December 5, 2022. Advent, Winter, Darkness, and Repose.
In this meditation, we look at the quality of “repose” and how necessary it is in the midst of the busyness of this holiday season. Matthew reminds us that “repose is at the heart of our inner work” which can then feed and steer our outer work. Meister Eckhart says, “The divine nature is repose” and God seeks “to draw all creatures with him back again to their origin, which is repose.”
December 6, 2022. Repose among All Creatures and Divinity Itself.
In this meditation we explore the verse from Sirach 24.11: “In all things I sought rest.” Meister Eckhart cites St. Anselm: [First] withdraw a little from the commotion of external deeds. Second, flee, and counsel yourself before the storms of thoughts that also bring great unrest to the soul. Third, people can request nothing more precious than repose.
December 7, 2022 The Panentheistic Pleasure of Repose.
Panentheism is about God being in us, and us being in God. Meister Eckart talks about this when he says: After knowledge has conducted the soul to God the highest power comes forward—this is love—and penetrates God and leads the soul with knowledge and with all its other powers into God, and is united with God.… Eckhart also tells us: All creatures seek repose from their efforts, whether they know it or not.
December 8, 2022. Black Elk on Peace and Repose.
In this meditation, we explore Native American traditions on the subject of peace and repose. Oglala Lakota medicine man Black Elk shares this profound thought: The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness, with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells Wakan-Tanka, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us. This is the real peace….
December 9, 2022. The Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads on Peace and Repose.
The sacred Upanishads of Hinduism tell us something very beautiful: …there is a Light that shines beyond all things on earth, beyond us all, beyond the heavens….This is the Light that shines in our heart. The Upanishads continue with these profound thoughts: The little space within the heart is as great as this vast universe. The heavens and the earth are there, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars; fire and lightning and winds are there; and all that now is and all that is not: for the whole universe is in him and he dwells within our heart.
December 10, 2022. Thomas Merton on Repose, Silence, and Advent.
On this 54th anniversary of the death of activist/monk Thomas Merton, we explore some of the beautiful things he wrote about the need for silence and repose. He said, for instance, “Contemplation is essentially a listening in silence, an expectancy.” And also “love winter when the plant says nothing” and “Be in the midst of nature! The woods and nature should be part of your solitude.”
Banner image: A candle in the darkness invites silence and repose. Photo by David Monje on Unsplash
Recommended Reading
One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths
Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far more than a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fully express my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit
6 thoughts on “Week of 12/5-12/10: An Exploration of the Qualities of Peace and Repose”
In the last few meditations we have looked at the quality of “repose.” Matthew reminds us that “repose is at the heart of our inner work” which can then feed and steer our outer work. Meister Eckhart says, “The divine nature is repose” and God seeks “to draw all creatures with him back again to their origin, which is repose.” Eckhart also tells us: “All creatures seek repose from their efforts, whether they know it or not.” Citing St. Anselm, Eckhart shows the way to repose: [First] withdraw a little from the commotion of external deeds. Second, flee, and counsel yourself before the storms of thoughts that also bring great unrest to the soul. Third, people can request nothing more precious than repose. Black Elk then shares his version of Eckhart’s repose which he called “first peace” and which is panentheistic understanding of one’s place in the universe. In the Upanishads we learn that, “In the center of the castle of Brahman, our own body, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotus-flower, and within can be found a small space. We should find who dwells there, and we should want to know him. “The castle of Brahman” is like unto our bodies as the Temple of God, and it is in this Castle/Temple we are to do our inner work. Then we ended our week with some words from Thomas Merton who spoke of the importance of contemplation and solitude for repose and for inner work.
This weeks topics under the banner of “An Exploration of the Qualities of Peace and Repose” had me engaged in reading each one daily for the first time after finding this site. Why for the first time? I have found that other topics, say for example, “looking for justice where grave injustices have occurred”, in my filter are themed ‘anger for justice’ versus ‘love for justice’. It may be one way of ‘stirring up the rank and file’ but is that not unlike what ‘the perpetrators of the unjust’ are also doing. Maybe I have only occasioned to the Daily Mediations on those particular days.
Eckhart, Black Elk and Merton prescribe to ‘a third way’ and that is most intriguing and relatable to me for one. — BB.
Bill, thank you for your comment. I too feel more comfortable with what you say about “a third way”: “Eckhart, Black Elk and Merton prescribe to ‘a third way’ and that is most intriguing and relatable to me for one.” You say this in response to the other “two ways” which you say: ” I have found that other topics, say for example, “looking for justice where grave injustices have occurred”, in my filter are themed ‘anger for justice’ versus ‘love for justice’. It may be one way of ‘stirring up the rank and file’ but is that not unlike what ‘the perpetrators of the unjust’ are also doing.” Matthew does cover these things too because he is what he calls “a mystic prophet” and he says along with Rabbi Abraham Heschel it is prophets that are here to “interfere” with the current injustices–and he is passionate in his “justice-making.” We’re glad you have found us, and we’re are not Only about: “looking for justice where grave injustices have occurred.”
Thank-you Richard.
As a reread the DM’s for this week, I realized that the silence, solitude and repose that our souls long for, seems to be found in fleeting moments… moments that we are unable to grasp or hold onto… moments where we can rest our weary souls for but for a little while.
Although nature often offers the sacred space to enter into this, this sacredness can be destructively destroyed in a heartbeat. What we seek and long for, some say already lies within oneself. And yet, this sacred space within too, can be destructively destroyed. The silence, solitude and respose our soul longs for, often at times… seems to arrive as a gift of grace. At other times, it seems so illusive, yet we attempt to cultivate it many diverse ways.
Perhaps it’s the souls longing itself… that is a mysterious key? If there is no longing… would we seek it? If we constantly were able to grasp and lay hold of it… would we treasure this gracious gift? If we focused solely on cultivating it… would we all become hermits… an island unto ourselves?
Perhaps there is a deeper meaning and purpose to our souls longing for silence, solitude and repose than we have yet to fully comprehend… and perhaps this has something to do with the mystery of relationship with… a relationship with, that has nothing to do with possessing or expecting anything, but rather has more to do with the reciprocity of giving and receiving, receiving and giving moment by moment?
Upon reflecting on all the DMs for this week, my sense is that it’s the soul’s longing for silence, solitude and repose that is the mysterious key… that there is some deeper meaning and purpose in the longing itself, which we have yet to fully comprehend. Perhaps this key has something to do with relationship with… relationship without possessing or expecting anything, but rather relationship with… having more to do with the reciprocity of receiving and giving, giving and receiving in the moment. Without the longing… would we seek? If we possessed it… would we treasure this gracious gift or take it for granted? If we managed to daily cultivate it by various means, would we become hermits, islands unto ourselves? My sense is, that there is something hidden in the soul’s longing itself… this deep longing for silence, solitude and repose and that this is part of the mystery of being in relationship with the Creator.