The Sacrifice of the Tongue is one of those invisible disciplines that reaps rich rewards for all who engage in this priestly ritual. Unlike daily sacrifices, this ritual is used only in those urgent times when words of criticism, disagreement, anger and impatience are beginning to take shape on your tongue….
Begin the ritual by gently gripping the tip of your tongue with your upper and lower teeth and softly squeezing them together, thus restraining your tool of speech. This unspoken prayer of tongue retention will prevent you from speaking. The next step is to swallow your intended critical or negative words…. Only when the impulse to express whatever your soul has judged to be inappropriate disappears should you gently release your tongue. Yet do so with an inner smile of gratitude, for in the act of silencing your tongue, your soul has grown.
— Edward Hays in Prayer Notes to a Friend