The Wandering Mind: What Medieval Monks Tell Us About Distraction
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-22 17:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Jamie Kreiner
- ISBN：1631498053
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Summary
The digital era is beset by distraction， and it feels like things are only getting worse。 At times like these， the distant past beckons as a golden age of attention。 We fantasize about escaping our screens。 We dream of recapturing the quiet of a world with less noise。 We imagine retreating into solitude and singlemindedness， almost like latter-day monks。
But although we think of early monks as master concentrators， a life of mindfulness did not， in fact， come to them easily。 As historian Jamie Kreiner demonstrates in The Wandering Mind， their attempts to stretch the mind out to God—to continuously contemplate the divine order and its ethical requirements—were all-consuming， and their battles against distraction were never-ending。 Delving into the experiences of early Christian monks living in the Middle East， around the Mediterranean， and throughout Europe from 300 to 900 CE， Kreiner shows that these men and women were obsessed with distraction in ways that seem remarkably modern。 At the same time， she suggests that our own obsession is remarkably medieval。 Ancient Greek and Roman intellectuals had sometimes complained about distraction， but it was early Christian monks who waged an all-out war against it。 The stakes could not have been higher: they saw distraction as a matter of life and death。
Even though the world today is vastly different from the world of the early Middle Ages， we can still learn something about our own distractedness by looking closely at monks’ strenuous efforts to concentrate。 Drawing on a trove of sources that the monks left behind， Kreiner reconstructs the techniques they devised in their lifelong quest to master their minds—from regimented work schedules and elaborative metacognitive exercises to physical regimens for hygiene， sleep， sex， and diet。 She captures the fleeting moments of pure attentiveness that some monks managed to grasp， and the many times when monks struggled and failed and went back to the drawing board。 Blending history and psychology， The Wandering Mind is a witty， illuminating account of human fallibility and ingenuity that bridges a distant era and our own。
But although we think of early monks as master concentrators， a life of mindfulness did not， in fact， come to them easily。 As historian Jamie Kreiner demonstrates in The Wandering Mind， their attempts to stretch the mind out to God—to continuously contemplate the divine order and its ethical requirements—were all-consuming， and their battles against distraction were never-ending。 Delving into the experiences of early Christian monks living in the Middle East， around the Mediterranean， and throughout Europe from 300 to 900 CE， Kreiner shows that these men and women were obsessed with distraction in ways that seem remarkably modern。 At the same time， she suggests that our own obsession is remarkably medieval。 Ancient Greek and Roman intellectuals had sometimes complained about distraction， but it was early Christian monks who waged an all-out war against it。 The stakes could not have been higher: they saw distraction as a matter of life and death。
Even though the world today is vastly different from the world of the early Middle Ages， we can still learn something about our own distractedness by looking closely at monks’ strenuous efforts to concentrate。 Drawing on a trove of sources that the monks left behind， Kreiner reconstructs the techniques they devised in their lifelong quest to master their minds—from regimented work schedules and elaborative metacognitive exercises to physical regimens for hygiene， sleep， sex， and diet。 She captures the fleeting moments of pure attentiveness that some monks managed to grasp， and the many times when monks struggled and failed and went back to the drawing board。 Blending history and psychology， The Wandering Mind is a witty， illuminating account of human fallibility and ingenuity that bridges a distant era and our own。
Reviews
Nicki
，
This book was about how medieval monks struggled with distractions centuries ago just as we do today。 The differences in distraction were quite different。 The things viewed as distractions were quite extreme。I don't know if I found this to be too dry， or if the subject was just off the mark for my interest。 If nothing else， I did learn a few things， just not quite my cup of tea。Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 This book was about how medieval monks struggled with distractions centuries ago just as we do today。 The differences in distraction were quite different。 The things viewed as distractions were quite extreme。I don't know if I found this to be too dry， or if the subject was just off the mark for my interest。 If nothing else， I did learn a few things， just not quite my cup of tea。Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Steve Donoghue
，
A fun， obviously-relatable book about the different kinds of distractions faced by medieval monks and clerics， long before the bottomless pits of Instagram and TikTok existed。 Kreiner does a wonderfully readable job of finding plenty of individual stories of people trying to make themselves concentrate when they don't really want to。 My full review is here: https://openlettersreview。com/posts/t。。。 A fun， obviously-relatable book about the different kinds of distractions faced by medieval monks and clerics， long before the bottomless pits of Instagram and TikTok existed。 Kreiner does a wonderfully readable job of finding plenty of individual stories of people trying to make themselves concentrate when they don't really want to。 My full review is here: https://openlettersreview。com/posts/t。。。 。。。more
Chrystopher’s Archive
，
The perfect cozy nonfiction。 While not overly concerned with religion itself， The Wandering Mind traces the beliefs and attitudes toward attention， distraction， and the process of thinking itself in monasteries and other intellectual spaces in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages。 Kreiner does a fantastic job of breathing life into the many individuals and， even more impressively， the ancient cultures themselves。 The section on meditation and memory techniques was especially fascinating。 Hig The perfect cozy nonfiction。 While not overly concerned with religion itself， The Wandering Mind traces the beliefs and attitudes toward attention， distraction， and the process of thinking itself in monasteries and other intellectual spaces in late antiquity and the early Middle Ages。 Kreiner does a fantastic job of breathing life into the many individuals and， even more impressively， the ancient cultures themselves。 The section on meditation and memory techniques was especially fascinating。 Highly recommended for history nerds， culture mavens， anyone who just wants to read an interesting story well told， and even fiction writers who want to ground their worldbuilding。 。。。more
Annarella
，
A fascinating and well researched book about monks in history and their way of living。 I found it easy to folllow and learned something more about non Christian monks。It's a good way to learn about a different way of living so removed from us。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher for this arc， all opinions are mine A fascinating and well researched book about monks in history and their way of living。 I found it easy to folllow and learned something more about non Christian monks。It's a good way to learn about a different way of living so removed from us。Recommended。Many thanks to the publisher for this arc， all opinions are mine 。。。more
Farida
，
Positives are that the ideas behind this book are original and timely as humanity lives in a perpetual zombie state， thanks to over reliance on cheap hand held smart phones。 As Society is ready to embrace the Metaverse， The Wandering Mind could be just the thing to help pull us back to some kind of normality。Negatives are that there is alot of monk name-dropping - which I am unable to follow - as medieval monks are not household names - yet。 Monks are extensively written about- it would have bee Positives are that the ideas behind this book are original and timely as humanity lives in a perpetual zombie state， thanks to over reliance on cheap hand held smart phones。 As Society is ready to embrace the Metaverse， The Wandering Mind could be just the thing to help pull us back to some kind of normality。Negatives are that there is alot of monk name-dropping - which I am unable to follow - as medieval monks are not household names - yet。 Monks are extensively written about- it would have been great to have more excerpts of historical autobiographical writings。The Wandering Mind does have an extensive Bibliography and detailed chapter notes。 This publication is highly specialised and assumes alot of historical references to the lives of monks。It was difficult to rate this book as the writer has laboured to produce a highly researched publication。 and is a good writer and historian。 However， sadly the content of the book is not what this reader was expecting to read。 。。。more
Kasey Jane
，
A fascinating dive into the worlds （external and internal） of early Christian monks。 Filled with insight into various mnemonic and concentration techniques， Kreiner paints a picture of the solitary， communal， and sometimes funny lives of venerable sages。 And somehow， despite being a book about very serious people sitting in a state of quiet concentration， The Wandering Mind is a very engaging read。 Well worth reading for anyone with an interest in history！--I received a free copy of this book in A fascinating dive into the worlds （external and internal） of early Christian monks。 Filled with insight into various mnemonic and concentration techniques， Kreiner paints a picture of the solitary， communal， and sometimes funny lives of venerable sages。 And somehow， despite being a book about very serious people sitting in a state of quiet concentration， The Wandering Mind is a very engaging read。 Well worth reading for anyone with an interest in history！--I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Brandon Westlake
，
I requested this book thinking it would lean more on using the medieval monks' methods to help current distracted people to center themselves。 The book actually focused more on monks' habits and a deep dive into their study culture。 In other words， you'll be reading a medieval history book rather than a psychology-focused book。 I think there is some interesting material here， especially on how monks were able to train themselves to focus so much and memorize massive amounts of material。 Not an e I requested this book thinking it would lean more on using the medieval monks' methods to help current distracted people to center themselves。 The book actually focused more on monks' habits and a deep dive into their study culture。 In other words， you'll be reading a medieval history book rather than a psychology-focused book。 I think there is some interesting material here， especially on how monks were able to train themselves to focus so much and memorize massive amounts of material。 Not an easy task to do。 We often find ourselves thinking about how much distraction is present in our own lives， and that it couldn't have possibly been so in eras gone by。 Not true， Kreiner effectively argues。 While technology and concerns were different， they were just as much distracted as we were。 All this to say， too， that reading is quite an unnatural act （and cognitive challenge at that）。 If anything， this book does a great job of helping us understand that we may have more in common with the monastery than we might think 。。。more
Sachi
，
🪬 The Wandering Mind by Jamie Kreiner 🪬Is it possible to die with happiness？ Because when I got approved to read this ARC， I almost did。 I LOVE monks and every aspect of monasticism。 If there is a historical fantasy novel that merely has a hint of a monastery in it， I am all over that book。 So to find a book， that features monasticism - that only talks about monasticism for 250+ pages - wow…。I am truly in heaven。 In this incredibly researched novel， we learn about all the different kinds of mona 🪬 The Wandering Mind by Jamie Kreiner 🪬Is it possible to die with happiness？ Because when I got approved to read this ARC， I almost did。 I LOVE monks and every aspect of monasticism。 If there is a historical fantasy novel that merely has a hint of a monastery in it， I am all over that book。 So to find a book， that features monasticism - that only talks about monasticism for 250+ pages - wow…。I am truly in heaven。 In this incredibly researched novel， we learn about all the different kinds of monasticism - not just Christian monks - and how their habits and ideologies differed over the centuries。 I love reading about how the hermit monks - who feels like any sort of human interaction was a distraction - and those who thought that the only way to serve God （by serving others） was to live in a community。 。 What I especially loved， was the inclusion of female monks （something I had previously known very little about）。 So not only was this a novel about the history of monasticism， it is also how monasticism relates to our modern world。 How - when we choose to “unplug” from society， by turning off our mobiles， or going on long hikes - we are not so different from the wandering monks， living in an isolated cave miles away from any civilisation。 5 stars。 My new favourite non fiction book。 。。。more
Jake
，