Lessons from 'The Wisdom of the Desert' compiled by Thomas Merton.

Merton compiled 'The Wisdom of the Desert' from the Verba Seniorum or Sayings of the Elders. The Elders refer to the early Christian hermits who lived in solitude in the Egyptian desert. This book contains timeless aphorisms, advice, dialogues, and stories of the experiences of early Christian hermits.

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Show notes

00:00 - Reflections from spending time at a Benedictine Monastery & meeting B and C

09:05 - Excerpt from ‘The Wisdom of the Desert’, who is Thomas Merton

13:10 - The primacy of Love and abandoning the Ego

19:00 - Finding Ultimate Reality in the Silence

21:00 - Why you need to control your tongue and belly

22:40 - Humility is the path to wisdom

25:30 - Apply yourself to silence, and make your life a meditation

27:45 - Embracing death by laughing at it

29:50 - Don’t ask that your struggle be removed, but as for strength

32:15 - What is better, focusing on asceticism or interior life?

34:25 - “Go, sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything”

36:20 - Those who speak, should do; and only those who do, should speak

39:50 - How to love properly

41:15 - Challenge