The Returning: The Way of the Ascetic

"Asceticism is the arch enemy of all worry because it roots out every plant from which the fruits of anxiety grow," —Thomas Merton.

The Ascetic pathway is for those who encounter the Divine not through abundance, but through simplicity. Not through stimulation, but through stillness. Not through addition, but through the sacred work of subtraction. Asceticism has existed within the Christian tradition since the earliest centuries, forming the backbone of monastic and contemplative life. But contrary to the stereotypes, the true ascetic does not reject the world — they seek to experience it more truthfully, without illusion, without excess, without noise distorting the signal of divine Presence.

As Kim Haines-Eitzen writes,

“The word asceticism, which comes from the Greek word askesis, meaning ‘practice’ or ‘training,’ refers to a wide variety of practices that Christians developed to withstand suffering in times of persecution, cultivate self-control, foster devoted and contemplative attention and inner quietude, and resist an attachment to worldly pleasures. Suffering came to be transformed into something to celebrate rather than to fear or avoid.” — Sonorous Desert

For the Ascetic, spiritual life is a training ground — not for punishment, but for Presence.

The Wilderness Classroom

The Desert Mothers and Fathers knew this well. They fled into the wilderness not because the world was wicked, but because they sensed that clarity required space. Their life in the desert wasn’t escapism. It was devotion. It was practice (askesis). Their silence wasn’t avoidance. It was attention.

And yet — as Thomas Merton reminds us — asceticism is not the exclusive domain of monastics:

“There is nothing about being a monk that makes grasping mystical concepts necessarily easier than it is for those who live domestic, so-called secular, lives. Monk or not, we all do our best as we read and study, pray and contemplate, and attempt to understand God in the world.” — A Course in Christian Mysticism

This is the invitation:

Asceticism is not about geography.

It’s not about monasteries.

It’s not about leaving your life.

It’s about learning to be awake within it.

Palo Santo incense from the AWAKEN Rewtreat 2025

The Countercultural Edge

To live with intention, depth, and silence in an age built on hurry, noise, and consumption is radically countercultural.

Which is why Merton goes even further:

“Most important, those of us who live lives of faith can’t help but be countercultural today. In this way, we’re all akin to monks. Merton once defined a monk as ‘a marginal person who withdraws deliberately to the margin of society with a view to deepening fundamental human experience.’ Those of us ‘in the world’ may not have deliberately withdrawn…but we are necessarily on the margins much of the time, and it is from there that we, too, deepen our experience.”

You don’t need a desert to be an ascetic.

You simply need to choose margin — one sliver of quiet at a time.

A moment of breath before speaking.

A pause before responding.

A small fast from something that numbs you more than it nourishes you. Asceticism is less about deprivation and more about devotion.

Reflection Questions

1. What areas of your life feel cluttered, noisy, or overgrown — spiritually or emotionally?

2. Where do you sense an invitation into simplicity or silence right now?

3. How might a small practice of restraint (digital, sensory, dietary, or emotional) help you listen for God more clearly?

Suggested Practice: A Silence Fast

Choose a specific block of time — 30 minutes, an hour, or an evening — to practice intentional silence. No phone. No speaking. No background noise.

Sit with your breath.

Sit with your thoughts without trying to manage them.

Sit with the God who is already sitting with you.

And notice what rises. Resistance? Restlessness? Relief? Revelation? Let silence be your teacher.

Jennifer in the wilderness of Goblin Valley State Park, Utah

Founder’s Note:

The ascetic pathway began shaping me long before I had language for it. in 2024, I sold or stored almost everything I owned and started traveling the globe solo, with only the essentials. No excess. No clutter. Just what I could carry in a checked bag — and a deep hunger for God.

This season of living with less stripped me down to the truth of things. I've wandered the forests of Colorado. I walked the deserts of Mexico and the American Southwest. I lived alone in sacred, wild places where silence became my companion and simplicity became my teacher.

These seasons of solitude aren't about escaping the world. They are about remembering myself within it. They connect me to the lineage of the Desert Mothers and Fathers, those early mystics who withdrew to the margins to listen for God. And they echoed the path of Jesus, who stepped into the wilderness not to disappear, but to prepare for His public ministry.

This is why so many of Loto’s offerings carry the imprint of quietness, spaciousness, and intentional simplicity. Whether we’re gathering around the fire at RENEW Retreat, walking the jungles of Mexico, or entering silence together at Forest Church, we’re participating in that ancient rhythm of returning — shedding what is unnecessary so that what is essential can finally speak.

If your soul feels weighed down by too much — too much noise, too much responsibility, too much “stuff” — and you long for breath, space, and wilderness, you’re not alone. You’re in good company here.

With Love, unconditionally— Jennifer

Next in The Great Returning

Some find God in the simplicity of the wilderness, in the stripping away, in the sacred art of subtraction.
But others meet God in a different kind of quiet — the interior silence that rises not from deprivation, but from intimacy.

Next, we’ll explore The Way of the Contemplative — where the soul sinks into stillness, the heart awakens to presence, and communion becomes as natural as breathing. If the Ascetic clears the space, the Contemplative fills it with Love.

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