Thank you! I’ll see you over at the new site.

For you, the reader, this won’t make too much difference, especially once the move is done. But for me, the author, it gives me much more flexibility in the site’s design and appearance, as well as flexibility in selling my books through the site. It’s a little bit more expensive, but don’t worry, I won’t pass that cost on to you.  :-)

Over the last few weeks I’ve been creating a new home for my online writing, currently found at www.carlmccolman.com. Eventually that will be my only site, but for now it is just in its set-up phase (so what you see if you visit it today will likely change over the weeks to come). Meanwhile, anamchara.com will begin to look like it’s being dismantled — for it will be. I’ll be exporting pages and posts to set up the new site. I’ll also be reorganizing the site, to take advantage of the new flexibility my privately-hosted site will allow me.

Eventually, I’ll “throw the switch” and transfer the URL anamchara.com to the new site. But that probably won’t happen until the spring sometime.

In the meantime, if you’d like to see the new site (it’s shiny and pretty right now), visit www.carlmccolman.com. Note: If you are subscribed to www.anamchara.com, please take a moment and subscribe to www.carlmccolman.com – because I don’t think I’ll be able to import the subscriptions. Thanks for taking a moment to do that (you can see a subscription form either on the right-hand sidebar, or at the bottom, of my new blog).

For the foreseeable future, www.anamchara.com will continue to point to my old blog, and www.carlmccolman.com will point to the new one. Once I’m happy with the new site, then both URLs will point to it, and the old site will either remain as an archive if there are any pages and blogposts I don’t import, or it may simply be retired.

Incidentally, while I’m doing this transition there won’t be a lot of new content being created. But I’ll be back in the proverbial saddle once the new site is fully running — probably by Easter, if not before. So thanks for being patient, new content will be coming soon.

What religious belief does is attempt to explain in a compelling narrative the unseen reality that lies at the heart of spiritual experience.

— Barbara Bradley Haggerty, Fingerprints of God:
What Science is Learning about
the Brain and Spiritual Experience

Note from Carl: I just received this notification from Columbia Seminary. Their certificate in Spiritual Formation is really a wonderful program (and one of the forthcoming events,  Wisdom of the Christian Mystics is led by yours truly). Register by January 13 to save 15% off of one (or more!) of these following events.

Just a reminder that the New Year’s Special ends Friday, January 13 at noon. If you have been thinking about registering for a Spirituality class through Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, I encourage you to go ahead and do so. As you may have personally experienced, our classes are rich, formative experiences that invite you to more intentionally explore and engage your spiritual journey.

I also want to draw your attention to the Living Prayer class at Montreat, April 26-29. Living Prayer, lead by writer, retreat leader and spiritual director, Rev. Roberta Martin, is a core class for the Certificate in Spiritual Formation. While we offer this class every 2-3 years, each Instructor brings new insights and emphases to the class. If you are interested in exploring and practicing various forms of prayers, I encourage you to read more about this class. Everyone is welcome.

When I posted this bit of information, I also solicited input about possible names for the column (read the original post here). I had two suggestions for naming the column: WORD TO SILENCE, suggesting the paradoxical relationship between communication and contemplation found at the heart of mysticism; and EARTH KEEP SILENCE, a reference to Habbakuk 2:20 (“The Lord is in his temple, let all the earth keep silence before him”) which struck me as a meaningful link between my commitment to contemplation as well as my Celtic/nature-based spiritual leanings.

Alas, in the original poll, more people voted for “Sorry, I don’t like either of these names” than for either of my suggestions! Humbling as that was, it also signaled to me the need to go back to the drawing board. So here’s a new poll, with a couple of new options.

This time, I’m not giving you the option of saying “I don’t like any of them!” Although if you don’t like any of these choices, or if you have a different/better idea, please voice your opinion in the comments.

Thanks for your input!

Here’s the link to register: http://www.ctsnet.edu/Event.aspx?areaID=1&eventID=611

If you’d like more information about the retreat, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/208325265908521/

Here’s a video that the CTS folks made when I was on campus a few weeks back, talking about what mysticism is and how we’ll explore the topic in a retreat setting:

This video was filmed in the chapel at Columbia Seminary. I love the stained glass! My wife teases me because I keep looking over my glasses — the cameras were mounted high on the wall, and, well, I just kept looking over my glasses!

You can also read a short article I wrote for the CTS newsletter here: http://journeyingtogether.ctsnet.edu/Article.aspx?ID=103

Anyway, the column will explore what it means to be a contemplative in today’s spiritual landscape, while trying to maintain a sense of groundedness within a particular tradition (that’s the Catholic part), a willingness to consider alternative voices within that tradition (that’s the progressive part) as well as a willingness to learn from practitioners of other paths (that’s the interfaith part) — but it all, always, goes back to contemplation at the heart.

So now, here’s the next question: what should I name the column? And this is where you, my dear readers, come in.

Obviously, contemplation means silence, so I want “silence” to be a key descriptor of this column. But what else can I say about it?

My first thought was to play with the paradox of language (after all, a column is fashioned of language) and silence. Language means word, contemplation means silence… perhaps I could call the column “WORD TO SILENCE.” That seemed to have a nice ring.

But then, a few days later, I thought about the verse in Habbakuk (2:20): “The Lord is in his temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.” The phrase “EARTH KEEP SILENCE” jumped out at me. Immediately I thought it had a nice ring as well; the fact that it is a Biblical allusion seems to be a nice nod to my home tradition, while the use of the word “Earth” speaks both to the humility that is at the heart of Benedictine spirituality — as well as providing an oblique reference to my own history of exploring Earth-based spiritual paths like Celtic paganism.

So, which should it be: a celebration of language and silence? or of earth and silence? Or, perhaps, is neither of these a winner?

If you’ve read this far, I hope you’ll take a moment and vote for your preference. While I cannot guarantee that the results of the poll will determine the name of the column — that remains, ultimately, my decision in partnership with my editor at Patheos — having your input will certainly help me in making my final selection.

So thank you!

Carl McColman and Thomas J. J. Altizer, December 6, 2011

Today I had an unexpected treat — theologian Thomas J. J. Altizer, renowned (some would say notorious) in the 1960s because of his association with the “Death of God” controversy, visited the monastery and stopped by the Abbey Store. Although I can’t claim to be that well read in regard to his work, I do have a sense that his notion of “Christian atheism” may have many points of connection with my notion of “holy agnosis” and, of course, the apophatic tradition within Christian mysticism. Anyway, it was an honor to meet him — he’s quite a charming and affable fellow.