have any of you been drawn to the monastic way of life?

Not seriously. The idea of spending days pouring of books, tending to gardens, quietly praying, and going out to help the poor sounds nice. But, most convents, to my understanding, have strict hierarchies, I don't think I could deal with that. Plus, I'd like to get married and have a family someday. I hope to incorporate some of the ideals of the monastic life without actually entering a monastery. Plus, I'm not very religious, so they wouldn't let me in anyway.
 
I pretty much feel the same as Storm.
I fantasize about a simple life spent close to nature, philosophizing and assisting my fellows.

But I don't want to tie a religion to that.
I'd rather do those things for their own sake and be my own master.
 
alt ctrl del said:
I pretty much feel the same as Storm.
I fantasize about a simple life spent close to nature, philosophizing and assisting my fellows.

But I don't want to tie a religion to that.
I'd rather do those things for their own sake and be my own master.
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now that i think about it, i agree with you and Storm. i am spiritual, but i am not religious. also, i'm not particularly fond of strict hierarchies, hierarchy for any sort in that matter.

i prefer a contemplative quiet life close to nature, be it amongst others or alone, as long as i'm able to have a niche of my own to help others, relate to them deeply, or bring any form of art/beauty into the world.

i'm planning on perhaps teaching piano on the side. i still have to finish my music theory and history classes and then i can take my ARCT diploma. i hope i get to do that once university finishes.
 
:m032:
 
rainrise said:
just wondering
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Sometimes I daydream about becoming a nun.

Only because I am attracted to exploring spirituality in depth.

Also because they don't rely on material things to make them happy.

Now the Shaolin monks I'd definitely join, if only I were a boy.

*sighs*
 
yeah sometimes i daydream i were a big hunk of a man with mad martial art skills just so i could go for solitary walks late at night without being questioned. damn gender stereotypes. hey i could still do the latter.
 
Drawn because I felt like I had to, yes.

That was a dark time, and that's not even a joke.
 
Understanding that which cannot be fully understood has always had a grip on me: seeing that which cannot be fully seen, knowing that which cannot be fully known.....feeling that which cannot be fully shared.

It would have been great to have had a choice when young to be chaste with reasons, or to search for holiness from youth.

After the eyes have been opened to the knowledge of good and evil, it seems those places are more for learning and healing.
 
Nope. Considered being a crazy isolated person living in the woods though.
 
I spent most of my growing up years in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. Those years were spent living out in the country, with land, horses etc and no bus service or cable TV.

The land belonged to the First Nations people and I felt a lot of magical energy in the air around me all the time. There was a huge feeling of spirituality in that place. It was perfect for me to spend time alone there when I was young...

I remember a girl in my class once who's family were very strong Christians. I slept over at her house one saturday night and went to their Church with them the next morning. There I was told that it would be a very good idea if I came up and asked Jesus to enter my soul because if I didn't, then I was going to go to Hell. I remember being extremely uncomfortable and I felt as though something about that experience felt very violating, threatening and well... just very, very wrong. I did it anyway because I was young and scared and I felt trapped. Forced. I don't know if I could to this day, accept the Christian faith in all it's entirety and with all it's rules to be something that I could honestly adopt for myself. It semed as though the fear of this "loving God" was stronger than the "love" of Him.

I went home and went outside again for a hike up the mountain side to my usual place. I felt so much peace there and true, honest Love and connection to the energy around me, that I knew what had happened that morning was faulse. The next day I saw my friend at school and told her that I didn't want to give up talking to the wolves, the trees and the stars. She freaked out and told me that the Devil was trying to hold on to me and prevent me from accepting God, and that I would go to Hell for honoring those other forms of spirituality. I resented this but said nothing. This was one of my earliest memories of forming a lifelong judgement on a conviction where no one was ever going to make me bend when I felt otherwise.

I have spent time with Native people and I have experienced Sweat Lodges. I have attended Pow Wows and I felt peace, honor and so much respect that I remember weeping foolishly amoung them, hoping they would not notice. One of the Elders told me that I was an Enlightened one, and that life was a difficut journey for people like me.

I began to practice my intuition then. I would sit outside at the bottom propperty overlooking the highgway and the North Thompson river and listen for traffic. I would do this to use my intuition to hone in on vehicles before I could see them, and I would get a 'feeling' about the color of the vehicle. I began to get better as I learned to truly relax and just trust my 6th sense. As usual, I never told anyone this ever (actually, this is the first time I have shared this), because most people out there would think I was even wierder than they already did.

So, I guess being at peace outdoors, even at night is something that comes natural to me. I have an intuitive sense that one day, I will live out on the land somewhere and just be connected to nature and the energies aound me. I hope to live near First nations people again too.
 
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Oh my goodness, Ria. Your post resonated with me so much.

I was just about to post a LONG , emotional rant on this forum, but after reading your post, I'm just smiling inside right now. There are actually other people like me out there ! Goodness !
 
Ria said:
I
I went home and went outside again for a hike up the mountain side to my usual place. I felt so much peace there and true, honest Love and connection to the energy around me, that I knew what had happened that morning was faulse. The next day I saw my friend at school and told her that I didn't want to give up talking to the wolves, the trees and the stars. She freaked out and told me that the Devil was trying to hold on to me and prevent me from accepting God, and that I would go to Hell for honoring those other forms of spirituality. I resented this but said nothing. This was one of my earliest memories of forming a lifelong judgement on a conviction where no one was ever going to make me bend when I felt otherwise.

So, I guess being at peace outdoors, even at night is something that comes natural to me. I have an intuitive sense that one day, I will live out on the land somewhere and just be connected to nature and the energies aound me. I hope to live near First nations people again too.
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:) I can relate... every sense of something truly divine that I've experienced has been deeply immersed in the natural world, far away from the throes of society.
 
Ria said:
I have spent time with Native people and I have experienced Sweat Lodges. I have attended Pow Wows and I felt peace, honor and so much respect that I remember weeping foolishly amoung them, hoping they would not notice. One of the Elders told me that I was an Enlightened one, and that life was a difficut journey for people like me.
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That is amazing! I am primarily a city (or suburb) guy. I've never had experiences like those you just described, but would treasure them. Being called "wise beyond your years" is one thing, being called an Elightened one by a Shaman is another thing altogether. This is one of the reasons I really love this place, we can share these types of experiences. We can more easily absorb the experience from the others because we have some common ground with which to start. Great story--Thanks!
 
i've been trying to find the words to describe what i really mean. i somehow stumbled across this this morning and it is precisely why i felt conflicted in living a monastic way of life away from the world and instead came to terms with the truer notion that a personal spiritual path was what i actually wanted to delve more deeply in.

it's based on an interview by Andrew Cohen with Eckhart Tolle

ET: Well, he gave his reasons, but ultimately we don't know why the Buddha put the emphasis on leaving the world rather than saying as Ramana Maharshi did, "Do it in the world." But it seems to me, from what I have observed, that the more effective way now is for people to surrender in the world rather than attempt to remove themselves from the world and create a structure that makes it easier to surrender. There's a contradiction there already because you're creating a structure to make it easier to surrender. Why not surrender now? You don't need to create anything to make surrender easier because then it's not true surrender anymore. I've stayed in Buddhist monasteries and I can see how easily it can happen
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I have contemplated the lifestyle of a monk. However, I do not understand the first thing about buddhism nor do I believe I would be able to follow any religion.

At the beginning of this year, I found that the company I work for (Wyeth) was being bought by Pfizer. Between that time and now, I have given serious thought to what is next if my job doesn't continue.

I gave serious thought to becoming a Peace Corps volunteer. This idea led me to researching other countries where I might be placed in this role. I don't have the strongest faith in the US Government (Sugar coating this one) and I worry what kind of agenda I would be fulfilling in the Peace Corps.

I grew up in a medium city, Des Moines, IA. It would be a drastic change to go from having so much, to surviving on the bare necessities. I started to ask myself whether I would be able to accept such a change. It is easy to say you could, but then the harsh reality sets in and you are stuck for 2 years miserable (Peace Corps, not monk). I decided that Peace Corps was not right for me at the time.

Instead, keeping the idea of living with so little in mind, I decided to cut back drastically on the excesses in my current lifestyle. I had tried to quit smoking, I had tried to lessen my drinking, I had tried to lose weight through diet and exercise. All these attempts were unsuccessful. I have never been very self-disciplined in terms of health. However, I decided to address all these problems simultaneously, similar to if I were to become a monk or a Peace Corps volunteer.

I had been exercising for some time beforehand, usually dancing to hip hop music which isn't monotonous and much easier to make a routine out of for cardio. I then stopped smoking, REALLY cut down on drinking, and started limiting my daily diet to 1000 calories when possible. I am not super strict on myself, but I do avoid fried food and chocolate like the plague. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables (Something I never thought I would say.), I enjoy making egg and ham sandwiches. If I fail in this, I have no one to answer to but myself and there are no concequences besides my own health.

I would definitely like to experience total isolation from the world, but for the moment I feel that I am at least taking some significant steps towards the purity that the role of a monk would have.

I don't think I could ever be a dedicated monk, the urge in me to start a family is WAY too strong!
 
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I actually know a few people who became monks, and they genuinely seem more at peace with themselves now than they were before. That being said, I don't think the 'monk lifestyle' would suit everyone. It's very restrictive, and can be lonely. Probably people who are naturally spiritual loners would get the most out of it.
Personally, I couldn't hack it. I enjoy my creature comforts a little too much :m090:
 
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