I have been searching for a balance of community and solitude. For God and life.
There is a group of guys down the coast doing just that.
The Camaldoli.
They have been doing it since the 11th if not the 3rd century.
"But Junai"--you say--"you are such a New Age Guy. With years of science under your belt and still simmering contempt for centuries of brutal crime, war, genocide, and financial chicanery of the church all based on superstition and lies."
Yes it is true. I know the Bible is based on an amalgam of Bronze Age stories. I was an altar boy. I was recognized with the Religious Studies award in High School. I began college studying Comparative Religion at UCSB before changing to Global Peace and Security and Pharmacology. I am familiar with Astrotheology and Shamanism.
I look at how much has changed in my lifetime. Mass was in Latin when I was born-- now English. The concept of "Hell" has been obliterated. Mary Magdalene is no longer a prostitute. Aliens are not inconsistent with the bible. The Church is no longer a haven for pederasts. All that in a generation. Who knows what may follow.
And there are timeless endeavors within cloistered pockets that seem to me beyond the bloody and sullied history of the scaffolding of the Church.
The Camaldoli/Benedictines strive to live in the presence of God. They chant Psalms.
To worship in gratitude in community and to garden and write and little creativity...that is all I've ever wanted.
That and a family but that is another post.
There is a group of guys down the coast doing just that.
The Camaldoli.
They have been doing it since the 11th if not the 3rd century.
"But Junai"--you say--"you are such a New Age Guy. With years of science under your belt and still simmering contempt for centuries of brutal crime, war, genocide, and financial chicanery of the church all based on superstition and lies."
Yes it is true. I know the Bible is based on an amalgam of Bronze Age stories. I was an altar boy. I was recognized with the Religious Studies award in High School. I began college studying Comparative Religion at UCSB before changing to Global Peace and Security and Pharmacology. I am familiar with Astrotheology and Shamanism.
I look at how much has changed in my lifetime. Mass was in Latin when I was born-- now English. The concept of "Hell" has been obliterated. Mary Magdalene is no longer a prostitute. Aliens are not inconsistent with the bible. The Church is no longer a haven for pederasts. All that in a generation. Who knows what may follow.
And there are timeless endeavors within cloistered pockets that seem to me beyond the bloody and sullied history of the scaffolding of the Church.
The Camaldoli/Benedictines strive to live in the presence of God. They chant Psalms.
To worship in gratitude in community and to garden and write and little creativity...that is all I've ever wanted.
That and a family but that is another post.
