The Lindisfarne Community is part of nascent grassroots movement sometimes identified by the term "new monasticism." At our annual retreat in 2011, we will be exploring the idea more fully from a number of different aspects.
In the Christian context, monasticism (or something like monasticism) has usually been rooted in a desire for a deeper spirituality that goes beyond mere formality or theory—a deep connectedness with the Ultimately Real. Central to the monastic spirit is the formation and living of a spiritual practice.
As we developed the "Rule" of the community in the late 90s, we arrived at six habits that help form the practice of spirituality for our members.
But how to build a practice?
In traditional monasticism, you either became a cenobite (joined with others in full-time monastic life, separated from the world) or an anchorite (a solitary, living alone, given to full-time pursuit of prayer and contemplation). In the new monasticism we are trying to develop the spirit and habits of monasticism in daily lives lived in, and not apart from, the world (neither cenobitic or eremitic). This presents great challenges! It is why I like the term "secular monasticism" (a phrase coined by our good friend Fr. John Skinner in the 1980s). The term fuses two ideas that have been traditionally mutually exclusive (not unlike Bonhoeffer's "religionless Christianity."
In the Lindisfarne Community, we are monastics in the world. Hidden. Buried. Anonymous.
Building a spiritual practice is challenging.
Here's a few reflections:
In the Christian context, monasticism (or something like monasticism) has usually been rooted in a desire for a deeper spirituality that goes beyond mere formality or theory—a deep connectedness with the Ultimately Real. Central to the monastic spirit is the formation and living of a spiritual practice.
As we developed the "Rule" of the community in the late 90s, we arrived at six habits that help form the practice of spirituality for our members.
Eucharist (the central rite of historical Christianity that roots us in the great tradition)To build a spiritual practice is to find balance in these daily habits. If you are from a different tradition, these habits are easily modified. For Eucharist, substitute the rites and rituals of your own tradition. For the Daily Office, substitute the prayers and sacred texts that are meaningful to you. The other habits easily translate across traditions.
The Daily Office (prayers and reading of sacred writings, scriptures)
Meditation (quietness, stillness, contemplation, sitting, standing, walking meditation connecting body, mind and spirit)
Mindfulness (developing awareness with thankfulness in the whole of life)
Study (reflective and meditativeness development of understanding)
Service (the outworking of spirituality in loving concern for the Other—people, non-human sentient beings, the environment—focussed often on the marginalized)
But how to build a practice?
In traditional monasticism, you either became a cenobite (joined with others in full-time monastic life, separated from the world) or an anchorite (a solitary, living alone, given to full-time pursuit of prayer and contemplation). In the new monasticism we are trying to develop the spirit and habits of monasticism in daily lives lived in, and not apart from, the world (neither cenobitic or eremitic). This presents great challenges! It is why I like the term "secular monasticism" (a phrase coined by our good friend Fr. John Skinner in the 1980s). The term fuses two ideas that have been traditionally mutually exclusive (not unlike Bonhoeffer's "religionless Christianity."
In the Lindisfarne Community, we are monastics in the world. Hidden. Buried. Anonymous.
Building a spiritual practice is challenging.
Here's a few reflections:
a) Be realistic. To set yourself impossible goals will only end in defeat, frustration and guilt! The goal of "two hours in prayer a day" combined with a family, a full-time job and the sundry other commitments of everyday life is a stretch.+Ab. Andy
b) Be creative. Meditation does not have to happen always sitting on a cushion, with incense and soft music. Do you drive to work? Turn off the radio. Meditate. Do you walk? Meditate. Use every opportunity to become mindful.
c) Use technology. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, podcasts. Don't be enslaved by technology, but simply use it. There are versions of the Daily Office you can listen to. For example, you can have the Lindisfarne Way of Living on your phone and in snatched moments during the day read the office.
d) Start small. Baby steps. Little habits soon becomes bigger habits. You are less liable to fail in a meditation habit if you begin with just five minutes in the morning before work than an hour.
e) Build habits that you enjoy and find beneficial.It's much easier to do things you like doing.
f) Think long-term. A spiritual practice is a marathon not a sprint. You are building a life-practice. You don't need to do it all at once.
g) Recognize that over time your needs and interests will change. You may spend a year or two focussed mostly on meditation, with the other habits in the background. That's fine. Prayer and reading will have more relevance for some periods and less for others. That's fine.
h) Despite all the above, a spiritual practice requires discipline. It does not "just happen." It is conscious, intentional—living against the grain.
i) Be kind to yourself. When a well-intentioned plan doesn't work, don't beat yourself up. A spiritual practice is there to help you. It's a way to lead you toward flourishing in loving relationship with God, yourself, your family and friends and all that is.