Hermitage Meditation October 12, 2024
by Anne Arseneau
The first time arriving at the Hermitage, I quickly fell under its spell. The sound of the Oyster River swimming by, the dancing spots of sunlight in the small grassy opening between the river and forest. The wooden cross next to The Hermitage sign is painted in yellow brushstrokes for those who come upon the old hand-hewn fir & cedar cabin. Inside, there’s warmth, a circle of chairs, and a book collection of the late Hermit Priest Charles Brandt, who lived and worked here. Books to open your mind and heart to the world of wisdom traditions, Catholic texts, volumes of illustrated ornithology, Indigenous healing chapters, an assortment of contemplative views on meditation, books on the art of book binding, fly fishing, ecology and forest conservation, to name but a few. We continue the silent tradition of gathering as simple ‘contemplatives’ in this sacred place called Merton House.
“It is early morning with its quiet and coolness. I walk out the old logging road to Catherwood Road, my connector to the outside world. My hermitage is located deep in the temperate rain forest, on the Oyster River. The logging road along with other trails through the forest is where I practice walking meditation. I do not think of the road as leading anywhere. It is the road to nowhere, the path on which I journey and have been journeying for a lifetime. I simply place one foot in front of the other, let all my cares, anguish, angst, fears drop away. And although this is a path of nowhere, in reality it is the way to everywhere, because it enables me to enter into communion with the whole community of beings in the universe. I become present to the most distant star, and she to me…Every atom of my being is present to every atom in the universe, and they to it.”
Self and Environment – On Retreat with Charles Brandt