The Way of Contemplation
Although many great philosophers and theologians have stressed the importance of contemplation — the practice is not entirely straightforward. Thomas Merton, an American Trappist monk, prolific writer, and proponent of contemplative practices, explained in the opening chapter of New Seeds of Contemplation,
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, in his Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle concluded that the activity of wisdom is contemplation, so, therefore, “contemplation is the highest activity of human life.”
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