Friends, I’m pleased to announce that I have launched a new section on this website called Via Mystica. To visit it, click here: www.viamystica.com.
Via Mystica is a website devoted entirely to the study and practice of Christian mystical spirituality. It’s still in its beginning stages, but let me share with you my vision for what it can be.
My intention is for this to be an online knowledge base for people who want to learn more about Christian mysticism. Thus, it will be a compendium for information on the most important mystical and contemplative writers and teachers, and their teachings — both from history and living today. It can also be a resource for those who want to begin to integrate contemplative and mystical practices into their daily lives — which involves not only learning the core practices, but also helping you to connect with others on the same path, from soul friends and spiritual directors to community resources such as prayer groups or contemplative ministries.
I’ve been publishing blog posts and articles about various aspects of mystical and contemplative spirituality for about 15 years, so I have a lot of archival material, a fair amount of which is not currently online. For now, Via Mystica will function as an archive of my best “mystical” writing over the years, along with new essays/blog posts that I will write with its larger mission to mind: to introduce people online to Christian mysticism, to offer a curated forum for learning more about the history and teachings of the mystics, and to guide those who want to embrace the mystical life and begin or deepen their own contemplative practice.
But my hope is that this site will be much more than simply a blog about mysticism.
I envision Via Mystica will also include audio and video content about mysticism. Future possibilities include offering webinars or online courses, so that anyone who desires interaction with teachers and other students of mysticism will find those opportunities here as well.
Other possibilities could include setting up a forum or even a membership site. I’m not sure if that’s the direction it’ll go or not — those things are beyond my current expertise — but depending on feedback I receive from readers and patrons, as well as the possibility of strategic partnership(s) with others who might be develop those features, they are certainly options for the future.
The sky is the limit. I’m starting small — for now, just a simple website that will include curated content from my archives on the subject of Christian mysticism. We can see how it goes from there. My hope is that anyone who visits Via Mystica will interact with me so that I can begin to get a feel for what people would like from a site like this. As I get a greater sense of what I can be doing to serve the online contemplative mystical community, my hope is that Via Mystica will be our meeting place — to connect, to learn, to practice, to pray, and to grow together.
Does this appeal to you? I hope so. Via Mystica is meant for anyone who wants to learn more about Christian mysticism and apply the wisdom of the mystics to their lives. I hope that includes you.
For now, this is very much a labor of love. I have no funding for this aside from the generous patrons who support me (and my work) through Patreon. It is possible that developing the vision for Via Mystica might involve raising money (crowdfunding, investors, and/or revenue from online courses) if there is interest in actually building something beyond a blog/archive. I’m open to let the Spirit lead; it will be an adventure to see where this goes.
How to Be Connected
Do you want to be part of the Via Mystica adventure? Joining the circle is easy — as simple as signing up for email notifications or making a small monthly pledge. Note: to make sure you get the Via Mystica updates, select “Christian Mysticism” when you sign up. Of course, please sign up for any of the other topics that appeal to you.
If you would like to receive email notifications for when Via Mystica is updated, then please sign up for my email list. You’ll get notified whenever there’s something new on the site (you’ll also get emails whenever there’s something new on my personal blog as well). My goal is to post one to two new (or archival) articles, essays or blog posts each week, so that by this time next year we should have well over fifty essays/posts collected together on the topic of mysticism. Hopefully it will continue to grow from there.
If you’d like to support this project, the easiest way is to become a Patreon patron of my work. Doing so involves a monthly pledge — which can be as small as $1. To learn more about supporting me (and other creative professionals) online, visit Patreon; here’s the link to my page: www.patreon.com/carlmccolman
Most important of all, please pray for me and for this new online project. Please join with me in seeking God’s guidance and leading for this initiative. The God of Christ is a God of love, so let’s pray that this site may be a way to celebrate and share Divine Love with each other and with the world.
Please let me know what you think — how an online resource/knowledge base about Christian mysticism can be most useful/helpful for you. Thanks for reading — I’ll see you over at Via Mystica!
