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Here, we will not speak of a mere emotional calm. We will speak of a calm arising from Grace, the Spirit, the Self - God, if you will to say so. Here, we will not speak of something foreign to us, but innate, natural. The spiritual being is a most-natural, normal being. Such beings remind others of how, in their supposed naturalness and normalness, they are still far from Home. Even a step from Home, is a long way from Home. And, Home invites us to a naturalness nonaggressive, a peacemaking by being-peace. A tranquility arises from and through us, in our union with Peace itself. So, this is not psychology, merely, nor specifically religious or spiritual. This is Grace. Moments of calm call us Home, to return to find what we found is That seeking us and our good, in all things.
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The monk and ascetic, and teacher of the esteemed and early-desert-dweller John Cassian, Evagrius Ponticus (345-399), wrote in Practike, "The proof of apatheia [detachment] is that the nous [mind] begins to behold its (own) proper gentle radiance; that it remains tranquil in the presence of visions during sleep; and that it looks at matters calmly."
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The contemplative practice is to nurture emotional detachment, or emotional nonreliance, that the Fathers and Mothers of the Desert called apatheia. This term was used among the early Church Fathers and, thereafter, by contemplative theologians.
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Of import is Evagrius' optimism regarding the natural state of the person. A comparison is a stream of water. The stream, let us envision, is clear and pure. When something stirs it up, the water becomes muddy, until the muddiness settles. The clarity of the water remains untouched. Then, again, the stream is clear and pure. Or, take the Sunlight. The air is clear; the radiance of the Sun shines through it. But, then, the air is polluted by smoke, blocking the radiance, until the air clears. The radiant light shining in the air remains. So, the natural state of the mind is, in the theology of Evagrius, a "gentle radiance" characterized by tranquility and calm. We should not consider the natural state of persons to be muddy or clouded, polluted; rather, Prayerful Quiet is a means of restoring a natural state, and that is one of blissful, contented peace and being, thereby, a peacemaker and calming presence, without even having to say anything. The peacemaker embodies peace; a calm, centered being bears in his or her being-among-others calm. Contemplation is the return to and nurturing of this inner-unity, to live from Grace as a grace-full being amid the aggressive fragmentation oft around one and luring persons from love, joy, and peace.
©Brian Kenneth Wilcox 2017. Brian is a Hospice Chaplain, living out his vow to serve all living beings by serving those preparing to die and their friends and family. Brian lives a vowed life, alone in a quasi-hermitic life, and integrates varied religions, but most especially the contemplative paths of Buddhism and his native faith, Christianity. Brian received a 'mystical' Christ-experience at age 9, and was introduced to a peace untouched by pain and suffering. Later, in his mid-30s, after surviving a dark night of despair, Brian was vowed to a contemplative Christian way of life on St. Matthew's Feast day, 1995, by Greenbough House of Prayer, in Georgia, USA. This began many years of ardent reading, spiritual practice, and exploration of many spiritual paths, including publication of his book An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The Journey has led Brian to the joy beyond the ache, a contentment in experiential union with Grace. Brian lives with the affirmation that Love, not as emotion but Divine Presence, transcends all paths of religion and is our Source and Destination. As St. Paul writes in the Christian Bible, "Now remain always, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love." Peace to All!
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*Translation of Evagrius is by Luke Dysinger; www.ldysinger.com .
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