The author notes that this book writes itself almost automatically in a monastery. However, he also feels that the interior life and contemplation are things we most of all need in our time, making a book like this something everyone, not just monks, might hunger for. It's described as a collection of notes and personal reflections, more or less disconnected thoughts and ideas about the interior life, written down at odd moments without special order or sequence. The book is rooted deeply in Christian tradition, particularly drawing from the spirituality of the twelfth-century Cistercians, especially St. Bernard of Clairvaux, who helped form the contemplative Order to which Merton belonged. Those familiar with St. John of the Cross will also find echoes of his lines on contemplative prayer. The author is clear that the book isn't revolutionary or especially original; it expresses concerns common to contemplatives and has no other goal than the ordinary fulfillment of the Christian life of grace, meaning everything said can apply to anyone, whether in a monastery or the world. It doesn't claim to be a work of art, nor does the author believe his specific authorship makes much difference; the effect of the book is ultimately not controlled by any human author. If you can read it in communion with God, in Whose Presence it was written, you might find it interesting and draw fruit from it, more by God's grace than the author's effort. One personal window into the book's impact comes from Sue Monk Kidd's introduction. She describes first opening _New Seeds of Contemplation_ in Merton's hermitage and being deeply affected – it was an occasion of awe and awakening, an event that changed her. Having previously read Merton's _The Seven Story Mountain_ and been introduced to the interior life and an impulse toward being, she later realized she had understood Merton primarily as a contemplative drawn by prayer, solitude, and silence. However, she discovered Merton was multi-faceted, complex, even self-contradictory, holding within his personality roles like monk, hermit, writer, poet, artist, intellectual, cultural critic, dissident, peace activist, ecumenical seeker, and lover of nature, possessing an ability to connect with universal places inside people. Reading _New Seeds of Contemplation_ specifically initiated her into the secrets of her true identity and woke in her an urge toward realness. She found powerful evocations on the true self within its pages. Now, let's dive into some of the book's central themes, as revealed through these excerpts. ### What is this "Contemplation" Thing Anyway? Merton tackles this directly, and it's a big deal because the word itself can be misleading. Contemplation is described as the very highest expression of human intellectual and spiritual life – it _is_ that life itself, fully awake and aware. It's spiritual wonder, a spontaneous awe at the sacredness of being, gratitude for life and awareness, and a vivid realization that our being comes from an invisible, transcendent Source. Above all, it's an awareness of the reality of that Source, known obscurely but with a certitude beyond reason and simple faith. It's a kind of spiritual vision that both reason and faith naturally strive for, but it sees "without seeing" and knows "without knowing". It's a profound depth of faith, a knowledge too deep for images, words, or clear concepts, suggested by symbols, but ultimately withdrawing what's said because we know by "unknowing," or even beyond knowing or unknowing. Interestingly, Merton compares contemplation to poetry, music, and art in some ways, but stresses it's ultimately beyond aesthetic intuition, beyond art, poetry, philosophy, and speculative theology. It transcends and fulfills all these, yet in the experience, it seems to momentarily supersede and deny them – they "die" to be born again on a higher level. Contemplation reaches out to know and experience the transcendent God, knowing Him as if touched by Him Who has no hands but is pure Reality. It's a sudden gift of awareness, an awakening to the Real within all that is real, an awareness of our own being as a gift from God. It's also presented as a response to a call from God, Who speaks in everything and in the depths of our own being, for we are words of His meant to respond to Him. Contemplation is this echo, a deep resonance where our life loses its separate voice and re-sounds with God's majesty and mercy. It's like God asked a question in creating us, and contemplation is the answer, making the contemplative simultaneously question and answer. The life of contemplation involves two levels of awareness: awareness of the question and awareness of the answer. Ultimately, these are awareness of the same thing; the question _is_ the answer, and we ourselves are both, though we only realize this in the second level of awareness. This is not philosophical contemplation of abstract ideas, but the religious apprehension of God through our life in God, through "sonship". It's a religious and transcendent gift, not attainable solely by human effort or concentration; it's God's gift completing His work in us by enlightening our minds and hearts. It's an awareness that we are "in Christ" and Christ lives in us, transforming our natural life. It's more than meditation or abstract truths; it's an amazing intuitive grasp by which love becomes certain of God's dynamic intervention in our daily life. It doesn't confine God to an idea but is carried away by Him into His mystery and freedom. Contemplation is not a "how-to" project or a commodity to procure; it's impossible to teach one how to become a contemplative. Getting rid of misconceptions requires experiencing it, as it can only be hinted at or symbolized. ### What Contemplation is _Not_ Just as important as defining contemplation is clarifying what it is not, to avoid misunderstandings and false paths. It's not merely knowing reality as objective facts, but the experiential grasp of reality as subjective – not "mine" (external self) but "myself" in existential mystery. It doesn't arrive at reality through deduction but by an intuitive awakening where our personal reality becomes alive to its depths, opening into God's mystery. For the contemplative, it's not "I think, therefore I am" (cogito ergo sum) but "I AM" (SUM), a humble realization of our being in whom God dwells. It's definitely _not_ just for quiet, passive temperaments; it's not inertia or liking to sit and think. While thoughtfulness can dispose one for it, contemplation is more than reflection. It's not prayerfulness or finding peace in rites, though these can be preparations. Contemplative intuition isn't about temperament. An active, passionate person might awaken to it, perhaps suddenly, while a passive character might be hindered by avoiding the inner struggle it often requires. Calculated ambition cannot attain it; it's the living water we thirst for, not something to be planned or conquered. We don't choose to awaken ourselves; God chooses to awaken us. Contemplation is also not trance, ecstasy, hearing voices, seeing lights, or emotional religious exaltation. These might seem similar because they suspend ordinary awareness, but they are not the work of the "deep self," rather emotions or the somatic unconscious. While they can accompany genuine religious experience, they aren't contemplation itself. Nor is it prophecy or reading hearts, though these can sometimes coexist. Merton also distinguishes contemplation from "false mystiques," like collective enthusiasm in totalitarian movements or the self-righteousness of party loyalty, which are escapes from the external self but not true spiritual experience. These "ersatz forms of enthusiasm" can be "opium" for alienated people, dulling their awareness of deepest needs and turning them into instruments of power. Crucially, contemplation is _not_ an escape from conflict, anguish, or doubt. On the contrary, its certitude awakens tragic anguish and opens questions. This deep certitude brings growth in superficial "doubt" which questions the "spurious 'faith'" of everyday life (passive acceptance of conventional opinion). This torment is a trial by fire, compelling us to examine and reject prejudices and conventions accepted as dogmas. Thus, genuine contemplation is incompatible with complacency or smug acceptance of prejudiced opinions; it's not spiritual anesthesia or passive acquiescence. It's also important to note that contemplation doesn't necessarily mean abandoning the humanity of Christ to go directly to His divinity. This idea stems from a superficial understanding of dogma, potentially leading to the heresy of dividing Christ. Christian contemplation is personalistic, and our love and knowledge terminate in the _Person_ of Christ, not just His natures. Faith, not imagination, gives us supernatural life and leads to contemplation. While imagination or pictures can sometimes be helpful for prayer, they aren't necessary, and a simple, loving awareness of Christ's presence in our souls through faith is more real and valuable. ### The Seeds of Spiritual Life The book's title itself suggests a core idea: "seeds of contemplation". Merton explains that every moment and event of life plants something in the soul, carrying "germs of spiritual vitality". These seeds are expressions of God's will, a "word" of God, not just in formal preaching but in the ever-changing reality around us. This can awaken us to an uninterrupted dialogue with God, not necessarily constant talking, but a dialogue of love and deep wills. He contrasts this with a potentially conventional, negative idea of God's will as an external, arbitrary, hostile force, which can drive people to despair and make love for God difficult. Such a view makes seeking the intimate mystery of contemplation impossible; we would only want to flee from God. Our idea of God, Merton points out, says more about us than about Him. We need to realize that God's love seeks us in every situation for our good and our awakening. This awakening implies a kind of death to the exterior self, which we might dread if we are attached to that false self. But understanding the cycle of life and death helps us take the risks of faith and make choices that free us from routine selves and open us to new being. The mind imprisoned by conventional ideas and the will captive to its own desire cannot accept the seeds of unfamiliar truth and supernatural desire. How can we receive freedom's seeds if we love slavery, or cherish God's desire if filled with an opposite desire?. We must learn to let go of the familiar and consent to the unknown, to "leave myself" to find myself by yielding to God's love. If we seek God, every event would sow grains of His life in our will, leading to a harvest. God's love is present in the sun's warmth, the cold rain, the bread we eat, hunger, fasting, winter cold, summer heat, light breezes, shade, and even behind the city's clamor in His judgments – all are seeds from His will. If these seeds take root in our freedom, we can become the love that God is, and our harvest is His glory and our joy. Merton emphasizes that our primary concern shouldn't be pleasure, success, health, money, or even virtue or wisdom, but in all that happens, to know: "Here is the thing that God has willed for me. In this His love is found, and in accepting this I can give back His love to Him and give myself with it to Him. For in giving myself I shall find Him and He is life everlasting". Consenting to His will with joy makes our will the same as His love, and we are on the way to becoming Love itself. Accepting things from Him brings His joy, not because of the things themselves, but because of Who God is and His loving will for our joy. ### Finding God's Will and True Work How do we know God's will? Even without explicit commands, the nature of each situation often reveals it. Whatever is demanded by truth, justice, mercy, or love is willed by God. Consenting to His will means consenting to be true or seek truth. Obeying Him means responding to His will expressed in another's need or respecting others' rights. Another's right is an expression of God's love and will, allowing us to share in His care for our brother; ignoring this prevents walking in the light of contemplation. The requirements of work can also be God's will. To do a task carefully and well, with love and respect for its nature and purpose, is to unite ourselves to God's will in our work and become His instrument. Work done this way cannot obstruct contemplation, even if it temporarily occupies the mind; it can purify and pacify the mind, disposing us for contemplation. However, unnatural, frantic work driven by greed, fear, or passion cannot be dedicated to God directly. We should distinguish between sound, healthy work and unnatural toil. We should always conform to the "logos" or truth of the duty, work, or our God-given nature. Contemplative obedience and abandonment to God's will do not mean indifference to natural values in human life and work. Detachment is required, but not insensitivity to true human values in society, others, or ourselves; otherwise, contemplation is vitiated. ### The False Self and the True Self: A Core Struggle This contrast between the "false self" and the "true self" is central to the excerpts. Sue Monk Kidd found this a nucleus of both Merton's work and her own questions. Merton writes that everyone is shadowed by an illusory person, a false self, and we are not good at recognizing these illusions, especially those about ourselves. This superficial, external self is what we commonly identify with when we say "I". Contemplation cannot be a function of this external self. In contrast, there is a deep, transcendent self that only awakens in contemplation. Our reality, our true self, is hidden in what appears to us as nothingness, but we can rise above this unreality and recover our hidden identity. God Himself begins to live in us not only as Creator but as our "other and true self". We have a choice between the external mask that seems real and the hidden inner person who seems like nothing but can give himself eternally to the truth in whom he subsists. The shift in understanding Merton (and oneself) is discovering that a key intention of contemplation is confronting the false self, the illusions and tenacity of the ego, and finding and surrendering to the true self. Merton poetically calls this a movement from opaqueness to transparency. The illusion of the false self is kept alive by natural appetites and selfishness, which is called original sin. Even when we try to please God, we can tend to please our own ambition, God's enemy. There can be imperfection even in desiring perfection or sanctity; even the desire for contemplation can be impure if we forget it means complete destruction of selfishness. This shows the difficulty; the false self clings even to spiritual pursuits. As long as our mind and will are impervious to God's missions (His giving of Himself, His Word and Spirit), we do not easily receive His light. Focusing our faculties only on the "man that I am not," the false self, keeps the illusion opposed to God's reality alive within us. However, consenting to God's will and mercy, as it comes in life's events, appeals to the inner self and awakens faith, breaking through the superficial self and finding hidden majesty within. This majesty, though appearing objective or seen in visions by prophets, is ultimately within us – the mission of the Word and Spirit, filling our being with glory and awakening our identity as sons of God. This is the Kingdom of God within us. In this revelation, we get an obscure intuition of our personal secret, our true identity, awakening when we say "Yes!" to the indwelling Divine Persons. We are only truly ourselves when we consent to receive God's glory. The true self is the one that receives God's supreme gifts; any other self is an illusion. To seek God perfectly is to withdraw from illusion, pleasure, worldly anxieties, and selfish desires; keep the mind free for His will; entertain silence; cultivate intellectual freedom from created images to receive God's secret contact in obscure love; and love all things for His glory. This means being kept from sin, which puts "hell" in the soul and keeps us from belonging to God. Sins like lust, avarice, ambition, vanity, envy, and sloth are impediments. We need strength that waits upon God in silence and peace, humility, deliverance from pride, and simplicity of love occupying our whole life to love purely for God alone. Only God can satisfy and reward such love. ### The Challenge of Doubt and Suffering True faith is not blind conformity or passive acceptance of prejudice. It's a decision, a judgment taken in the light of a truth that cannot be proven. A "faith" that just confirms opinionatedness might be theological doubt, and true faith involves struggle, not just comfort. As mentioned, contemplation brings doubt to superficial faith. This torment is a trial forcing us to examine prejudices and conventions. Genuine contemplation is incompatible with complacency. Contemplation is also not an escape from anguish or suffering. It opens questions like wounds. The spiritual journey often involves a desert, without sensible comforts or clear direction, where it's hard to believe the road leads anywhere except to ruin. Many avoid this wilderness, preferring paths with visible results, mistaking fervent feelings or external activities (like many prayers, mortifications, sermons, reading, pilgrimages) for progress, when these can sometimes be escapes from the responsibility of suffering in darkness and letting God strip away the false self. When God begins to infuse light in contemplation, it can feel like defeat, entering a frustrating darkness, weariness, and distaste for activity, fearing this impotence is sin. The mind/will resist being lifted beyond their natural powers, finding suffering and humiliation in their inability to act on their own. This struggle is part of the process. ### Preparing for and Experiencing Contemplation Preparation for contemplation involves deepening knowledge and love of God through meditation and active prayer, freeing the will from attachment to created things. While methods of meditation exist and can be useful, they shouldn't be rigid. A meditation book should teach you _how_ to think, not do your thinking for you; if a thought stimulates you, put the book down. The goal is to acquire the freedom to find light, warmth, and love for God everywhere, not just in fixed periods. Meditation can be done on paper (drawing/writing), contemplating art, or simply waiting for a bus. Entering the Church's liturgy and letting its rhythm work through you is also valuable. Why meditation might seem to fail for some is a misunderstanding of its purpose. Bafflement, darkness, and helpless desire can be _fulfillment_, bringing you closer to God when it goes beyond understanding, forcing reliance on blind faith, hope, and love. At such times, persevere in prayer despite difficulty, dryness, and pain. Suffering and grace will guide you. This might lead to simple affective prayer (will reaching out in darkness) or a simple contemplative gaze, resting in peaceful awareness of God hidden in a cloud. Keep prayer simple then. If meditation becomes possible again, use it, but without excitement. Feed your mind with reading and liturgy, and if the darkness is tense, use vocal prayers, but don't force ideas or fervor. Don't try to realize elaborate prospects from books. If meditation is easy and fruitful, continue it. If it becomes impossible, deadens, exhausts, brings disgust or distractions, forcing it is harmful. If giving up active meditation brings peace and fruit from simple expectation, do that instead. This state involves the mind absorbed in an obscure thought of God and the will in a blind desire for God, producing anxiety, darkness, and helplessness. Resting in silence and emptiness allows this thirst to grow and peace to establish itself, even without tangible findings. However, if giving up meditation leads to laziness or a dead mind/will, stay with something definite. Laziness can masquerade as "prayer of quiet". It's normal to use a book, image, crucifix, the Blessed Sacrament, or nature (landscape, fields, hills) to help start this simple prayer, shifting from reflecting on something specific to resting in serene, effortless contemplation and quiet expectancy. Contemplative prayer's absence of activity is only apparent; below the surface, intense supernatural activity occurs, bearing fruit beyond conscious estimation. There's no prayer where you do nothing. If God is the source, the activity is beyond conscious grasp. Contemplative prayer is a deep, simplified activity where mind and will rest in a unified concentration on God, a simple gaze that is perfect adoration, signifying that God alone matters. In this dark journey, unfaltering trust in God's guidance and courage are essential. Humility and docile submission to a good Director are crucial to counteract self-deception and mistakes. Souls are like wax waiting for a seal, needing to be softened by God's will to receive their true identity in Christ at death. Hard, dry wax won't take the seal but will be crushed; resisting the softening fire of God's will destroys us. ### Sharing and Poverty Contemplation is not meant to be kept for oneself. God's joy flows from contemplation to help others rejoice in God. However, the contemplative is often diffident about speaking of their experience; it can feel like dissipating the gift. Yet, they desire others to share their peace and look for signs of this potential in others. Sharing contemplation requires not only being a contemplative but also a calling to teach it. One doesn't teach contemplation; God gives it; we can only provide an occasion for others to realize what God wants. An ill-timed effort to share can substitute natural enthusiasm for reality, lead to useless controversy, and give false notions. True sharing is often invisible, affecting others through union with God within the Mystical Body of Christ. A simple, attentive presence to God, even with little conscious grasp, can do immense things for others. Trying to talk and reason about it too soon can hinder this. The best preparation for sharing is silence, humility, and purity of love, allowing God to work, and learning to leave results to God. Poverty and hard work can dispose men for contemplation, making life simpler and more dependent on God. While severe destitution isn't good, living frugally and laboriously, accepting difficulties with others, can foster peace, contentment, and joy. The simplicity of such a life can be beautiful. Sound work done well can purify the mind. Interestingly, Merton mentions that an old brother doing manual labor might be a greater contemplative than a learned priest. However, he cautions against using this as an excuse to neglect learning; intellectual work, done properly, is a school of humility. Humility involves accepting one's duty, including theological study if called to it. Contemplation and theology are not opposed but two aspects of the same thing, like body and soul; both are needed for an integral spiritual life. True contemplation is the normal perfection of theology. ### The Goal: Union and Transformation Contemplation, as the union of mind and will with God in pure love, is the reason for our creation, the fulfillment of deep capacities within us. It's meant to be our "proper element," feeling both new and strangely familiar. The infused light awakens a new level of awareness where the contemplative world feels familiar, and the old world of senses seems strange. God reveals Himself in obscurity and silence, not to be interrupted by our concepts or activities. Our response in contemplation is silent acceptance, emptiness, silence, and joy in God's dark light – this is what praises Him. This "clear darkness" is purity of heart, bringing deliverance from images, concepts, and attachments. It allows deep movements of love, freeing us from selfishness and numbering us among the "little children" of the Kingdom. When we fall back into confusion, the "scar" of that joy burns, reminding us of where we belong. There are different "beginnings" or ways into contemplation described, from sudden emptying to navigating aridity or resting in a peaceful, luminous love often felt as Christ's presence. Regardless of the beginning, the path often involves obscurity and a feeling of being guided even in darkness. Ultimately, pure love and supreme renunciation of created things coincide, leading to being filled with God's gift and incorruptible joy. Union with God in pure contemplation means God acts in the soul; it's fulfilling the command to love God entirely. These contemplative souls, often hidden and seemingly unimportant, are the strength of the world, the tabernacles of God, on whom the earth depends, and who will inherit the land and truly enjoy life. Merton uses a beautiful image: the union of the simple light of God with the simple light of man's spirit in love is contemplation. It's an emptiness where identities disappear, like God walking with Adam in the "free emptiness of the breeze after noon". This was the original meaning of creation, but God did more; He became man in Christ, entering His creation, hiding Himself, becoming a brother, counselor, and servant, not a distant, powerful King, because He desired a deep, personal union, identifying with us even in our weakness. ### Ideas and Questions for You to Explore Phew! That's quite a journey through some dense but beautiful ideas. Here are some things you might find interesting to think about further, inspired by Merton's words: 1. **Identifying Your False Self:** Merton talks about being shadowed by an illusory person. What aspects of your own self, your ego, or your desired image feel illusory or like a mask? How might recognizing these illusions be the first step toward finding a truer self? 2. **Seeds in Your Own Life:** Consider Merton's idea that every moment and event plants spiritual seeds. Where do you see potential "words of God" or invitations to dialogue in the ordinary, or even difficult, parts of your day? How can you cultivate the "good soil" of freedom, spontaneity, and love to receive them? 3. **Finding God's Will in the Everyday:** How does Merton's description of God's will being found in truth, justice, mercy, love, the needs of others, and the requirements of your work challenge or affirm your own understanding? How can you practice "contemplative obedience" in your daily tasks? 4. **Work as a Path to Contemplation:** If sound work can dispose the mind for contemplation, what does this imply about the spiritual potential of our professions or daily chores? How can you avoid the "unnatural toil" driven by anxiety or passion and seek the "logos or truth" in what you do? 5. **Embracing the Desert:** Merton describes the spiritual journey involving a "desert without trees and without beauty and without water". Have you experienced times of spiritual dryness, frustration, or lack of sensible progress? How might these be opportunities for growth, forcing reliance on blind faith rather than seeking tangible results? 6. **The Role of Doubt:** The idea that genuine contemplation awakens "superficial 'doubt'" that questions conventional faith is intriguing. How can questioning your assumptions, even those that seem religious, deepen your faith rather than diminish it? 7. **Simple Prayer and Presence:** If fixed meditation methods aren't the only way, how can you cultivate a more constant awareness of God's presence? What practices (like looking at nature, listening to music, simple repetitive prayer) might help you enter a state of simple, effortless contemplation? 8. **Detachment vs. Insensitivity:** Merton says a contemplative must be detached but not insensitive to human values. Where is the balance between letting go of attachments and remaining engaged and compassionate towards others and the world? 9. **Invisible Sharing:** The idea that contemplation overflows invisibly through the Mystical Body of Christ is a powerful thought. How might your own efforts at inner stillness and union with God impact the world and others in ways you may never know? 10. **Theology and Experience:** Merton argues that theology and contemplation are two aspects of the same thing. How do you see intellectual understanding and lived spiritual experience relating to and informing each other in your own life or faith journey? Exploring these ideas, guided by Merton's reflections, can open up rich pathways for understanding yourself, your relationship with God, and the spiritual potential hidden within the ordinary fabric of life. It's a deep well to draw from, and this book seems designed to keep inviting you back for more.