Community – The people you let into your Sphere of Impact. Some of these people you can select. Build a modest community of people who support your better choices and inspire you to thrive.
Contemplation – Time spent mulling with elements of both reason and daydream. It’s an integral part of monastic life, and some time should be set aside daily for this.
Filter – A choice or Rule that reduces one’s Sphere of Impact in size, character, duration, or intensity.
Your Good, or Compass- A set of values and virtues that you strive to cultivate through your monastic journey.
Hours – Times that mark the passage of the day. Benedictine Rule identified 7 hours, from lauds at dawn to compline when one went to sleep. Your monasticism will develop a routine that serves your goals.
Lens- A choice or Rule that allows one to cultivate Good within a subset of one’s Sphere of Influence, or experience Good within one’s Sphere of Impact.
Rule- A set of self-imposed practices that help one filter and focus on the Good.
Sphere of Impact- The set of External things that can impact one. Some of these things can be regulated through one’s filters.
Sphere of Influence- The set of External things that one can and choose influence. Some of these things will be the focus of one’s lens.
Symbols- Meaningful reminders of one’s commitment to cultivating Good. They should bear personal significance and can be kept privately or displayed publicly.
Vestments- Any attire worn occasionally or regularly that serves as a reminder to one’s commitment to cultivating Good. See Symbols.