Anselm’s quest is the inward journey examined in the light of reason. Like Anselm, you are a spiritual hybrid, combining both the mystical and the rational in your personality. Your Holy Grail is a vision of God that feels true and makes sense to you. You have, or are beginning to develop, the capacity to reflect deeply and patiently to this end.
Your complementary gift is a drive to understand the created world through science and transcend it through the arts. Reconciling what you learn by reason with what you know by faith is what fuels your quest. Each new thing learned, each inspiration, draws faith nearer to understanding. Each new question, each challenge faced and overcome, enriches your life. Through this you grow in every way, increasing in love for all others.
Mountains in the Basque Country: A pilgrim’s view ~ æssmith photo
Many images used on this site are landscapes, with peaks and canyons, glimpses of paths and trails. Some may be empty, meant for contemplation, because although your outer life may be shared by many, they cannot come with you on the inward quest. Your quest, like every other, is unique. Its pathways are yet to be discovered. Its heights and depths are more extreme for being unbounded by the limitations of the physical world. It demands your commitment to life and growth.
Are there times when you
- long to become a kinder, wiser version of yourself?
- feel restless and dissatisfied with your life?
- believe there is more to reality than meets the eye?
If your mystical side is well-developed, you may have experiences that are different from your everyday life’s actions and relationships. Your rational side demands “real world” answers for a reality without measure, a beauty that has no name, a spiritual “event” that words can’t really describe. Your quest grows out of this tension between two apparent realities and your desire to bring them together into one.
The fruits of the quest are these:
- wholeness
- integrity
- transformation
- purpose
- the beginning of eternal life
Lambent light connects the inward and outward journeys ~ æssmith photo
This website grew out of my quest.
So many times, even in the midst of an exciting professional life, I felt that others possessed secret knowledge that I did not. At the same time, there was a part of my life I never shared, and I thought no one would believe me if I did. Years later, when I reluctantly joined a church and began to study the Bible, answers still eluded me. Although I had come far from the dark thoughts and unhappiness of my younger days, I still had much to learn about healthy mental and emotional attitudes.
Three things happened to change that. First, I entered a special program at the University of King’s College, and began to learn about that “secret” knowledge. What I discovered there was just the beginning. For the next three years I studied philosophy, theology and religion, psychology and neuroscience. Second, joining the University of King’s College Chapel introduced me to a deep and inspiring level of worship and community. Third, a spiritual director told me to read the works of the Christian mystics.
I am blessed to live where land and sea invite contemplation ~ æssmith photo
What I learned “decoded” my inward and outward lives, and how they were meant to complement each other. Soon, what had been a halting, uneven movement of change and growth became a rolling process of transformation toward joy and purpose. The good news is that this process is open to everyone. Entered into with perseverance and commitment, it expands and enriches all of your earthly life.
Does this mean I’ve reached a high level of spiritual progress and can now provide you with a sure-fire plan to get there? The short answer is no, and it also isn’t necessary. The way to eternal life was plainly laid out long ago, most clearly in the words of Jesus and St. Paul. It has been rediscovered and shared countless times since by other questing pilgrims. In every new era this process is repeated. Like so much priceless knowledge, it can be learned but not taught.
The purpose of this blog . . .
When I began to learn about the heritage of Christianity, it cleared up many mysteries. The thought that I might have lived the rest of my life without ever knowing these things literally horrified me. I realized that even well-educated, diligent readers could be as unaware of these riches as I had been.
Writing an autobiography was one way of sharing what I had learned, but it demanded more time than I expected. I also learned through Michael Hyatt’s Get Published course that authors should have a website well in advance of publication. Anselm’s Quest is the result of more than a year of development and online coaching.
The purpose of Anselm’s Quest is to share both the progress of the book (titled An Ordinary Mystic at time of writing) and, in a very informal way, the spiritual, creative, physical and psychological worlds from which it springs. My hope is that these will enrich your own journey. Whether you are new to the quest of faith seeking understanding, or a long-venturing pilgrim, there is gladness in knowing that all quests converge in the love of God.