Thomas Merton's New Seeds of Contemplation: A Collection of Reflections for Mindful Living

Adam: A classic book. A must read for anyone interested in contemplation from any religion.

United Kingdom on Sep 02, 2023

Doug Loving: Very insightful, and thought provoking.

United States on Jul 27, 2023

Judy M.: Used book was in good condition.

United States on Apr 07, 2023

Pangloss: This is some of the finest of Merton's oeuvre dealing with the real and false self and the Way of contemplation. Easy to read; takes a lifetime to live.

Canada on Oct 17, 2021

M. Tylene Barrett: Very positive and thought provoking

Canada on Sep 23, 2021

Don Quixote: I am a Catholic in his late thirties, and this is the first book that I read by Thomas Merton. I have no idea how this happened, and a part of me wishes I had encountered this great author and spiritual guide earlier in my life. On the other hand, I believe certain books come into your life at the right moment, and for me, _New Seeds of Contemplation_ (1961) has been one of them.

A couple of years ago I asked a very good friend of mine to recommend books that tackled the complex reality of meditation or contemplative prayer from a Catholic perspective. There are plenty of Eastern philosophy books on the topic, many of which I have read and whose teachings have helped me to grow in faith. It always seemed to me, however, that Catholicism did not particularly emphasize this aspect of spirituality. This prejudice on my part probably resulted from the fact that meditation as such is generally not promoted as a parish activity. The word “meditation” itself is problematic to some Catholics, as it is associated with Eastern religions. Many American Catholics believe practicing yoga constitutes a form of idolatry and thus a violation the first commandment… One of the things...

United States on Dec 31, 2020

carol stockdale: I have not seen this book. My son knew he wanted it and it is living up to his expectations ! It arrived promptly and is in good condition. It should take him a long time to finish and this will please him too. Thank you for a successful present !

United Kingdom on Jun 03, 2020

Tigernest: “THE NEW SEEDS OF CONTEMPLATION”
by Thomas Merton

Reading Merton’s autobiography, “The Seven Story Mountain“ really took me to a new level. As a child I was very precocious and wanted to be an adult so fast. I wanted the trappings and the clothes and the cocktails and the charge cards that adults had. I was in love with secularism. And I lived the kind of early adult life where I really went as far with secularism as a person can go.

Then I explored about 20 other things, and eventually, I found myself at an impasse. I tried to figure out how to turn the impasse into a crossroads and how to decide what road to take. And I was totally stuck. I did not want to go forward.

And at some point I did figure out on my own that I wanted to go deeper. But I didn’t know what the hell that meant. That’s where Thomas Merton saved my ass. In his autobiography he gave moments of explanation about contemplation and the contemplative life. I didn’t have anything like that on my radar really. And this Book was all about what that kind of life looks like and how ones goes about it and what treasures one can find.

It is so wonderful to discover that the...

United States on Jun 19, 2019

John Peter Fyvie: New Seeds of Contemplation is a book of discovery. Practicing contemplation is my search of both mind and heart. It is a self discovery, an identity and a destiny. Reading 'Seeds' is encouragement to take 20 minutes a few times each day in a pursuit with God, wherever He may go. I'm not sure what you will gain from reading this book. My reading is an encouragement to continue to pursue contemplation more often and cherish His love and my own awakening. With these seeds perhaps I will discover a true harvest of joy.

Canada on Nov 23, 2015

john rooney: 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...

United States on Feb 14, 2015