How Are We Practicing Generosity? Some of us assume generosity is when people donate millions of dollars or give away brand new cars. Our idea of practicing generosity could be doing something extravagant for our friends or family. It may be people giving expensive presents on special occasions or picking up the tab for elaborate trips. We might see practicing generosity as how we make ourselves look better to other people. We like to think we can compensate for ignoring... Read more
Why Would Anyone Explore Contemplative Spirituality? It is easy for us to assume being contemplative is a lot like being an introvert. We are not able to choose whether we will be introverted or extroverted. Some of us would like to change or develop our personalities in a particular direction. We may wish we were more outgoing or calmer and set goals or practice being different. While our personalities may grow over time, we do not get to choose them for... Read more
Dark Evenings by the Fireplace One of the ways I most enjoy listening to sacred stillness, especially this time of year, is by watching a fireplace. Daylight is getting shorter where I live. Darkness closes in earlier and earlier for the next couple weeks. The nights are cooler than it is all day. It is tempting to spend our time rushing toward the holidays. We feel there are so many things we need to do, so much to check and... Read more
Celebrating What Inspires Us Moments of triumphant achievement may inspire us. We receive the recognition of a major award or the thrill of winning a significant contest. The overwhelming experience of creating an artistic or scientific or professional masterpiece can be our inspiration. We may see ourselves in the lives of people we admire. It inspires us to continue working when we imagine what we would say in our acceptance speech or how it would feel to hold a trophy.... Read more
Lights Shining in the Darkness We live in a world of deep darkness, searching for light. Darkness surrounds us, seeping into how we live our lives and see ourselves. Some of us are afraid of the dark and refuse to acknowledge its presence. Darkness makes some of us feel tired or frustrated. We want to stay in bed wrapped in blankets with our eyes closed. Maybe the darkness will go away. Some of us struggle against darkness, but it silently... Read more
The Stillness of Our Own Breathing Sally Rooney, in a novel called Conversations With Friends, wrote “I didn’t exactly start praying that weekend after the book launch, but I did look up online how to meditate. It mainly involved closing my eyes and breathing, while also calmly letting go of passing thoughts. I focused on my breathing, you were allowed to do that. You could even count the breaths. And them at the end you could just think about anything,... Read more
Backing Our Way Toward Advent It may be because some of us are afraid of the dark or afraid of running out of time. Darkness grows as we enter the final month of the year and approach its end. Each year ends in a race to see which will run out first, time or light. Our calendar is apparently not about helping us be more comfortable or secure. Many of us try to ignore our fears by jumping into what we call the holiday season. Though our... Read more
Saying Thank You and Saying Goodbye It can be challenging for us to say thank you and to say goodbye. I attended a memorial service last weekend. The service was not for a close friend or a member of my family. I knew him because he was the father of my wife’s closest lifelong friend and my father-in-law’s best friend. His service reminded me of the ways he had shaped my life. Even though we had neither spent a lot... Read more
Recognizing the Gifts Stillness Gives It can be a challenge for many of us to recognize the gifts stillness gives us. We experience listening to sacred stillness as a responsibility. Listening seems to be a discipline which will make us better people. Other people tell us we should listen to sacred stillness so we try it, even though it is a struggle. We believe building a contemplative listening practice will give us spiritual strength. Some of us have heard... Read more
We Practice Living Outside the Box I talk with quite a few different people. Men and women who come from various places and backgrounds and who are at widely varied points in their lives. We talk about many different questions and subjects. One thing almost all of these people share is a sense about their lives. Many of the people I talk to are thoughtful and intentional. They have considered what they want from life and set out on a course... Read more
Strategic Monk
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