In death is life

December 22, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism, Inspiration

They who live not for themselves but for him, find in death itself the way to life.

One of the important themes you’ll hear in the talks and lectures by Christian contemplatives, and specifically advocates of Christian Meditation such as John Main and Laurence Freeman, is the concept of “dying to self”. In the contemplative sense, this means connecting with the transcendent and intuitively knowing the transience and insignificance of “the self” or “the ego”. By denying our “self” in contemplation and prayer, and self-denial in word and action, we can achieve great things, such as Burnley’s Pastor Mick…

St Martin's Lent and Advent (Part 2 of 2)

November 25, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism

So how does fasting and abstinence aid in spiritual development? Isn’t it all about making yourself feel guilty about eating too much, or eating the wrong thing, or sex? Aren’t these all natural human needs? I’ve already written about how abstinence isn’t about self-deprecation but is about self-discipline and why that’s important here, but allow me to add some additional thoughts on the matter, and specifically the benefits of curbing the most basic human passions…

St Martin's Lent and Advent (Part 1 of 2)

November 15, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Family, Asceticism

If you’re uneasy about the rampant excess of the pre-Christmas season, consider re-introducing the ancient Tradition of St Martin’s Lent: 43 days of fasting, abstinence, and prayer prior to Christmas, similar to the 46 days of Lent prior to Easter. Standing in contrast to the excesses of the pre-Christmas season, St Martin’s Lent refocuses the season on spiritual development… and has the added bonus of shedding the Christmas binge-eating weight before it even happens…

The Self-Discipline Lifehack

July 14, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism, Wisdom

What do you seek? Is it to be thinner? To not drink so much? To see friends more? To be less angry? To spend less money? To study more? We’re all after some goal that constantly eludes us. And what do all of these goals have in common? At their root, they’re about self-discipline. Every one of these goals, if they’re worthwhile, relies upon our ability to put aside our short-term pleasure and look forward to a more abstract, less tangible end-state. I’d like to lose weight, but man I could murder a bacon double cheeseburger right now… and Uber eats is just a few clicks away…

"The Work" of a Modern Christian Mystic

June 24, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism, Inspiration

Allow me to introduce you to John Butler. The description on his website says that he “follows no particular teaching”, but it’s clear from the venues of his meditation and the content of his talks that he’s been profoundly influenced by Christianity, and in particular the mystical Christianity of the Desert Fathers…

A life well lived

June 14, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism, Inspiration

Meet Sister Mary Joseph who passed away on the fifth of June. Sister Mary was a Carmelite nun with an uncommon backstory. A wealthy heiress, she had all the things most people aspire to in a Western, liberal democracy: She had a nine-bedroom mansion in San Fransisco overlooking the bay, designer clothes including a shoe collection that made Imelda Marcos's "look pitiful by comparison", a contact list of the rich and powerful including Nancy Regan, and had 10 children and 28 grandchildren. But she gave it all up to join one of the strictest contemplative monastic orders for women: The Order of Discalced Carmelites.

The Synaxis and The Desert

June 08, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism

Communal worship in the ancient Christian church seems to have been far more contemplative than mainstream Christianity today. We can learn a simple, yet compelling spiritual practice from the earliest Christian ascetics and their advocates within the Western contemplative tradition, John Cassian and Benedict of Nursia…

The giving example

May 04, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism, Inspiration

Allow me to present to you Chuck Feeney, another inspiration in the field of non-attachment. One of the themes behind this Blog is the F.I.R.E. movement, which essentially boils down to the idea that any one can actually have more freedom if one is willing to spend drastically less than one earns. Mr Feeney apparently lived this idea well before it became the subject of so many blogs… before there were blogs… or the internet for that matter…

The Sleeping Lifehack

April 29, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Family, Asceticism

I don’t have trouble sleeping anymore. Maybe that’s not a very novel statement, but it seems to me that there are a lot of people that could benefit from a good, sound night’s sleep — parents with young children I’m talking to you — so I’ll let you in on the secret of how. In the history of Christianity, and especially amongst the Desert Fathers, it seems that the ascetic practice was to deprive oneself of sleep, which does have its merits as a practice of self-discipline, but I’ve found that for me, 8½ hours of sleep (7 if I’m really active) makes me more focused, more motivated, and less prone to irritation, which are all qualities I’m trying to cultivate on my spiritual journey. That’s not to say that I never deprive myself of sleep, I just try to do so deliberately — more on that next Advent or Lent…

The Divine Office and unceasing prayer

April 26, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism

For me, deliberately and conscientiously setting aside time to meditate, or pray, or “be”, or listen, or whatever you want to call it, is the surest way to establish a relationship with the divine. And just like my relationships with family and friends, the more time I spend on it, the stronger the relationship is. And given the current “work-from-home” situation, which has provided me with more flexibility (hello between meetings childcare!) and more time (goodbye 90 minute commute!), I’ve been able to pray the Liturgy of the hours, also known as the Divine Office, with varying degrees of rigour.

"NON-attachment"

April 21, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism, Inspiration

Let me tell you about an English performance artist, Michael Landy. I was interested in the idea of “non-attachment” so I read (most of) Ends and Means by Aldous Huxley — especially because Ends and Means was cited as a source of inspiration for one of my favourite modern Christian Mystics, Thomas Merton. In Ends and Means Huxley surmises on the ideal society, and as its basis, the ideal person. Huxley frequently returns to the idea of non-attachment…

Financial Independence Rectitude Everyday

April 10, 2021 by Ned Ludd in Asceticism

For my inaugural Blog post (after the Apology), I’d like to comment on another inspiration for this blog: The F.I.R.E. movement and the Mr Money Moustache blog, which is something I’ll return to often in the Asceticism category. F.I.R.E. stands for Financial Independence Retire Early. The concept is to radically reduce one’s spending such that only a fraction of what is earned is needed for living expenses, with the remainder being saved. For example, if one makes $80,000 a year, but only spends $30,000 of that, one would only need to work for twelve years to accumulate $850,000 in savings, which would then generate enough interest to “retire early”. Said another way: Consuming less and shedding the unnecessary trappings of Capitalism is the key to self-fulfilment. The Mr Money Moustache blog is a practical example of this approach and expounds the first theme relevant to this blog: Minimalism…