Nurturing the Inner Monk

Tools for Waking the Inner Monk.

Many years ago, as my wife Almut and I were having breakfast at St. John’s Abbey in Minnesota, we saw at another table an acquaintance from a previous visit to the Abbey. We struck up a conversation about our shared experience there and our longing for the kind of life we felt there. Toward the end of the conversation, Almut said to him “I think there is an inner monk within you, waiting to be welcomed.” We all smiled at the image. And the memory is sweeter because one year after that episode, we attended the Oblation ceremony of this person, where he dedicated himself to the process of finding his inner monk.

This is a metaphor that has stayed with me. Almut often encourages me to “find my inner monk” when some difficulty is facing me. And it has become a kind of guide post as I feel my way forward. It calls me to a deeper integration of wisdom ways into my life and to reflection on what kind of a person I want to become.

The Inner Monastic

The phrase “the inner monastic” makes for a ni…