When Stillness Helps Heal Us Sometimes we push ourselves too far, or allow other people to push us too hard. There are times when life takes a lot out of us and leaves us feeling battered and bruised. We may like to think we can keep going, continuing to push regardless of the obstacles we face. Many of us do not like to rest or take time to recover. We believe we are being strong and independent when we ignore... Read more
The Spiritual Life of Work I live in a society which believes in the value of hard work and focused labor. We hear hard work is its own reward. People tell us the way to get what we want, no matter what it is, is through working as hard as we can. They tell us working hard and playing by the rules is the American Way. What is the spiritual life of work? The financial, physical, and emotional results of... Read more
When We Start to Feel a Little Lost I like to have the sense I know where I am going. When my direction is not clear I start to get nervous and feel a little lost. Many of us expect to understand where we are and would like to be going. We may have been taught it is part of growing up to make our own decisions, to find our own way. It can be a challenge for us when... Read more
Ordinary, Everyday Stillness It is easy for us to forget ordinary, everyday stillness. We get a little overwhelmed and think sacred stillness requires a specific time or place. If stillness is sacred, we assume, it probably needs a sacred space or schedule. Some of us believe stillness is not really sacred unless we experience it in a certain way. We seem to think it is the way we listen which makes stillness sacred. Many of us are not comfortable with... Read more
Sharing What We Have Generosity is sharing what we have. We might assume generosity is when people make million dollar donations or give away brand new cars. Our idea of being generous is 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. Some of us see being generous as a way to make ourselves look better than other people. We might like to... Read more
Our Stillness Drought I live in a part of the world where drought is becoming a familiar aspect of life. It has rarely rained in Southern California during the last few years, even during the winter months. Our prolonged absence of rain and water increases the opportunities for, and size of, wildfires. We are changing the way we live our lives to adjust to our new drought situation. People are replacing the grass in their lawns with plants which tolerate... Read more
Waking Up Every Morning A spiritual discipline I have practiced longer than I can remember is waking up every morning. I cannot remember the last morning I did not wake up at least once. Each morning gives us a unique opportunity filled with many ways to wake up. Some mornings we wake up refreshed, ready and eager to get started. Other mornings we have not slept as well or for as long as we might have wanted. Waking up on... Read more
Driving Into Stillness Each year I drive north, up the California coast, into stillness. The first time I visited New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California was nine years ago this week. It was a suggestion from a friend who had encouraged and helped guide my exploration of contemplative spirituality. She thought the New Camaldoli community might be “my kind of guys.” I had spent time on their website and started reading books they recommended. That was the first time I... Read more
Our Strength is in Our Struggle We all experience times, moments or days or longer, when we feel our strength has abandoned us. It is easy for us to forget we are stronger than we might feel or look. When we struggle to be strong our strength is in our struggle. There are times when we feel tired or discouraged, when it feels like we have nothing to show for all our struggling. It is as if our lives are... Read more
The Mercy of Stillness Our world tends to forget about mercy. We assume there is a choice to me made between justice and mercy. It is clear which side we have chosen. We are convinced it is crucially important to be strong and powerful. Mercy, we believe, is naive, weak, foolish, and shortsighted. While we do not see ourselves as jaded or cynical, we appreciate strong justice more than mercy. We believe punishment is part of justice. Mercy is a... Read more
Strategic Monk
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