New Seeds of Contemplation

One of the best-loved books by one of the great spiritual authors of our time, with a new introduction by best-selling author Sue Monk Kidd.
New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widelyread and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike havejoined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative traditionof St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and themedieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections withthose of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken thedormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, tonurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. ForMerton, “Every moment and every event of every man's life on earthplants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands ofwinged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitalitythat come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most ofthese unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not preparedto receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhereexcept in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.”
Amazon.com Review“It can become almost a magic word,” Thomas Merton says of contemplation; “or if not magic, then inspirational, which is almost as bad.” With these words, Merton takes us through the reality of contemplation, which is, the author says, “life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder.” Above all, contemplation is “awareness of the reality” of the Source, “with a certitude that goes beyond reason and beyond simple faith.” As these definitions should suggest, in this 20th-century classic on the contemplative life, as in the best of Merton's work, this Trappist monk wonderfully combines a disciplined and deeply learned intellect with the lyrical passion of the poet. It is this rare combination that makes this book not only informative but also moving. Covering a diverse range of subjects («Faith,” “The Night of the Senses,” “Renunciation”), it moves the reader through certain traditional “phases” of contemplation, and gives an idea of what to expect in this spiritual process (including despair and darkness). The book describes, but it also enacts. In its own prose it invites the reader to “cast our awful solemnity to the winds and join in the general dance.” --Doug Thorpe
Review“Destined to go down as one of the great spiritual classics of our century.”--Francine du Plessix Gray, “New Republic” “A guide for countless generations of spiritual seekers.”— “Monos”