contemplate

Done and moved

I’m pretty much remembering to do this twice every day for ten minutes. When I forget, life gets difficult.

I am keeping this goal here because it is so important.

Ok, here’s one. We often don’t like things in other people which we know (but don’t acknowledge) in ourselves.

So next time you say “I don’t like him because he does X”, try adding “just like I do” at the end. It’s certainly teaching me a lot about myself.

I’ve started seeing a counsellor to help direct my contemplation. After one session I’m very happy – she doesn’t suggest anything to me, or give me any answers, just allows me to talk, and picks up things in a “you mentioned X…?” sort of way.

Contemplating twice a day is good. It means that I never have to worry about any of the big questions during the day. They’ve either already been solved in the morning session, or can be deferred into the evening session.

5 minutes at each end of the day (after clearing head time) is plenty.

...are almost always a bad idea. Unless one is in a state where emotion and instinct can be trusted 100%.

I’m most certainly not in that position right now – but there’s no point torturing myself over decisions, a little contemplation would be very useful.

It’s very interesting reading QueenoftheHighway’s passage:

Another thing that struck me was that we are often afraid to be silent and alone. Often the thing that frightens us the most is our own soul. But the only way to encounter and deal with both the angels and demons we find in our souls is to be “alone with ourselves” and with God.

It’s very true. I absolutely love being alone and silent to contemplate stuff but that is when it gets difficult. I’m not sure about the actual God thing, but this is certainly one part of Benedictine philosophy which I think is absolutely spot on.