The Milky Way arches across this 360-degree panorama of the night sky above the Paranal platform, home of ESO’s Very Large Telescope. (Click on it to see larger.)
What it is to be a contemplative today is, in many ways, different from what it has meant in the past. The term used to refer to those who were ordained or took vows, entered a monastery or a convent, but as Carolyn Myss* says, not many people are doing that these days. The modern contemplative lives in the “world,” often in the city, while being devoted to their spirituality. But she believes that while many are forging new ways of being spiritual in the world, few actually live their spirituality deeply enough to qualify as true mystics and contemplatives.
While Myss acknowledges that many experience a strong desire (call?) to devote themselves to a spiritual path, she is at the same time critical of those who “dabble” in spirituality. “I think that in… accessing the mystical** disciplines I think what people really don’t realize is there’s an immaturity about it. That’s a strong word to use, but it’s the one I mean. They go at it as if it were a weekend seminar, as if you can tamper with mysticism, do it on Friday and Saturday but go back to work on Monday. I have no words to tell you how preposterous I think this is. I think we have a lot of maturing to do when it comes to truly understanding mysticism.”
For her, the true spiritual journey requires more than a partial or part time commitment. She also implies that being a mystic in the world is a new paradigm and we don’t have models for it – we have to create them ourselves. “We want to take spirituality into the mainstream so we’re the ones who are beginning to carve that model, just like we’re beginning to carve the model of partnership and dismantle the model of marriage.”
Individuals in the mainstream who feel called to live a contemplative life are struggling to define or redefine the terms of being spiritual (some might not even want to use the term ‘spiritual’), know the choices, and ask what is truly required. Where does one start? And where does one find the time? Can one be a devoted contemplative and at the same time have intimate relationships?
And then there is the matter of money. Living in the city – or living anywhere – is not cheap. If one desires the comforts of a decent roof over one’s heads and organic vegetables to eat, one needs to have an income. Even if one settles for vegetables saturated with pesticides one must make a living of some sort.
Myss addresses this by saying, “now…we have the question of what do you do with somebody who is pursuing a very serious spiritual discipline and has to support himself. You see, that is exactly the model we have to create.” But unfortunately, she does not tell us much about how to do that. (Maybe she does in one of her books that I haven’t read.)
Myss has made her living as a journalist, medical intuitive, author, and trainer. Perhaps she has worked this dilemma out for herself but she doesn’t seem to have an answer for others. And who could expect her to? Those who feels called to the contemplative path must work it out in our own way. And, I suspect, for many it feels like an impossible task.
But that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t try. C.G. Jung wrote that “the unconscious always tries to produce an impossible situation in order to force the individual to bring out his (/her) very best. Otherwise one stops short of one’s best. One is not complete. One does not realize oneself. What is needed is an impossible situation where one has to renounce one’s own will and one’s own wit and do nothing but trust the impersonal power of growth and development.”
Those who feel called to deepen their spirituality but who have to work for a living may find themselves facing the most impossible challenge of their lives. And what’s more, Myss suggests there is an added call to be models for others.
While everybody has to work out this dilemma in their own way, I like to think it is possible to live in the “world” and be a contemplative/mystic, whether one is independently wealthy or works nine to five to support a family. While things like simplifying one’s life by cutting out the extraneous is necessary for everyone who engages in this endeavor, one need not be a hermit or live in a religious community to live a contemplative life. A great deal depends on one’s intention and quality of presence.
Myss does give one bit of advice (in the interview) and that is to meditate wherever you are. “If you really want to learn meditation you put yourself on the busiest street corner you can, surrounded by the worst noises on the planet and then tell your spirit not to hear it. Now you’re meditating.”
She is saying that if you are living in the city and expecting to find quiet before you can live a deeply spiritual life, forget it. She is implying that no matter what one’s surroundings, one must be disciplined enough to return to one’s spirit. There are different ways of meditating and some methods teach that meditation involves being fully present to the noises. In any case, the message is, wherever you are, whatever the conditions, you can be present to your spirit or as others would have it, find the still point in the midst of chaos.
But though being present is generally a prerequisite, a practice of meditation is not the only way to be a mystic or contemplative. Being an artist can also be a contemplative path. “Writing,” says Thomas Merton, “is a form of contemplation.” Erica Jong believe it is also a type of prayer.
“Imagine straddling the cosmos, clinging to the tails of comets, knowing that time does not exist. That is the writer’s life. It is the purest connection to the universe a mortal can have. It is also a kind of prayer.” 
Other artists, too, have recognized their labour as spiritual. Kandinsky (who wrote “Concerning the Spiritual in Art’) comes to mind. And Emily Carr wrote, “The only thing worth striving for is to express God. Every living thing is God made manifest.”
And then there is music – from so called “primitive” drummers to Bach to some of the great Jazz artists, some who might not even describe themselves as spiritual. I don’t think it necessarily matters what we name the states and experiences evoked through creativity. Someone devoted to playing music or acting or dancing, etc. from their authentic core, is likely to transform spiritually.
And there are many others for whom their work form is also a sacrament. I imagine this is the case for some gardeners and landscapers, craftspersons, and healers, for example. And of course, the religious traditions all have their daily practices for supporting individuals in living their spirituality deeply. Carl Jung coined the term ‘individuation’ for the ongoing process of remaining attuned to one’s inner voice. He saw this as the deepest meaning of vocation - the spiritual life and work.
A contemplative life is not easy whether one is in a monastery or city centre, is wealthy or lives hand to mouth. Commitment, discipline, facing one’s darkness, feeling misunderstood and/or alienated by others, and experiencing self doubt, are only a few of the challenges facing anyone who chooses to deepen their commitment to the contemplative path.
A deep spirituality comes with a price. Myss asks participants in her groups what they would be willing to give up in order to be (spiritually) conscious. Other questions that come to mind are, “How would you be willing to live?” And “What quality of devotion and dedication would you be prepared to model for others?
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* from a 1997 interview I stumbled upon on the Banyen Books web site (by Michael Bertrand.)
**The terms contemplative (noun) and mystic are often used synonymously. Both are defined as those who are given to religious contemplation and meditation. Mystic tends to refer more to apprehension of mysteries.
Photos: From Wikipedia Commons