I am a woman 60 years old, and glory is my work.
- Mary Oliver (from The Leaf and The Cloud)
When the snow falls thick and fast as it is today, often a sense of strange peace comes over me. I start to stare out the windows at the flurry of white bees and ponder rest, devotion, prayer (as well as the plight of the Honeybee Sisters mentioned yesterday, the terror and mourning of which still has me fully within its icy hold…). I wonder if glory can be my work, too (of course, the answer is yes – but the method…the method is a little fuzzier).
For many many years I’ve longed for something akin to a Pagan monastery – where the discipline of daily practice was instilled into every moment, where every hour is sacred, where a community of people worked together purely for the love of Earth and the gods and goddesses, the spirits and powers, the ancestors, each other. All of these can be done, of course, in the world, and I do them to the best of my ability. And yet. And yet. I’m not the only one who has these yearnings, it turns out. I’m not even the only one who has thought about it in minute detail.
It is a deep vocational call, towards this kind of religious life, and one that I’ve heard over and over for years, with no way to truly answer it. I went so far as to investigate taking vows as a Sister of the Catholic Church (before the advent of current relationship, of course), knowing full well that this would never be the right path for me (for obvious reasons), but drawn to it nonetheless. A good friend of mine from high school is currently on the path to becoming a Catholic Sister, and I can’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy every time I hear about her journey (like me, she is also committed to ecotheological principles, and the opportunities for living a Catholic monastic life in concert with sustainable principles and earth education are growing, which I find very exciting).
What is it about this that appeals? For me I think it’s partly the discipline – as I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not terribly good at self-discipline and daily meditation/prayer, yet when I’m in a community, I am able to maintain a daily practice due to the fact that it is built into the community schedule. I’m also simply attracted to living a completely religious life – of rising and greeting the gods and goddesses, of sustainable living in community, of being spiritually committed with a communal group to helping others via many different kinds of action and service, of prayer and reflection, of intense study. Of course, a Pagan monastery would by necessity look different than a traditional monastery for obvious reasons – the theological differences are vast. And, of course, contemplative living is only one Way among a million of being Pagan in the world – always the multiplicity and complexity of everything is the way in which the Holy becomes manifest.
Certainly there are retreat centers and places where one can enter into brief periods of rest and reflection – for instance, I intend to take a three-day silent retreat this spring at a small religious center near my home – and these places and opportunities should not be ignored. Yet, there is a deeper yearning there for me – one that will continue to be explored, one from which I will work and move about in the world and pray and fight and all of those things – one that may never see its full flowering but will radiate out through my work nonetheless, informing some choices over others.
And in the quiet almost-hearbeat of the snow, when the wind sounds more like slippered feet and the bustling of the world is blessedly mute, I will stare out the window and pray to the Powers always to lead me towards the Way wherein Glory can be my Work.
Hecate Demetersdatter said,
February 14, 2007 at 1:02 am
I know. I feel it, too. We no longer have temples attended by resident priestesses. I, too, have imagined that perhaps I could live in convent but that won’t work; it’s not genuine. It’s odd. There’s so much else that needs to be done in the world, that it feels almost self-indulgent to imagine living a life of spiritual discipline constantly attuned to the immanent divine. And yet, and yet . . . .
Matt Stone said,
February 14, 2007 at 10:04 am
Interesting. I have always thought of the monastic paths as being fairly ascetic in flavour. Won’t have thought that was particularly with Paganism. You’ve given me something to consider.
Blessings
Matt Stone
coloradocelt said,
February 15, 2007 at 12:42 am
It is definitely within the realm of possibility to make this kind of community happen, as a matter of fact, I have dedicated my life to helping a sustainable pagan community become a reality. I long, LONG for this kind of experience.
In the end it is, IMO, inevitable that this will happen. The challenge is creating a tribe or community that is willing to work hard and make it happen. I try to keep my mind focused on that goal, who knows?
Treesong said,
December 31, 2008 at 3:13 am
I see that this entry is almost two years old. In the time between then and now, have you made any progress toward pagan monasticism? Have you come across any others interested in the same goal?
I’ve been talking with people locally (Southern Illinois) off and on about this for a few years, but it’s like pulling teeth to convince people that this is something real to be acted on rather than an abstract idea to discuss. Therefore, in the meantime, I’ve adopted the attitude that I am a solitary Pagan monk in search of a monastic community. And now that my health is improving, I’m taking one step at a time to cultivate a daily practice, continue my education in theology/religion/spirituality, and find others with a similar sense of purpose in my region.
gospelpagan said,
December 31, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Hi Treesong,
Two years! Whoa. I guess I hadn’t really realized I’d been gone from the blogosphere for a whole year and change.
To answer your question – no. Or at least…kinda. I *have* come across MANY people interested in Pagan Monasticism – in theory, as you noted. Since I wrote this post, and another similar post on living a Plain life as a Pagan (which has turned out to be one of the most popular posts on this blog even two years later), I have met many people who tell me, with a wistful, yearning tone about them, that they long for this kind of religious life, this kind of depth and dedication. I think this is something that is widely and enormously appealing to many Pagans…especially in a culture that seems so increasingly removed from authenticity and the numinous. I disagree somewhat with Hecate that this kind of community is de facto indulgent or unrealistic – certainly it *can* be, but there are also contemplative Christian communities who do some tremendous work in the world, their activism arising out of their spiritual discipline, out of their soul work.
However, as you have noticed, the implementation of such a community is the burr in the butt here. In order to do that (in order to have an Order….har), several big things would need to happen – organization, volunteerism, money…..*and* a community with a shared theological vision. I’ve been thinking a LOT about that lately, this shared vision thing, and have been doing some mulling and writing over it. But even so, *if* it were possible to create a real-time, active, viable, engaged, bonded, spiritual community out of the diverse, eclectic polythea/ologies we currently embody (and, as I implied, I’m not certain that it is), OR even if we choose, say, one sent of theologies (say one kind of Wicca), and gather together a group of those persons to form this community, we still need organization, volunteerism and money – things that, frankly, Pagans seem disinclined to manifest. I love my people, but resistance to these elements, coded under an objection to “mainstreaming,” or a deep streak of spiritual libertarianism spiced with American hyper-individualism, makes the implementation of organized community in the “traditional” (as in contemporary and historical monastic community) sense extraordinarily difficult.
I admire your determination, Treesong, and I encourage you to not give up. Certainly, I believe that if enough people come together, it can happen. And in the meantime, like many of us, there is much joy and fulfillment to be had in living the life of a “solitary monk,” even as we yearn for something else. I wish you all the blessings Fortuna may smile on you in your pursuits in your local community. And if it should bear fruit – please do not hesitate to let us other Pagani know!
-S