The Mystic Way

As Paul and Karen Fredette point out, “There are as many ways of being a hermit as there are people doing it.”

Therefore, I can’t really tell you how to be a hermit. I can only share my own spiritual path, hoping something will inspire you.

Withdrawing from the world was a process for me. I became more and more out of touch with social fads, trends, and interests. Sports held no interest for me, and politics was filled with lies and deceit.

But the more I withdrew from society to be alone with God, the clearer my vision became, and the more peaceful I felt. So go where the peace is, for that is where you will find the Prince of Peace.

I am now seven years into my solitary journey. There are a few things I have learned on my way.

The first is to create a Plan of Life. This is a basic outline of your daily life, prayer time, and practice of the spiritual disciplines. I have shared my own on this website, hopefully it will be helpful.

Being a hermit is a calling. Rachel, Hermit of the Diocese of Nottingham, writes:

“The call to hermitage is often a gradual realisation, a growing affinity with solitude, a desire to know God in the ordinariness of simply being alive.”

Introverts

First, being an introvert and being a hermit are not the same thing. Being an introvert is one’s temperament, not one’s calling. You are born an introvert, you are called to be a hermit.

Vocation

Second, being a hermit is a vocation. That is a distinct calling from God to come away from the world and be with him alone. This is not something a person chooses, but is a response to an inner urging of the Holy Spirit. If you’re called to be a hermit, you will know it. No one has to tell you.

Pursuit of God

Third, the most important part of the vocation of the hermit is the pursuit of God. Solitude may have some value in itself, but for the Christian hermit, the whole point is to know God in the depths of ones inner being. It is to be alone with the Alone.

This may seem strange to people who have followed my blog. I am a big fan of minimalism, so why would I advise people not to become minimalists?

The answer is simple. Minimalism is a great tool, but a poor identity. A minimalist is simply a person with few things. Not much to get excited about, not much substance.

Flourishing should be the goal, not minimalism. Minimalism is a tool to help eliminate the obstacles to flourishing, but minimalism is not the goal. Confusing the tool with the destination is not wise.

Furthermore, becoming identified with a tool will result in being measured by the tool. For example, some people will claim because I have over 30 books that I am not a minimalist. But since I never claimed to be a minimalist, the criticism is hollow.

My goal is not to have fewer things, my goal is to make sure things support my personal flourishing rather than hinder it.

We own things, but we need to make sure that things don’t own us. Nonattachment is the key, and that has more to do with what’s inside the mind than the number of things on our kitchen counter.

But don’t confuse what I am saying. I think minimalism is a very important tool in breaking free from the chains of consumerism. Yes, we should practice minimalism, but no we should not call ourselves minimalists.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined a hermit as “one that retires from society and lives in solitude, especially for religious reasons.” A Christian hermit seeks solitude in order to be “with Christ” (Col. 3:1-3).

The English word “hermit” is based on the Greek word eremos, meaning desert or wilderness. From this we get the Latin word eremite. The practice of being a hermit is called eremiticism.

Solitude is the defining spiritual discipline for the hermit. The difference for a hermit is the extreme solitude he or she seeks. No contact with people except upon necessity. I avoid all contact except for Sunday church.

Personally, I am married and have a cat, so I am not completely alone. But I spend most of my time in my cell. A cell is what hermits call their prayer room. The whole house is my heritage.

There are a number of married hermits. But as Paul and Karen Fredette warn, “Too much togetherness can destroy the original inspiration of solitude, silence, and independence that marks a genuine eremitical life.”