 10-day Vipassana course three days ago.  These are my thoughts.