The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life

by Beverly Lanzetta

Overview

The Monk Within is written for the person seeking a deeper, contemplative orientation to daily life. Yearning for inner realization of divine wisdom, this "new monk" draws on four interlocking themes: embodied spirituality grounded in the sacred web of life; the mystical path of the feminine, inspired by women's monastic communities; the archetype of the monk that is the deep truth of every person; and the interdependence of the world's wisdom traditions, expressed through interfaith, interspiritual dialogue.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780984061655
Publisher:	Blue Sapphire Books
Publication date:	10/03/2018
Pages:	404
Sales rank:	638,380
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.83(d)

About the Author

Beverly Lanzetta is a theologian, spiritual teacher, and the author of many groundbreaking books on emerging global spirituality and new monasticism. Dedicated to a vision of theological openness and spiritual nonviolence, her work has won praise for its wisdom, eloquence, and mystical insight and is considered to be a major contribution to what theologian Ursula King called "a feminine mystical way for the 21st century". She is a much-sought-after guide and mentor for the new generation, including the "spiritual but not religious" and new monastics alike, as she brings with her forty years of experience as a guide to answering the universal call to contemplation.

Table of Contents

The New Monk

1 Longing for Solitude 11

2 The New Monk 23

3 Contemplation and the New Monk 45

4 The Desert Spirituality of New Monasticism 63

Theology of the Mystical Feminine

5 Via Feminina: The Mystical Path of the Feminine 77

6 Four Dimensions of Via Feminina 91

7 The Dark Night of the Feminine 104

8 An Embodied Spirituality 119

9 A Theology of Intimacy 131

Love as a Spiritual Force

10 Love and Emptiness 145

11 Divine Love 154

12 The Illuminated Heart 161

13 Purity of Heart 171

Living the Monastic Heart

14 Treasures of the Monk's Journey 189

15 The Monastic Personality 200

16 The Monastic Ideal 214

17 The Deep Self 220

Wisdom of the Elders

18 St. Teresa on Prayer 231

19 St. Augustine’s Spiritual Journey 242

20 Gandhi’s Threefold Path 251

21 The Monk as Social Mystic 264

Revisioning Monastic Principles

22 The Wisdom of Vows 287

23 Gandhi on Vows 303

24 Mystical Celibacy: Divine-Human Intimacy 313

25 Sexuality and Mystical Openness 326

26 Rule of Life 337

27 All Life is Prayer 348

Why I Am a Universal Monk 357

Acknowledgements 357

Notes 363

Bibliography 377

Index 385

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/18/2019

Lanzetta (Nine Jewels of Night), former professor of theology at Villanova University, delivers a stimulating and encouraging vision for new monastic movements in this fine book. Adapting ancient monastic tenets, Lanzetta details how these long-known practices can help to integrate “all aspects of contemporary life—work, family, friendship, and sexuality—into the sacred dimension of being.” Lanzetta’s most useful advice is on how to cast aside worldly distractions to concentrate on “the permanence of silence, love, and truth.” While she provides some practical meditation tips, her wide-ranging volume’s most lively sections are her introductions to the spiritual journeys of devoted ascetics St. Augustine, Gandhi, and Thomas Merton. Through their examples, Lanzetta urges those who wish to embark on a life of spiritual solitude to commit themselves to gratitude, obedience, and poverty (which is not just giving away money, but includes divesting oneself of “superiority” and “willfulness”). Finally, she recommends readers take vows of advocacy for current movements toward nonviolence and social justice. Written in an engaging tone and sprinkled with relatable parables, Lanzetta’s book of wonder, contemplation, and selflessness will be indispensable for readers interested in monastic spiritual practices. (BookLife)

Publishers Weekly

"The Monk Within is a striking reminder that the truly spiritual life is essentially an inward journey toward a deeper and more penetrating sense of the sacred. Written by one of America's most impressive spiritual figures and writers, this book yields something meaningful for persons of virtually every faith tradition. Her rich tapestry of spiritual wisdom and reflections is really a blessing for these times, when we are witnessing an unprecedented crisis of the sacred. An insightful, inspiring, and moving book!"

--Lewis V. Baldwin, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Vanderbilt University and author of Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Words fail to describe the profound impact of this beautiful book. Beverly Lanzetta's The Monk Within addresses the original essence of monkhood within each person that is longing for inner confirmation of transcendent wisdom. It offers wise guidance to all those who seek to retain the core of silence and solitude that rightly belongs to Mystery alone. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the monastic instinct, as it has been expressed across time and cultures, will encourage, challenge and educate all of today's new monks. There is nothing like it available today."

--Bernadette Flanagan, PBVM, Chair, Spirituality Institute for Research & Education and author of Embracing Solitude: Women and New Monasticism

"Beverly Lanzetta, employing a mystical, feminine mode of discernment, looks behind and beneath the inherited ascetical ideal to illuminate a deeper and more extensive longing for solitude and divine intimacy, an archetypal hunger at the heart of every spiritual quest. Her pursuit is a contemplative awakening that is transcendent yet deeply embodied, sacred yet not confined to any one religion. The end result is an impressive, inspiring synthesis, an indispensable resource for all who wish to explore the expanding horizons of contemporary spirituality. "

--Diarmuid O'Murchu MSC, specialist in Adult Faith Development and author of Religious Life in the 21st Century: The Prospect of Refounding

"This is a book I have been longing for! Beverly Lanzetta has delved deeply into the wisdom of Christianity and other faith traditions and shares here her study and experience of monasticism. But this book is not satisfied in rehearsing traditional monastic practice. It offers a profound synthesis of ancient sapiential theology with contemporary women's contemplative experience. Dualisms of celibacy and sexuality, solitude and relationship, contemplation and world engagement are beautifully broken down. Here is a spiritual vision for women and men who long for the divine and yet live in the world. Here is a "new monasticism" that will inspire a generation of seekers and lovers of God, humanity, and the world."

--Wendy Farley, Professor of Christian Spirituality, San Francisco Theological Seminary and author of Tragic Vision and Divine Compassion: A Contemporary Theodicy

From the Publisher