March 11, 2010
Ask Fr. Spitzer
What, Me Contemplate? Advice for Those Who Find Contemplation Hard
Q: I know that you advise people to spend time each day in contemplation, but I find that hard to do because I’m not introspective by nature. Have you come across other people with the same problem? What do you tell them?
A: I come across it all the time. Most men are not introspective, and “alpha males” – your typical business leaders – are definitely not introspective. I call them dominant thinkers. They’re not the type of people who like to look inward and ask, “What’s important to me?” They’re more comfortable with questions like, “How am I going to construct this new building?”
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The Center's resources include a Daily Reflection Card (below) as well as readings to help promote the habit of contemplation. |
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But since they’re thinkers, you need to give them something to think about. So I’ll say, “Go home and read these three pages from this book, think about them, and write down what you think.” It might be three pages on the nature of freedom, or ethics, or conscience – whatever. They might be a bit heavy-going and hard for some people to get through. But my point is that you don’t have to do anything introspective at all. All you have to do is try to understand something on the page. And if you take the time to really think about it and respond to it, that’s an act of contemplation! Contemplation doesn’t have to involve introspection. You don’t have to generate the content of contemplation from inside yourself.
In fact, contemplation occurs whenever you stop and think about higher viewpoints, because those viewpoints either resonate with you or they don’t. You find the ideas noble or you don’t. And if you feel that an idea is noble, write it down, because that noble idea is you. It truly defines you, or it shows you how you wish to define yourself. That’s why it’s worthwhile to take a minute and write it down.
There’s something quite significant about the word noble. It provokes all the right connotations in the English language. Just about everyone wants to be noble, to have a noble life, and be perceived as noble. Alternatively, no one wants to be ignoble or be viewed as ignoble. So the whole idea of becoming a noble person is absolutely key. It works for anyone who has an active conscience.
So if you’re having trouble with contemplation because you’re not introspective by nature, don’t worry. Even if you’ve never had an introspective thought in your life, you can practice contemplation by reading or listening to higher viewpoints and great ideas, affirming these ideas for yourself, and seeing where you stand in your life in relation to those ideas. That’s what our curriculum is all about, and we have readings and other resources to help you make contemplation a daily habit.
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Last changed: Jul 29 2009 at 10:30 AM