In this age of interspirituality when people are going deeper into their own religions and also exploring the teachings of other traditions, monasteries have become centers for meditation, study, and multifaith dialogue. Although the number of Christian monks and nuns is in decline, more and more lay people are going to these places for silence and solitude — two highly prized qualities in a world of noise and speed.

Catholic monasteries have long been known as treasure houses of devotional opportunities and resources. But there are other settings available too — Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, and Sufi communities that lead contemplative lives and offer visitors soul nurturing experiences. Monks from different traditions are also meeting together to share the adventure of prayer, meditation, compassion, and service of others.

For those who are contemplating experiencing the monastic life on their spiritual journey, we have gathered a mix of books and DVDs, both feature films and documentaries.

BOOKS

• Alone in Community: Journeys Into Monastic Life Around the World
Journalist William Claassen recounts his ten-year odyssey visiting monasteries around the world, spending time at Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, and Sufi communities. As a participant in their devotional life of ritual and practice, Claassen's experiences only serve to deepen his appreciation for "the bigness of God."

• An Infinity of Little Hours: Five Young Men and Their Trail of Faith in the Western World's Most Austere Monastic Order
Nancy Klein Maguire has written a fascinating book about five novices seeking admission to the Carthusian order in 1960 at a monastery in England in 1960. She describes the layers of concentric circles that wrap these aspiring monks to solitude and closeness to God.

• Cave in the Snow: A Western Woman's Quest for Enlightenment
Journalist Vicki Mackenzie presents an engrossing account of Diane Perry, the first Western woman to follow in the footsteps of the Eastern yogis of old and enter a Himalayan cave to seek enlightenment. Focusing on her pursuit of perfection, this riveting biography will appeal to all readers interested in women's spirituality.

• The Cloister Walk
Poet and author Kathleen Norris muses on 18 months' worth of experiences as an associate at a Benedictine monastery. She discovers within the monastic tradition a deep appreciation for metaphor and a sensitivity to the sacred potential of all things.

• The Common Heart
In 1984, Father Thomas Keating invited spiritual teachers from all of the world's great wisdom traditions to meet regularly and share resources at St. Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. Netanel Miles-Yepez compiles their meetings over 20 years in which they discuss the foundations of dialogue, boundaries and differences, ethics, and spiritual practices.

• Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? A Scientific Dialogue with the Dalai Lama
This fascinating volume edited by Daniel Goleman covers the proceedings at the Seventh Mind and Life Conference that took place in Dharamasala, India, where the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist monks and scholars met with Western scientists and philosophers to discuss destructive emotions, feelings in everyday life, windows into the brain, mastering emotional skills, and reasons for optimism.

• Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama
Daniel Goleman is the editor of this compilation of articles on the mind-body connection at the Third Mind and Life Conference bringing together Buddhist teachers and Western scholars to discuss mindfulness medicine, the virtues in Christian and Buddhist traditions, and the use of inner resources to combat stress.

• Making a Heart for God: A Week Inside a Catholic Monastery
In this accessible and edifying account of a week at the Abbey of Gethsemani, home of the late Thomas Merton, journalist Dianne Aprile provides a salutary overview of the benefits of taking time to refresh mind, body, and soul in a milieu where solitude and silence prevail.

• A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life
Wayne Teasdale, a lay monk, combines the traditions of Christianity and Hinduism in the way of the Christian sannyasa. He draws out the monk in all of us with a multileveled presentation of integral spirituality, urging his readers to pursue an intermystical spiritual life as "a pioneer of the Spirit."

• The Monks of Mount Athos: A Western Monk's Extraordinary Spiritual Journey on Eastern Holy Ground
In 1978 M. Basil Pennington spent four months on Mount Athos, becoming the first Western monk allowed to stay in the monastery known as the cradle of Orthodox Christianity. In this account of his stay, he writes how Mount Athos brought him to a greater understanding and delight in Catholicism, and an appreciation of Orthodoxy.

• My Monastery Is a Minivan: Where the Daily is Divine and the Routine Becomes Prayer
Psychotherapist, spiritual director, and mom Denise Roy envisions her sturdy minivan as a monastery where she prays and meditates and transports angels from one location to another. She discusses the divine presence operating within the very ordinary and very daily experiences of a middle-aged woman.

• Trappist: Living in the Land of Desire
Theology Professor Michael Downey writes about the Trappist Catholic order and the history of the Abbey of Our Lady of Mepkin outside Charleston, South Carolina. He probes the monastic vocation as a geography of desire wherein men yearn to find traces of God.

• Voices of Silence: Lives of the Trappists Today
In this well-written and informative work, Frank Bianco, a former Holy Cross abbot, visits twelve Trappist monasteries in the United States to draw a bead on the individuals there who have devoted themselves to prayer, solitude, and service of others.

• Waking Up: A Week Inside a Zen Monastery
Jack Maguire, Zen student and storyteller, serves as our guide to the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mt. Tremper, New York. He profiles full-time residents, discusses dress codes, calligraphy, and emphasizes how they are all related to the discovery of the buddha nature.

FILMS

• Into Great Silence
This extraordinary film takes us inside the Grand Chartreuse monastery in the French alps where we witness the daily activities of a the Carthusian monks who live there, members of the Catholic Church's most ascetic order. These men have dedicated their lives to God, to silence, and to solitude. The filmmaker waited 16 years for permission to film inside the monastery; he lived with the monks and shot the film by himself without a crew or artificial lights. This film, which both depicts and creates a contemplative experience, is bound to become a classic among spiritual people of every religion and seekers of all stripes.

• I Am a Monk
This fascinating documentary by Tom Myrdahl examines the life of Michael, a Buddhist monk from New England living in Thailand. Whether talking about walking meditation or the development of selflessness, Michael proves to be an articulate spokesperson for Buddhism.

• The Cup
When two young monks learn that the champion World Cup soccer game is going to be broadcast, they surprisingly get permission to watch it. The first feature film from Bhutan, this endearing drama is a playful parable about loving others and giving up one's attachments.

• A Question of Faith
At the core of this film, directed by Tim Disney based on a story by Rachel Ingalls, is the clash between spirituality and religion. After Brother Anselm has a mystical encounter with the angel Gabriel in a California monastery and turns into a pregnant woman, the monastery splits into two factions.

• The Name of the Rose
It is the fourteenth century, a time when the Christian Church is facing challenges to its authority. Two Franciscan monks arrive at a mountaintop Benedictine monastery to attend a theological debate on whether the Church should celebrate poverty or amass great wealth in the service of God.