Feel a desire to live like a contemplative religious – or at least spend your day more intentionality? Here are 5 ways to bring a monastic feel to your abode.
I recently read a novel set in a cloistered monastery for nuns (more about that below). Spending so much time in that literary environment made me want to make my own home a space that is more contemplative and prayerful – like a monastery! Having a toddler makes that goal a bit difficult at times, but I have gathered together some simple ideas that are actually working!
VIEW THE VIDEO ABOVE to learn about 5 ways that you can make your own home more monastic, based on my personal experience. I’m sure, of course, that there are many creative ways to bring a monkish feel to your day. So, feel free to share your ideas in the comments section below.
And a quick book recommendation!
As for the book I mentioned above... it’s called In This House of Brede. It’s about a widow who’s a high-level executive in her 40s living in the 1960s London. She leaves her job and enters a cloistered monastery. What I love about the book is that it’s so relatable. While reading, I thought to myself: How could there be a 500-page book about a group of cloistered nuns!? How could there be that much going on to fill out a novel that size? But there is!
The publisher, Cluny Media, has this to say about the author:
Rumer Godden (1907–1998) was among the most distinguished English authors of the twentieth century, writing dozens of novels and children’s books, as well as an assortment of non-fiction works. A convert to Catholicism, she placed the mysteries of God, salvation, and sin at the center of her most popular works, among which are Black Narcissus, Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy, and In This House of Brede.
I highly recommend the book and look forward to checking out some of her other novels -- in my new, more "monastic" environment!
