Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative
Spiritual Direction: Where Do We Go to Get More?

Spiritual Direction: Where Do We Go to Get More?

Last updated on: March 8, 2022 at 4:32 am by Greg Richardson

Spiritual Direction: Where Do We Go to Get More? 2022-03-08T04:32:25-08:00 Greg Richardson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Where Do We Go to Get More?

We live in a world where almost everyone wants to get more.

Some of us want to get more money or more time. Many people are desperate for more celebrity, particularly on social media. We want bigger and smarter houses or faster cars. Some of us hope to spend our vacations in more relaxing places.

Almost everyone seems to be looking for more of something.

Where are you looking for more?

We seem to view life as a basket or a barrel and our job is to fill it as full as we can. There is no time to catch our breath because we are under constant pressure to get more.

Our lives are like a contest to find more and acquire it. We seem to think having more stored away somewhere safe makes our lives more secure, more meaningful.

Many of us, more than we like to admit, take comfort from our search for more. We assume finding and acquiring more gives our lives meaning. It is as if having the most recent phone, with even more features, makes our lives more significant.

The idea there might not be more scares us. We have made ourselves comfortable in a world searching and struggling for more. If there is no more, what is the point?

It may not be more material things we are struggling to find. Some of us are looking for more education, more information. We have a worldwide web of information at our fingertips, in our pockets, and we look for more.

Do we believe more information will make our decisions wiser?

We grow tired as our lives continue to focus on finding more. Where else can we look to get more?

What more is there for us to learn, to find, to acquire?

Can Spiritual Life Help Us Get More?

There are times when we feel we have done everything we have set out to do.

We have accomplished our goals and are having a very good year. Following good advice, we are exceeding expectations. Everything is under control. Sometimes we have even overcome opposition and outscored our competitors.

There are other times when we feel there is no real point to continuing.

We can become hopeless about making a difference. Do we even still believe in what we are doing? It is easy for us to become discouraged, tired, ready to give up and stop trying. We may see ourselves as out of options, out of time, out of luck.

People come to me for different reasons, looking for different answers. Some people want to become better or stronger. They would like to develop new skills and learn to do things in new ways. Some people want to find peace, happiness, calmness which has eluded them.

Many people are looking for someone who will listen to them.

Each person is trying to get more. We are dissatisfied, disappointed by what we have found so far. Each one of us wants to heal the pain of lacking the depth and joy for which we hunger.

People who come to me want more than to be reassured or comforted. They want something real which will make their lives different. Many want to find deep, underlying truth which transcends life’s challenges.

We work together to discover and explore the deep places where they can find everyday happiness.

Our work together often begins with listening to sacred stillness. We take time to stop trying to get more and take a deep breath. Together we relax our grip on what we are holding so tightly.

Listening to Sacred Stillness We Get More

As we practice listening to sacred stillness we learn an ironic truth. The more tightly we hold onto what we have found, the harder it is for us to get more.

We wrap our arms around what we have already found and clench our fists to make sure it is safe. The more we are able to find the more we lock away so no one can take it from us. We are like the people who hoard piles of old newspapers.

Listening to sacred stillness shows us we need to open our arms and our hands to get more.

How can we receive more when we put so much of ourselves into holding onto what we already have?

It is only as we stretch out our arms and reach out with our fingers we are able to embrace more.

Our joy is not in finding and acquiring more, in filling our safes with even more than yesterday. We get more as we revel in each morsel of the more which we find.

Listening to sacred stillness shows us we find more by opening ourselves to the more all around us and within us.

What Does it Mean When We Get More?

Our practice of listening to sacred stillness shows us our search to get more is not about gaining more. We struggle to find more because we give meaning to what we are seeking. The more we think we have acquired the more we want.

We believe it is good for us to work hard to acquire more. The more effort it takes, the more significant it is for us to find more. Our search for more earns us the meaning we give to finding more.

In fact the more we seek to find is, at its essence, a gift to us. We take time to close our eyes, sit still, and breathe deeply, and we begin to find the more we seek. All our striving and struggling and grasping only get in our way.

When we calm ourselves and listen to sacred stillness we realize we already have more than we seek. We find more than we can hold onto and we share what we have.

Listening to sacred stillness is how we get more.

Where will we go to get more today?

How will we open ourselves to get more this week?

[Image by gruntzooki]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual director in Southern California. He is a recovering assistant district attorney and associate university professor, and is a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com and his email address is [email protected].

Blog

Spiritual Direction

Previous Post

March 3, 2022

Practices From the Inside Out: Practicing Lent as Contemplatives

Next Post

March 10, 2022 Monastic Strategies: When This World Breaks Our Hearts

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "He must increase, but I must decrease"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

John the Baptist Peter Elijah Paul