Thomas Merton and his Practical Thoughts on the Spiritual Life

Thomas Merton and the Spiritual Life

“The only trouble is that in the spiritual life, there are no tricks or shortcuts. Those who imagine they can discover spiritual gimmicks and put them to work for themselves often ignore God’s will and his grace.”—Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayers.

Thomas Merton’s concise book, Spiritual Direction and Meditation, is another excellent resource for those seeking to learn about spiritual direction and the spiritual life. I often recommend it to spiritual friends before we meet for the first time to discuss the spiritual life. It should also be a frequent reread for those giving spiritual direction. Merton reminds us that spiritual direction is not psychotherapy and that directors should not become amateur therapists. He recommends that directors not worry about unconscious drives and emotional problems. They should refer. 

Merton’s sections on meditation are classic, straightforward, and practical. For example, he uses the story of the Prodigal Son as a model for reflection, noting that the son “entered into himself” and meditated on his condition, starving in a distant land far from his father. Merton also suggests that the Incarnation, the birth of God into human form, serves as a focus for another meditation on birth events within our own spiritual life.

Merton emphasizes the importance of holy leisure, believing that meditation should not be treated as work and that it requires time. He reminds us of promising artists ruined by premature success, which drove them to overwork in an attempt to continually renew the public image of themselves. On the other hand, wise artists spend more time contemplating their work beforehand than putting paint on canvas; poets who respect their art burn more pages than they publish.

In our interior life, we must allow for silent transitions in our prayer. Merton reminds us of St. Teresa’s words: “God does not need our works. God has need of our love.” Our prayer aims to awaken the Holy Spirit within us so the Spirit can speak and pray through us. Merton believes that in contemplative prayer, we learn more about God through love than through knowledge. Our awakening is brought about not by our actions but by the Holy Spirit’s work. 

Merton also cautions us about what he calls informal or colloquial “comic book spirituality,” which flourishes in popular religious literature. For example, when Mary becomes Mom and Joseph is Dad, and we “just tell them all about ourselves all day long.” For some, this may be a helpful path to God, but it was not Merton’s.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

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Joanna joannaseibert.com

Buechner, Carl Jung: Synchronicity

Frederick Buechner, Patrick Murray, Carl Jung: Synchronicity

“I remember once sitting parked by the roadside, terribly depressed and afraid about my daughter’s illness and what was going on in our family, when out of nowhere a car came along the highway with a license plate bearing the one word out of all the words in the dictionary that I needed most to see at that exact moment.” 

The word was TRUST. … The owner of the car turned out to be, as I’d suspected, a trust officer at a bank. Not long ago, he found out where I lived and, one afternoon, brought me the license plate itself, which sits propped up on a bookshelf in my house to this day. It is rusty around the edges and a little battered, and it is as holy a relic as I have ever seen.”—Frederick Buechner in Telling Secrets (HarperOne, 1991).

Frederick Buechner beautifully recounts an instance of synchronicity, or meaningful coincidences, also known as serendipity. Many believe that such an experience occurs when the unconscious mind speaks to our conscious mind. How this happens remains a mystery. Jung and Patrick Murray describe it as “a simultaneous relationship between an inner psychic experience and outer external physical event.” The inner experience and external event of the synchronicity then become “a meaningful coincidence contributing to one’s sense of wholeness.”

In spiritual direction, we discuss seeking out times of synchronicity, the occurrence of meaningful coincidences, being aware of them, and pondering them—not letting them pass unnoticed. Patrick Murray calls these “moments of transformation, embracing us with a profound sense that life is ultimately purposeful.” Some believe these are signs that we are on the right path.

We sense a divine connection. A friend happens to call just when we needed it. We turn on the radio and hear a musical piece that brings back pleasant memories of hearing it with a loved one or dear friend. We feel peace. There are moments like that every day if we just step out of our routine to be aware of them.

Before the pandemic, I would stand in a particular spot and talk to those who came by for food at our food pantry. Once, when we arrived a little late, people were already sitting outside, waiting for the bags filled with their orders. For no particular reason, I decided to go out and greet them there. 

Suddenly, I saw a friend I had worked with for thirty-three years, who had just lost her job. We hugged, and she told me about her struggles to find another job. I saw courage and faith in a way I had never seen before. She had a plan, was not giving up, and still felt cared for by a loving God. For me, this was synchronicity—that by some miracle, we ran into each other and could openly share the Christ within each other for a few moments.

I will put this visit in the memory book of my imagination and hope to remember to be on the lookout each day for times like this—when the Holy Spirit calls us and offers us an opportunity to share Christ with one another.

At our staff meetings at Saint Mark’s, our rector begins with prayer and then asks whether we have any “God moments” from the week to share.

Times of synchronicity are “God moments.”

[See Patrick Murray, “Jung’s Concept of Synchronicity,” The Haden Institute, December 2002.]

Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/

I live in a boat called Surrender with two oars, Forgiveness and Gratitude

 Surrender, Forgiveness, Gratitude

“The boat I travel in is called Surrender. My two oars are instant forgiveness and gratitude—complete gratitude for the gift of life. I am thankful for the experience of this life and for the opportunity to dance. I get angry, I get mad, but as soon as I remind myself to put my oars in the water, I forgive.”—Balbir Mathur—Heron Dance interview (Issue 11).

As president of Trees for Life, Balbir Mathur planted 200 million trees in developing countries for 30 years. I thank the daily words from Inward Outward from the Church of the Saviour in Washington for introducing him to me.

Mathur’s extraordinary life is a story of constant surrender: immigrating to Wichita from India with no family contacts, mowing lawns, becoming world-renowned in business, developing a mysterious illness, leaving his business career, and starting an international nonprofit to plant trees in developing countries. The morning trees survive in dry conditions. Their leaves are rich in vitamins A and C and calcium; their seeds are used to purify water.

Mathur’s words are indeed words of peace that I hear across many disciplines and beyond all religious barriers. When I can forgive and am filled with gratitude, I stay out of trouble and find peace. What an image. 

We are in a boat called Surrender, and our two oars are gratitude and forgiveness, which keep the boat on course. I can imagine rowing on a river, not too big and not too big a boat. I will need other passengers who can take over the oars when I become too tired, who will read to me and let me rest, or simply allow me to soak in the scenery. And I will do the same for them. 

Rick Plumlee, The Wichita Eagle, May 10, 2014.

Joanna  https://www.joannaseibert.com/