New Seeds of Contemplation

This is not easy reading. I sometimes couldn't read more than 3 to 5 pages at a time, but it was well worth the effort I put into understanding and appreciating this book. It is probably as good for a modern day person approaching meditation and contemplative prayer as St Theresa's Interior Castle was for her day.

This is a wonderful book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is not yet familiar with Thomas Merton's writing. Even though it was written quite a number of years ago, it seems like Merton is able to connect with anyone sincerely seeking contemplation.

This is a book that will require periodic review. There are so many amazing concepts that need studying but for me, it gave me great relief to know that God alone gives the grace of contemplation. I was worried that I wasn't doing enough in my prayer life,that I wasn't working hard enough.

Great material to encourage prayer and time with our Lord. A bit on the convicting side but I would recommend this to anyone wanting to be more prayerful and seeking the Lord in a 'real' sense. The good thing is there is no agenda which I appreciate.

Very pleased with the book.
Enoying is the fact that the expedition costs only appear at the end.
The difference in transport charges can be important and should be known sooner.
Even more disturbing is the fact that some chosen books appear to be undeliverable to Europe.
This is only being informed at the end of the purchase project. Very inefficient indeed.
Greetings.

While I admire and relate to the words of Merton, I find his style rather sharp. He seems to define his experience and spirtuality well (which I relate), but then seems to trash others or society that functions differently. Certainly society is very ill and could benefit from Merton type teachings, but this constant contrast seems to put himself (and spiritually commited people) apart from everyday people. When we (I) am living in an everday world, it makes me feel stuck between his teachings and those whom he blasts. Still, I am enjoying the teachings of the book. I simply need to accept his style and take what the book offers (which is indeed rich in spirituality).

This book was rather disappointing. It is didactic and authoritarian in tone, rather than inspirational, as I had hoped. The concepts are good, but the style of presentation is definitely old-fashioned.

i have just begun reading this series of meditations by father louis, ocso, and agree with most reviewers' assessments that the author's
prose is beautiful and his thought filled with some brilliant and profound insight, though i am also troubled by what seems to me a very serious
conceptual weakness at the very foundation of father louis's approach, and i should like to have a clarification from persons more
expert on the subject of "contemplation" than i: 1.) too often - and i have only read through page 30 - the author lapses into
descriptions of patently stereotypical "straw-personalities" who sadly can never be contemplative (though they may think they are!.
this kind of stereotyping was very common among even the greatest nineteenth century novelists, many passages of whose writings
read now as unintentionally comic and ludicrous. that's o.k. for fiction, but for a book which purports to be a virtually scientific analysis
of a fundamental spiritual reality of god's relationship with the contemplative human being, these stereotypes - simply asserted, never
illustrated by concrete examples and never critically evaluated by the author nor given foundation in a coherent phenomenological
analysis bring into question whether the whole idea of the "contemplative" and the spiritual reality of "contemplation" may, after all,
have been a subjective figment of father louis's decidedly literary imagination. for one example, he goes on at some length about
enthusiasts (pp. 10ff) victims of "false mystiques of nation and of class" - familiar ideas these of lack of authenticity, but father louis's
analysis focuses on the political animal when it could have broadened its focus to include the religious animal - even great saints
of father louis's own tradition, such as saint bernard in his crusader modality. one only has to read "christian" and "catholic" blogs
to see that the old demon of the odium theologicum thrives to this day among catholic, evangelical, orthodox faithful. too bad father
louis had not focused on some of the atheist "enthusiasts" such as christopher hitchens for a more balanced inclusion of stereotypes
if stereotypes he must have. one final, relatively trivial example from p. 14, contrasting authentic contemplative prayer from an inauthentic
type father louis illustrates: "by this i do not mean continuous 'talk,' or a frivolously conversational form of affective prayer which is
sometimes cultivated in convents, but a dialogue of love and choice. a dialogue of deep wills." is this sexist or what? - certainly the
words of a possibly unconscious elitist - so like the stereotypes of the feminine in many a nineteenth century novelist such as the
great balzac. i can only say" "sisters of the world, unite!" but i must read on, for perhaps i'm missing the point. semper ego auditor
tantum? !.

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.

My copy is dog-eared, highlighted up the wazoo, and it's one I come back to month after month. One of the most brilliant writers of the last hundred years in any topic, Merton lays it all out in a way others can't. Catholic or Protestant, this book will touch you and leave you thinking topics of life in new and challenging ways.
The beginning is a little tough until it clicks, and the rest of the book falls into place. The title is a little deceiving, which he explains. In Merton's Journal from Alaska (another book available), he admits he wasn't a big fan of the word "contemplation" for his intended purpose, but had to use it by default. I'd recommend this book as well to follow reading seeds. It reads far more like a personal sermon, for in it he is giving a sermon to some nuns in Alaska.
Back to seeds... The book isn't as much of how to contemplate, more in the big misconceptions about what contemplation and knowing God truly is.
The book is organized so that you can pick it up and read from almost any chapter, and not feel out of place. It even includes a section of aphorisms.
Take your time with it. I find myself reading passages for the 20th time, and picking up new little understanding hear and there. Don't feel bad if you feel lost at first. Stick with it and it will be worth it.
Enjoy!