At the suggestion of a spiritual mentor, I placed an advance-order for the U.S. release of the DVD of Into Great Silence, a stunning and affecting documentary Philip Groning, about a Carthusian Grande Chartreuse monastery located in the French Alps.
It's an amazing film, and a revealing experience.
According to the summary provided by Zeitgeist FIlms, it was Groning's intention to 'embody a monastery, rather than simply depict one' and to provide viewers with a 'total immersion into the hush of monastic life'.
The film succeeds fantastically on both accounts. The film's 'soundtrack' features only the sounds of Nature, the weather, the chanting of the monks, and the sounds of a more hushed, slowed daily life.
Only on rare occasions is conversation heard, and rarely if ever -- based on the film -- do the sounds of modern technology intrude.
To allow filming with minimal disruption, filmmaker Groning was invited to do the documentary without a crew and using only the natural lightning and candle light of the monastery, which ends up being its own special effect.
While watching the film, which is 160 minutes or so long (and worth every second), I noticed first a curiosity that only increased.
What sort of person is not only drawn to, but also suited for, this life of utter simplicity, mindfulness, and silence? What sort of person is of a constitution where deep listening, stillness, and sensing the Presence of God is of greater allure than all of the modern temptations, or even just the genuine pleasure of connecting through a dialogue with other people?
I watched with heart-felt interest in learning more about this unusual group of men.
And as I watched, I noticed another sensation rising into my awareness -- my own impatience and preference for motion. I noticed how much I genuinely resist stillness, not only because I tend to be kinesthetic -- where movement helps one think and can be meditation in and of itself -- but because the Presence that seeks me can often be found most abundantly and clearly in stillness.
I notice that I resist what I'm most called to, particularly when it runs so counter the way of the dominant culture. A
nd I also noticed that, as I stayed with the film, despite my near-overwhelming desire to fidget, move about, and distract myself, I found myself feeling increasingly still within, seduced by the Presence found only through that sort of stillness, listening, and mindfulness.
The effects of immersing through the documentary into a Carthusian silence and simplicity stayed with me -- indeed, grew -- well after the film ended.
Into Great Silence offered a powerful reminder of the vital and essential nature of stillness, simplicity, and devotion for the wellbeing of mind, body, and soul, and just how much most of us have become separated from that, with often unhealthy or even tragic consequences.
Along with many others, I highly recommend Into Great Silence, both as a genuinely beautiful documentary and as a meditation and prayer in itself.
Learn more about Into Great Silence at Zeitgeist Films.
Love,
Jamie
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