Transcending Everyday Life

We may think people drawn to monastic life are trying to escape from the real world. People assume living in a monastic community is like going on a particularly long retreat. They believe becoming a monk requires cutting ourselves off from the rest of the world, transcending everyday life.

In many ways it is the rest of us, with our distractions and entertainment, who try to escape everyday life.

Spending time at a monastery can feel so peaceful, so restful. Those of us who live here in the real world go to monastic communities to reflect. Rest and reflection are necessary aspects of healthy life in a monastic community.

Monastic life gives people opportunities to look real life directly in the face. Our life outside the monastery is full of things to distract our attention. We need to know all the latest news, even when it has little to do with our own lives. There are websites and books, podcasts and movies, even our pets pull us away. It is a challenge for us to listen and pay attention.

How rarely we take the time to look everyday life in the eye. We are anxious about being honest with ourselves. Our anxiety encourages us to find other things to fill our minds.

We are cannot be honest with the world around us if we cannot be honest with ourselves.

When we do not look the world honestly in the eye it seeps in through the back door. It catches us off guard when we are not really paying attention.

Taking Time for Stillness

Each of us needs time to reflect, to allow our minds to roam. As we reflect, all the things we have pushed to the back burner remind us they are still there. Monastic communities are excellent places to spend time in stillness, reflecting.

When they do not take time for rest and reflection, we tend to burn ourselves out.

We tend to put too much trust in analytical, rational thinking. It is as if we believe we can reason our way out of any challenge. We are confident we can, with enough effort, think our way through any question.

Sitting still allows us to get past our intellect and listen to our intuition, our feelings. We come to realize answering the next question is not the solution to our difficulties.

In our stillness we can remember what we already know.

My favorite way to spend time in stillness is sitting in a rocking chair. The rhythm of my rocking is conducing to my own reflection.

Stillness allows us to hear our own reflection.

Transcending at the Hermitage

The monastic community in which I participate as a lay oblate is a on the California coast south of Monterey. Last winter’s storms have cut access to the hermitage off from the rest of the world. Highway 1 has been closed both north and south of Big Sur, and there is now limited access from the north.

My annual August trip to the hermitage is not happening this year. The monks have not been able to welcome visitors from the south since January. No one knows when that will change.

People can see photos and help the hermitage survive financially at New Camaldoli.

In addition to concern for the hermitage and the monks in Big Sur, the situation has sparked my reflection.

I am not able to drive up and spend some time in the stillness this year, so what will I do? Where will I find the stillness I usually find there?

Each year as my trip approaches I start to get a little itchy in anticipation. My mind, heart, and soul depend on the time I spend in stillness at the hermitage. The stillness there has a quality which is not easily replaced.

More than the natural beauty, the wildlife, even the monks, it is the stillness which draws me.

Living from a Place of Stillness

I am an outgoing, extroverted person who is not afraid to speak in public. One of the most significant, life-changing lessons of my life is learning to lead from stillness.

Everyday life does not grow in the spotlight, does not develop at the center of attention.

Our lives are planted deep within us in seeds which sprout in stillness. We may study how to live, gaining as much information as we can. Our lives are formed as much as they are informed.

We see learning as an analytical quality, testing our ability to sort things out well. There are certainly intellectual challenges, but we also need to reflect well.

Most of us like to believe we think our way into the future. Spending time in stillness allows us to find the questions and insights we need to step forward.

My thinking helps me anticipate potential problems. It is my reflection and stillness which show me where to find hope and transcendence.

We sit, rocking and reflecting, giving the pieces opportunities to fall into place.

So often we think our way into following someone else’s footsteps. Our reflection shows us how to follow their example.

Other people may or may not listen to what we say. The stillness in us connects with the stillness in the people around us.

Transcending

We are not drawn to stillness because we want to hide from the rest of the world. The stillness we seek gives us the time and space to reflect, to gain understanding and insight. As we listen to the stillness we begin to hear the deep truths within us.

Listening to stillness is not a distraction, but draws us to focus our attention. We open ourselves, forgetting what could distract us, and we transcend the world around us.

We savor the stillness we find and draw wisdom from it. Sitting, rocking, and reflecting, we begin to taste the insights just beyond us.

Questions

Where are our everyday lives being formed this week?

How does stillness help us transcend the rest of the world?

[Image by cletch]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual director in Southern California. He is a recovering assistant district attorney and associate university professor and is a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is http://StrategicMonk.com and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.