New Seeds of Contemplation

I am a Catholic in his late thirties, and this is the first book that I read by Thomas Merton. I have no idea how this happened, and a part of me wishes I had encountered this great author and spiritual guide earlier in my life. On the other hand, I believe certain books come into your life at the right moment, and for me, _New Seeds of Contemplation_ (1961) has been one of them. A couple of years ago I asked a very good friend of mine to recommend books that tackled the complex reality of meditation or contemplative prayer from a Catholic perspective. There are plenty of Eastern philosophy books on the topic, many of which I have read and whose teachings have helped me to grow in faith. It always seemed to me, however, that Catholicism did not particularly emphasize this aspect of spirituality. This prejudice on my part probably resulted from the fact that meditation as such is generally not promoted as a parish activity. The word “meditation” itself is problematic to some Catholics, as it is associated with Eastern religions. Many American Catholics believe practicing yoga constitutes a form of idolatry and thus a violation the first commandment… One of the things that attract me to Merton is his dialogue with Eastern philosophy and forms of prayer. _New Seeds of Contemplation_ belongs to the Christian tradition that includes the anonymous _The Cloud of Unknowing_, St. Teresa of Ávila’s _The Interior Castle_ (also known as _The Mansions_), and St. John of the Cross’ _Dark Night of the Soul_ and _Ascent of Mount Carmel_. In another sense, as the author points out in the introductory note, Merton is following the footsteps of Pascal, Thomas à Kempis and Guigo, and the thoughts on contemplation that we find in this book--as the title indicates--are in themselves points of departure for our own meditations. _New Seeds of Contemplation_, then, did not come out of nowhere (no book does), but it is without a doubt the first book I would recommend to anyone (Catholic or otherwise) who is interested in developing a closer relationship with God. I like to underline and/or take notes as I do my spiritual reading. In this aspect, few books have been as frustrating to me as _New Seeds of Contemplation_. I mean this is a positive sense: it seemed to me that almost every word was worthy of being underlined or written down in my journal. (G. K. Chesterton’s _Orthodoxy_ had the same effect on me.) There is no filler in this book, and it is a work to reread throughout one’s life and to consult often. I filled 13 pages of my notebook with notes as I read, and I am amazed at the variety of subjects Merton covers, always within the main topic of contemplative prayer. Meditation is a multifaceted reality, and Merton seems to consider every possible aspect of it. Talking about meditation is in itself paradoxical, as the experience of God the contemplative desires must necessarily transcend words. No other author has been able to reduce the contemplative experience to words with the lucidity that Merton displays. One of the central ideas of his worldview is that we are divided beings: our inner and outer selves are in conflict with each other, and we must try to identify with our true self, which is the inner, transcendent one. This division, Merton clarifies, does not refer to body and soul. Catholicism does not teach that the soul is good and the body is evil; this notion was, as a matter of fact, declared a heresy centuries ago. The body has an inclination to evil as a result of original sin. Merton describes hell as “a perpetual alienation from our true self, which is in God.” The problem with us, to put it simplistically, is that we are not ourselves. Part of contemplation involves realizing our true selves so that we can be in God. We cannot define ourselves in this world because we are not of this world. Here’s an interesting experiment: try answering the question, “Who are you?” Most people will answer by stating their name, or their profession, or their relationship to someone else, or they’ll describe themselves in terms of race, color, nationality, creed, gender, etc. And this is, indeed, how other people define you: you are John, you are a doctor, you are my brother, you are a Caucasian, Christian male from England, etc. But, really, who *are* you? I’m glad that Merton emphasizes constantly that the contemplative life does not consist in merely isolating oneself. It is not an escape, in other words. I am not a particularly sociable person. Going on a silent retreat is the easiest thing for me. I don’t miss my phone, because I rarely use it. I don’t miss talking, because outside of my family, students, and the few friends I have, I rarely talk to people. I don’t miss TV because I never watch it. I rarely listen to music these days, as I spend most of my free time reading or watching films. I enjoy spiritual reading immensely, so instead of giving up reading during a retreat, I try to “sanctify” this activity. Regarding films, because I watch too many of them, I welcome the opportunity to give my eyes a rest during a retreat. I sometimes wish I could retire from the “world” and dedicate myself to contemplation. Merton has cautioned me against this superficial approach to the contemplative life. After reading _New Seeds of Contemplation_, I have come to realize why I must develop a better relationship with my brothers and sisters. We spend most of our lives identifying ourselves with our false self, Merton says; separating ourselves from others, when true strength is in unity, not in isolation and individualism. Another point Merton makes that I found to be of particular importance has to do with the emotional effect contemplative prayer may have on us. If I pray because praying makes me feel good, I am attached to prayer for the wrong reason. It is very easy to fall into this trap when it comes to meditation. Feeling good during prayer is a good sign, but it shouldn’t be an end in itself. “Not feeling anything” during prayer does not in itself indicate lack of progress, as St. John of the Cross discusses in _Dark Night of the Soul_. Prayer is not about me: it is about God. _New Seeds of Contemplation_ is a difficult book to review; it must be experienced, read, and reread. If I weren’t such a recluse, I would do my best to start a Catholic book club, and we would spend at least four meetings discussing this great work, the masterpiece, if you ask me, about Catholic meditation. Our hearts are restless until we rest in God, and _New Seeds of Contemplation_ points the way. You’ll have to do the walking yourself, of course, but this book will help you, guide you, encourage you, and give you hope. It is my hope that _New Seeds of Contemplation_ will have on you the renewing, uplifting effect it has had on me. I will continue my reading of Merton with _The Wisdom of the Desert_ or _Zen and the Birds of Appetite_. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the book!

A 20th Century Christian mystic, Thomas Merton is far and away one of my favorite authors. Although I haven't read all his books yet, New Seeds of Contemplation is in my mind his greatest work. Without a doubt a modern spiritual classic. The depth of Merton's spiritual understanding is difficult to grasp. His words are soothing as a pool of cool water. I want to swim in them for hours. "Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love." ~ Thomas Merton In New Seeds of Contemplation Merton takes us to deeper levels in our spiritual walk, teaching us about faith and humility, thoughtfully helping us to find our true identity in Christ. If you are on a serious spiritual growth path, seeking a clearer understanding of your relationship to God, this is the book for you. My feeble words fail when trying to describe the magnificence of Thomas Merton's writing. Poetic, transcending, life-changing, mesmerizing, core-cutting, astounding, incredibly perfect, a true gift from God. It leaves me almost breathless... Always wanting more. The highest of recommendations from my bookshelf. READ THIS BOOK!

Merton is always a challenge to implement if not just to read. I took a long time with this volume of his, and re-read a number of the short chapters several times. And then tried to apply the process or suggestions he made to my own meditation. He cuts into the concepts, but stresses practice, advising meditation without analysis. Sometimes, it is hard not to envy what seems to be an achieved serenity within the experience that I find hard to achieve. His Christ-centered theology blends with his respectful acknowledgement of Eastern technique and thought. The Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hann comment on the liner notes about him and the book, and the deep respect for his work is evident, as his was for theirs. I have read several books of Merton's, and his work and life continue to influence my thought. The concept of abandonment, of a desert in which one will find solitude and union with God is the most interesting to me. I recommend this to anyone interested in Merton or meditation.

This is the first Merton book I've been able to finish. It is quite good, and suffers least from his excessive style. Here he speaks plainly, for the most part. His essential ideas illuminate the one Self, which bridges Jesus and the Buddha, Jesus and the Upanishads. This is the universal Christ illustrated through the universal path to holiness. There is still a bit of the old church error, but that is easily and quickly passed. This is good book to help a Christian reach enlightenment.

Everyone who’s read Merton said this book was 🔥. Totally agree. I highlighted this book as much as any book I’ve ever read. He descriptions of the interplay between God and Man are phenomenal and timeless. “The Lord would not only love His creation as a Father, but He would enter into His creation, emptying Himself, hiding Himself, as if He were not God but a creature. Why should He do this? Because He loved His creatures, and because He could not bear that His creatures should merely adore Him as distant, remote, transcendent and all powerful.” “We have the choice of two identities: the external mask which seems to be real and which lives by a shadowy autonomy for the brief moment of earthly existence, and the hidden, inner person who seems to us to be nothing, but who can give himself eternally to the truth in whom he subsists.”

Honestly I have no ideas where to begin conveying my thoughts about this book. I THOUGHT I knew the meaning of contemplation. Apparently not. While it was easy for me to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the content, the chapters kindled sparks deep within my spirit to keep seeking and keep silent. In short this book represents a new benchmark for my sights to be aimed towards.

“THE NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION” by Thomas Merton Reading Merton’s autobiography, “The Seven Story Mountain“ really took me to a new level. As a child I was very precocious and wanted to be an adult so fast. I wanted the trappings and the clothes and the cocktails and the charge cards that adults had. I was in love with secularism. And I lived the kind of early adult life where I really went as far with secularism as a person can go. Then I explored about 20 other things, and eventually, I found myself at an impasse. I tried to figure out how to turn the impasse into a crossroads and how to decide what road to take. And I was totally stuck. I did not want to go forward. And at some point I did figure out on my own that I wanted to go deeper. But I didn’t know what the hell that meant. That’s where Thomas Merton saved my ass. In his autobiography he gave moments of explanation about contemplation and the contemplative life. I didn’t have anything like that on my radar really. And this Book was all about what that kind of life looks like and how ones goes about it and what treasures one can find. It is so wonderful to discover that the reason I wasn’t interested in anything anymore was not because I was jaded, or spoiled or depressed. It is because I had reached a whole new level and needed a whole new game plan but I had no vocabulary I had no road marks. I had no map. Now I get it. Thankyou Thomas Merton from a closer Contemplative!

This book has transformed my views on the nature of my creator. I can say wholeheartedly that my faith has been strengthened and my understanding of the true nature of God and myself and my relationship with him have been impacted greatly and I can easily recommend this work to anyone curious about these matters.

This is the only book by Thomas Merton that I’ve read, but I read widely and I hope deeply on prayer, contemplation and spiritual matters generally, practised as a Buddhist for several years and now practise Christ-centred meditation. I began life as a Catholic. I knew Merton had been a Trappist, had died quite young from an accident in Thailand and was influenced by some Eastern spiritual teachings, and I hoped to benefit from this book. Instead, it made me more and more uncomfortable. I persevered to the end and eventually realised what worried me. Merton came across to me as fake, particularly in his chapters on contemplation. He seemed to know a lot about it from the outside (as I do), and want to live it from within (as I do), but for himself and not for God (as is my own fear and I think the main problem of many like me). His chapters on contemplation (which perhaps were originally written to aid novices in prayer) seemed to me to be largely cobbled together from John of the Cross, with help from Eckhart (who wouldn’t have been so well-known then), ‘The Cloud of Unknowing’ and other basic works on the subject. They never read to me like personal experience, and they sometimes seemed tinged with a little bitterness, which would make sense if he had never attained what he desired. The more general chapters of the book surprised me because they seemed to contain so much of Merton’s self and its opinions. I would expect a would-be contemplative to seek so far as possible to lay the self aside. I also noticed a certain incongruity between his chosen lifestyle in the silent Trappist order and an apparent overwhelming and endlessly fulfilled need to give and receive communication. If he was always writing and reading his correspondents, when did he fit in his prayer life? And as he had committed to the Rule of St Benedict, how did that square with his constant determination to have his own way in his monastery? He didn’t add up. And he didn’t always come across as very kind. But he did seem to think he was always right, or nearly, and if he was aware that he might have failings, it was perhaps because he knew he ought to be. I don’t expect spiritual teachers to be perfect – no one is, except Christ. What I found particularly distasteful in Merton was what I perceived as fakery. He wasn’t a contemplative, or even an expert on contemplation, as an academic who had studied it without practising it might be. He was widely read on contemplation but not a real contemplative, just someone who wanted to be perceived, known, admired, followed as a contemplative (and maybe quite a lot of other things too). I’d sometimes thought that it could be quite easy for people who read a lot about contemplation, mysticism and other aspects of prayer to write advice which seemed to come from their own personal experience, and I think that’s what he did. I’ve since read a little about his life and learned that he was in fact a problematic figure, even in his lifetime. If his writings have led many people to draw closer to God, so much the better, but I wouldn’t advise anyone to read this book as a spiritual guide.

This really does contain some very thoughtful and precise insights into the nature of our mind, seen from a Christian perspective. At the same time it goes beyond all human build religious limitations and restrictions, and speaks to the freedom inherent in all.

I love this book, so inspirational !

Beautiful book. Puts all of life’s worries, burdens and trials into a much deeper perspective. The true essence of joy, fulfilment and purpose.

Classic Merton!