Greetings! My name is Carolyn. I have recently returned from a 10 day silent retreat in a Trappist monastery. Before this experience I used to feel like a solitary contemplative, living and praying alone and on the fringe of society. While meditating in silence with the other 21 retreatants it was evident that I was not a singleton, but one of many souls called to experience God through deeper interior silence.
As I was leaving the retreat I was reminded of the notion of a “monastery without walls” in James Finley’s book Christian Meditation. I like this idea of trying to live out a spiritually intentional life in the secular world. Why not push this envelope further and create a new community, a “spiritual space without place”. In the past, people were drawn to religious orders to live out their spiritual journey with others called to a similar lifestyle. This community provided structure, security, identity, instruction and companionship. However, there has been a staggering decline in people entering the vowed religious life. Do people today still hunger for this place of spiritual belonging? Are many souls still restless, searching for deeper meaning? Is there a desire to develop authentic rather than superficial relationships? Is this type of community possible in today’s busy world? Maybe we need to rethink the old “brick and mortar” spiritual community and develop one using modern lifestyle technologies. Is it possible to create a vibrant, interactive, supportive, affirming and wisdom-filled spiritual community online? Is it possible to foster companions on the contemplative spiritual journey? I think that it is. This is our aim at www.silentjourney.org . Welcome to my blog about my own silent journey.
