Seth Haines's Blog, page 6

Begging Beauty

When I last offered my daily reflections, the world was wobbling. We were in the middle of a pandemic lockdown, wondering when our schools, businesses, churches, and synagogues would resume business as usual. We were learning to use phrases like “social distancing,” and “flatten the curve.” We tied bandannas over our mouths, the market having not yet been saturated by the cottage industry mask makers.

I was in the middle of my own personal purgatory, too. After over two years of waiting to be con...

The Power of Silence and the Fuga Mundi

As you might know, Ive been working on a series for my Substack paywall subscribers exploring silence through evocative photography and prose. Today, I released Silence, Episode 2. This is for paying members only, but Im sharing an excerpt with you today. If you want to read the entire piece, subscribe here.

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9. The Fuga Mundi

In his book, The Power of Silence, Cardinal Robert Sarah describes how a cloister (perhaps even a governor-imposed cloister) provides for the fuga mundi, or the flight...

Unintentional Monks, Part 2 (The Conclusion to a Very Long Series)

Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack.  

16. Unintentional Monks, Part 2

Yesterday, I shared a bit of a transition to a new waking practice. Ive adopted a more formulated Rule of Life, a sort of monastic rhythm to the domestic lock-in of this pandemic. Ive practiced bits and pieces of this rhythm for years, but never have I had to be so intentional. 

What am I finding as I work this new Rule of Life, particularly...

Unintentional Monks

Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack.  

15. Unintentional Monks

Were weeks deep into this pandemic, which means we are weeks deep into a waking opportunity. Sent to our own cloisters (homes can be monasteries too, see), weve been presented with a sort of multiple-choice quiz. 

Given a forced lock-in, its best to:

distract yourself with bad habits, coping mechanisms, and addictions;

adopt rhythms that allow you to...

Living a Rule of Life (or How to Escape the Dragons)

Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack.

14. Living a Rule of Life (or How to Escape the Dragons)

Get out of your head.

Get out of your head.

The clarion call of the head honcho followed me yesterday. Then, another voice, this one my own:

There are dragons in your head.

Yesterdaya for swimming in existential internal chaos. In my head, there were dragons (or imps or vampires or whatever other synaptic monster my...

Get Out of Your Pandemic Head; Get Into the Old Stories

Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack.

13. Getting Out of Our Heads; Getting Into Practice

On another Zoom conference, this time with my publisher, the head honcho spoke of his own pandemic-age experience. In this moment, I need the timeless stories of the healing Jesus more than ever, he said, then added, so do the people.

Within hours, I was on the phone with a therapist. Shed been neck-deep her clients...

A Pandemic Rule of Life

After a brief hiatus to chart a course, Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack. Special thanks today to Susanjen who signed up as a yearly $65 subscriber!

12. A Pandemic Rule of Life

I found the words were late coming yesterday, and not because I was suffering from writers block. By 7:00, I was on Zoom call with my publisher. Off by 8:00, I was on breakfast duty. By 8:30, Id started the bread (we made our way...

Staying Sober Through Personal Practices

After a brief hiatus to chart a course, Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack. Special thanks today to Susanjen who signed up as a yearly $65 subscriber!

11. Staying Sober Through Personal Practices

If youre looking for some spiritually actualized guru who takes every moment, thought, and opportunity captive, turn away. My naked hypocrisy might be waiving in the wind. 

In the waning hours of last week, I sensed...

A Way Through the Chaos

After a brief hiatus to chart a course, Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack. Special thanks today to Susanjen who signed up as a yearly $65 subscriber!

10. A Way Through the Chaos

The howl of pandemic painyouve no doubt felt it, too. The loss of a job, of short-term sanity, of a family member or acquaintance. The potential scarcity of income. The abuse of spouse, a live-in parent, a socially-distanced but...

The Howl of Pandemic Pain

Im continuing my COVID supplement to The Book of Waking Up. If youd like to support this project, signup for my Substack. Special thanks today to Susanjen who signed up as a yearly $65 subscriber!

9. The Howl of Pandemic Pain

The dark days have set in, no matter what the sunshine outside might claim. These are the days that roll on and on, wind humming like cellos. No one touching. No hospitable gatherings at common tables. No eye-meets-eye, smile-meets-smile happy hours. The night creeps up,...