Greetings Readers!
Today’s meditation is Part XI of our Perennial Habits course. Previously we discussed: The Middle Way — Buddhist Teaching, The Wisdom of Being Grateful, The Psychology of Behavior Change, and other topics.
The next virtual meetup is on The Art (and Wisdom) of Contemplative Practices. It’s scheduled for Wednesday, May 24th (at 7:00 pm EST); you can register here. For our final meetup of the course, I’ll be joined by Dr. Brian Russell (author of Centering Prayer and previous podcast guest) to discuss the wisdom of integrating stillness practices in daily life.
How to Contemplate — Like a Monk
What do Thomas Merton and Aristotle have in common? They believed that contemplation was the highest activity of human life. Although many great philosophers and theologians have stressed the importance of contemplation — the practice is not entirely straightforward.
In the classic New Seeds of Contemplation, Merton wrote,
Contemplation is the highest expression of man’s intellectual and spiritual life. It is that life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is a spiritual wonder. It is spontaneous awe at the sacredness of life, of being. It is gratitude for life, for awareness, and for being.
Similarly, Aristotle insisted we become better through the right action. Towards the end of Nicomachean Ethics, he concluded that the activity of wisdom is contemplation, so, therefore, “contemplation is the highest activity of human life.”
