The Christian Mystics Who Fled to the Desert and Discovered the Secrets of Consciousness
Ancient Wisdom - Week 3
As we live in this hyper-connected, overstimulated world, where the concept of "true silence" can be both exciting and frightening, we find ourselves constantly pressured to produce more and perform more as a result of an unlimited amount of social media notifications and news feeds, along with feelings of societal obligation. At the same time, our brains are in a state of constant overdrive, with anxiety, disorganization, and concern regarding what we need to do next. All these thoughts battling it out within our heads, some even having become physically painful to us.
What will help us cope with all the technological distractions of today's world?
Three hundred years after Christ, in the middle of a grappling Roman Empire, a small group of men and women left their cities in search of the quiet desolation of the Egyptian desert to become the Desert Fathers and Mothers. While they may not have called themselves "philosophers," these people represented the prototypes of spiritual warriors and athletes of the soul, confronting their struggles against the inner demons and uncertainties we face every day by entering into the deepest realms of solitude possible. Through this, they became known as the Desert Fathers and Mothers, who continue to provide us with the oldest and most reliable sources of wisdom, a powerful antidote to the noise of our modern lives.
The Flight to the Desert: A New Kind of Martyrdom
The Edict of Milan (313 CE) ended the Christian persecution era and closed the door on martyrdom as the pinnacle of faith. In its place arose a more subtle form of spiritual heroism, the flight into the desert. St. Anthony of Egypt (c. 251-356), often referred to as "The Father of Monasticism," heard God's call to leave behind all material possessions and live a life of extreme asceticism.
St. Athanasius, who chronicled St. Anthony’s life, depicts Anthony's experiences in the desert not as peaceful meditation but rather a fierce battle for spiritual survival. During his twenty years in the wilderness, he was said to endure torment at the hands of demons in the forms of alluring women, horrific beasts, and physical abuse. To the Desert Fathers, the spiritual world was very real; thus, the wilderness was viewed as the battleground. Through this internal struggle and victory over their internal demons, those of the desert believed they were cleansing their souls in preparation to experiencing God directly.
