“Not more of this! Give it a rest!”
“I don’t mean to insult your hobby, Mr. Altrock. But that is pretty strange behavior.”
“Stories that delve into the bizarre visions of the overly religious make me ever so thankful that these beliefs never took hold of my mind.”
When my local paper asked me to write about my experience of 30 days in silence, these were some of the online comments my article elicited.
Strange.
Bizarre.
And I’m only sharing with you what my family wrote! (Ok, not really, but even my family wondered about my sanity).
There were, in fact, times when even I questioned the whole experience. Like the time, early in the 30 days, when I slipped into the Memphis Botanic Garden to find peace and quiet in their Japanese “Garden of Tranquility.” I nestled into a bench, staring at the still pool of water in front of me, trying to meditate. I imagined my heavenly Father sitting right next to me.
Then a trio of summer tourists wandered over and started talking. One even sat on my bench–right on top of my Father! A horde of honking geese sauntered over as if I was their breakfast delivery boy. It was as if the world itself was conspiring against me!
During this month of meditation I often found myself reciting the prayer by Thomas Merton: “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.”
What convinced me to begin and eventually finish this unusual journey was the counsel of a former-soldier turned spiritual-advisor named Ignatius(1491-1556). Founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius believed silence and meditation were critical to spiritual growth. He crafted The Spiritual Exercises, a four “week” series of readings, prayers and experiences to be engaged in during a 30 day period. In week 1 I focused on my sin and God’s grace. Week 2 emphasized the birth and life of Jesus. Week 3 highlighted the suffering and death of Jesus. And week 4 dwelt on the resurrection of Jesus.
Under the guidance of a Spiritual Director, with whom I was in contact daily, I spent 6-8 hours of silence following the course Ignatius laid out. Generally, I spent part of that time at home and part of that time in places like the Botanic Garden.
It was painful. It was healing. It was terrifying. It was wonderful.
And I’d do it again in a second. Regardless of the online comments.
In this series, I’ll share 7 of the most important things I learned in those 30 days.
