J.A. Gilmer

“Let there always be quiet, dark churches in which men can take refuge.”
― Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

“For any one of us, child or adult, the question eclipsing all others is: How does what comes with you to the world find a place in the world? How does my meaning fit with the meanings to which I am asked to conform? What helps growing down?”
― James Hillman, The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling

“Even though my natural acts are good they have a tendency, when they are only natural, to concentrate my faculties on the man that I am not, the one I cannot be, the false self in me, the character that God does not know. This is because I am born in selfishness. I am born self-centered. And this is original sin.”
― Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation

“To integrate contemplative practice into life requires more than becoming proficient in techniques of meditation. It entails the cultivation and refinement of a sensibility about the totality of your existence—from intimate moments of personal anguish to the endless suffering of the world. This sensibility encompasses a range of skills: mindfulness, curiosity, understanding, collectedness, compassion, equanimity, care.”
― Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude