The Hours

I love a good monastery. I am never happier in my travels than when I’m lurking about in a monastery or a chapel soaking up the atmosphere. A personal favourite is the one at Valldemosa, where Chopin stayed for a few months with the author, George Sand, who went on to write a scathing book about the experience, entitled A Winter In Mallorca. Clearly monasteries are not for everyone.

It’s hard to put my finger on what I like about them so much, but if I were to hazard a guess, I suspect it’s the aura of peacefulness within the confines of the cloister. Time has a different quality in monastery life, where it’s much easier to still your thoughts and focus on the task at hand. As a habitual spiritual tourist, I took advantage of that quality a few years back to knuckle down to some serious writing in a seminary by Lake Albano, just outside Rome. The simplicity of the surroundings and the deep quiet of the cloister is bliss for the creative soul. Mind you, my louche taste in colourful handbags did rather stand out against the seminary style of basic black, but that’s a small price to pay for the ability to turn down the volume on everyday life enough to be able to tune into some divine inspiration.

The monastery routine can very comforting – as viewers of the BBC2 series, The Convent, will have seen – with the hours of prayer forming the focus of the day. This rhythm of life keeps you aware of the passing of time in a way that is mindful, without being oppressive. The Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast, has written of his passion for Gregorian chant and the observation of the hours of prayer in his book “Music of Silence.” He writes, “The hours are the inner structure for living consciously and responsively through the stages of the day. The monastic relationship to time through the canonical hours sensitises us to the nuances of time. And as this sensitivity deepens, we become more available to the present moment.”

Staying in the present moment is a huge challenge for us all, yet it is one of the major keys to finding deep and lasting joy in life. We spend far too much of our time dwelling on the past and daydreaming of the future, when life is passing through our hands in the here and now, waiting for our attention. It’s so easy for the days to slip away without our being truly present to them, so this week I thought I’d bring you a little monastic wisdom to help you to stay focused and at peace.

Ritual is hugely beneficial in training the mind to access states of tranquility and focus. Whatever you choose to do repetitively you will end up doing naturally over time. This becomes even more powerful when you add the aspect of an appointed hour. When you perform a rite of focus at the same time each day, your body and mind come to expect it and will begin to sink into a state of peacefulness at that hour. Each time you reinforce that behaviour, you build on your past efforts and it becomes progressively easier and easier to reach that state of awareness.

Within the seven canonical hours, as described by Steindl-Rast, each hour has its own focus. The early hours of the morning, or Vigils, are a time to contemplate trusting the mystery of the darkness and to meditate. The hour of Lauds comes at daybreak, bringing with it a time to be grateful for the coming of the light. Prime is the pause before the working day begins, that allows us to set our priorities and focus on what matters most. At Terce, or mid-morning, we can take a monastic coffee-break and use it as a time for reflection. Midday brings the hour of Sext, a time to reaffirm our resolve. As the day begins to fade in the late afternoon, None is a time to let go of unmet expectations, to live life fully as it is and to begin to draw the working day to closure. Vespers marks the eventide, a time to release the day’s travails and focus on the quiet beauty of the evening. With Compline, in the late evening, we have an opportunity to review the day that is about to end.

To observe all the hours would be extraordinary, but rather difficult to achieve in a busy life. What we can do, however, is to take the flavour of the hours into our day and find moments to create little inspirational pit-stops that help us to remain on track and at peace. Why not try to see if you can summon up the will to observe say three of the hours each day for a week? If you’re super-busy, just go for one. Even the smallest moment of reflection is better than nothing at all. Pick the one that most appeals to you and fits most easily into your lifestyle.

For Vigils, try a short meditation as soon as you wake up. For Lauds, start writing a gratitude journal. At Terce, stop whatever you’re doing, ditch the coffee, take some deep breaths and try a mantra for size – even something as simple as ‘I am at peace’ will do the trick. When Sext rolls around, remind yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing and resolve to focus on your top priorities for the rest of the day. (By the way, I was deeply tempted to entitle this piece Sext And The City, but that would have been just too cheesy for words.)

At None, drop the guilt and accept that you may not get it all done today – be at peace with what you have achieved. If your normal Vespers tradition is a G&T, try taking a walk in nature or lighting a scented candle to remind you that you’re now in downtime and ready to relax. For Compline, take note of how the day unfolded, be grateful for the blessings and pay attention to what you’ve learned, so that you can slip into a blissful, carefree sleep. If you can fit in a little meditation before you drop off, all the better.

Just do it for a week and you might find it becomes a habit – absolutely no nun pun intended there, honestly. Let the hours bring you their gift of awareness, connectedness and peace. What more could you want in a busy day?

Coach Fabulous is updated every Thursday at http://coachfabulous.blogspot.com. You can also use the link in the Favourite Sites section on the right. For alert emails on new postings, send a blank email to IAmFabulousCo@aol.com with 'Subscribe' in the title field. All material © 2006 Alison Porter. No article may be reproduced in full or in part without the express permission of the author. (Originally posted 10 July 08)