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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 248.34
EAN num: 9780811217248
ISBN number: 0811217248
Label: New Directions
Manufacturer: New Directions
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 208
Printing Date: November 27, 2007
Publishing house: New Directions
Sale Popularity Level: 9816
Studio: New Directions
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Product Description:
One of the best-loved books by one of the great spiritual authors of our time, with a new Introduction by best-selling author Sue Monk Kidd.
New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the meditative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics, while others have compared Merton's reflections with those of Thoreau. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man, to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, 'Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men. Most of these unnumbered seeds perish and are lost, because men are not prepared to receive them: for such seeds as these cannot spring up anywhere except in the soil of freedom, spontaneity and love.'
Amazon.com Review:
'It can become almost a magic word,' Thomas Merton says of contemplation; 'or if not magic, then inspirational, which is almost as bad.' With these words, Merton takes us through the reality of contemplation, which is, the author says, 'life itself, fully awake, fully active, fully aware that it is alive. It is spiritual wonder.' Above all, contemplation is 'awareness of the reality' of the Source, 'with a certitude that goes beyond reason and beyond simple faith.' As these definitions should suggest, in this 20th-century classic on the contemplative life, as in the best of Merton's work, this Trappist monk wonderfully combines a disciplined and deeply learned intellect with the lyrical passion of the poet. It is this rare combination that makes this book not only informative but also moving. Covering a diverse range of subjects ('Faith,' 'The Night of the Senses,' 'Renunciation'), it moves the reader through certain traditional 'phases' of contemplation, and gives an idea of what to expect in this spiritual process (including despair and darkness). The book describes, but it also enacts. In its own prose it invites the reader to 'cast our awful solemnity to the winds and join in the general dance.' --Doug Thorpe
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Rated by buyers 
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There is so much wisdom packed into this book - it is a pleasure to follow Merton's nuanced and penetrating mind into the depth of the Christian faith. I particularly enjoyed the introductory chapters on the nature of contemplation, the "moral theology of the devil" and "the woman clothed in the sun". You may also enjoy Merton's "Ascent to Truth" and "The Inner Experience". May you be inspired and challenged by this book.
Rated by buyers -
Seeds of Contemplation is a great gateway to Merton's many profound and enriching works on prayer and spirituality. It contains many short chapters which deal with the basics of the contemplative life - solitude and community, silence and words, distractions and dark nights, faith and doubt, etc. It is a helpful and essential guide for any who aspires to be a 'contemplative' - that is, to grow in the life of prayer and communion with God (and Merton would caution that we use this loaded word carefully). It clears the ground by explaining what contemplation is and is not, the unmasking of the false self, the place of solitude and silence vis-a-vis the community, the experiences of distractions and dryness and interacts with the traditional imageries of the 'living flame' and being 'touched by God' that one frequently encounters in the classical mystical writings (such as John of the Cross, Cloud of Unknowing). It really is an excellent introduction of the contemplative life for the beginners. Yet, he has said elsewhere too that if anyone desires to be a contemplative, let him not think of himself as anything else but a beginner!
This book is a combination of clarity and profundity and few books succeed in making sense of the contemplative life to the lay reader without making it sound either pedestrian or esoteric. The beauty with which it is written and the timeless quality of its counsels to people in every age that thirst for authenticity and a life of deepening union with God makes it an enduring classic.
Rated by buyers -
I can't say enough good things about this book. It's hard for me to not just gush endlessly. It's beautiful, it's beautifully written, it's great. You can savor each page for hours. It's wonderful for Catholics, it's wonderful for all (open-minded) Christians, it's wonderful for spiritual people of all faiths. Only the most hardened atheist could not find something enlightening here. Stupendous.
Rated by buyers -
Thomas Merton's "New Seeds of Contemplation" is nothing short of life-changing: the complexity of his relationship with the interior life and titanic inward spirituality makes this the kind of book you will refer to for your entire life and may never understand it fully even then (I don't, and have read it twice now). For all that, you will still enjoy and admire the man.
Just about everything he says applies very well to modern civilization, and the amazing thing is that he wrote all of this from the Abbey of Gesthemani.
"Hell is where no one has anything in common with anybody else except the fact that they all hate one another and cannot get away from one another and themselves. They are all thrown together in their fire and each tries to thrust the others away from him with a huge impotent hatred. And the reason why they want to be free of one another is not somuch that they hate what they see in others, as that that they know others hate what they see in them: and all recognize in one another what they detest in themselves, selfishness and impotence, agony, terror and despair."
This IS 21st century civilization, at least in America; we are so alienated from one another and the concept of spiritual intimacy with other human beings that it is little wonder we respon out of our own nothingness with bombs and senseless wars and elect "morally compromised" individuals to run our nation: we live in Sartre's "No Exit".
And that is another extraordinary and odd thing about Merton's work: it is rooted in theology and yet he naturally touches and transcends--for the most part--the atheistic despair of the 20th century without losing his faith. One of his most definitive works, "The Literary Essays", is actually devoted for the most part to none other than Albert Camus.
And yet one cannot deny that in some ways, and Merton would have been the very first to admit this, his work is indeed written for those either considering or living a contemplative work, and just from the title of this book he makes it obvious. Some reviewers complain about being "active people" and not being able to "live Merton". Well, he was a monk in a Trappist Monastery: he did write for those who lived in civilization. "Love and Living" or "Thoughts in Solitude" are examples.
One cannot exaggerate the importance of spiritual mentors like this in contemporary times. I would fear, even more, for the safety of humanity if these kind of books were not still around.
Rated by buyers 
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As with many puffed up intellectuals, Merton complicates some very simple ideas. Finding the bottom line of what he was trying to say involved fighting my way through a lot of unnecessary verbage. I would think that if God wanted "contemplation" brought to the masses he would have picked a better mouthpiece than Merton.
Merton also seemed angry and irritated with the human race which I found distracting. I was very disappointed. After reading some of the positive reviews I expected a message with more depth and weight. This book is great for people who live in their head but if you're more the active type I would pass it by. You won't find much in the way of spiritual how to and instruction.
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