The following question arrived in my email inbox the other day… Why is there such a condemnation in the Christian churches for esotericism/occultism? I have my entire adult life (…
Author: Carl McColman
Soul Friend and Storyteller. Lay Cistercian, Centering Prayer Presenter, Author, Blogger, Podcaster, Speaker, Teacher, Retreat Leader.
Some Podcasts You Might Enjoy
Over the past few months I have had the good fortune to be the guest on a few podcasts. Perhaps you might enjoy listening to them. If so, check the…
Advance Praise for Eternal Heart
Friends, I am so happy to report that my forthcoming book, Eternal Heart, has now made it through the editing and proofreading process and the publisher is preparing it for…
Many Paths, One Way: Balancing Religious Commitment with Spiritual Diversity
A reader, who chooses to remain anonymous, posed the following question: “a world shaped by peace and harmony among the people of all positive paths.” Are they all the way…
Get a Centering Prayer “Affirmations” Bookmark
Friends, as you can see from this photo, I have a new bookmark and I’d love to send a couple of them to you. While one side of the bookmark…
Online Retreat: Praying with Julian of Norwich (May 14-15, 2021)
Julian of Norwich was a 14th century mystic and author who, even in her own lifetime, was renowned as a visionary and spiritual director. She was the first woman to…
James Martin: Learning to Pray
“Everyone can pray” is the hopeful and helpful opening message of Learning to Pray, the new book from bestselling Jesuit author James Martin. But he knows that many people don’t…
A Dream About A High School Library and Standing Up For What’s Right
Last night, I had the following dream. I woke up and wrote the dream down, and here is the unedited transcript of what I wrote: Dream 1/31/21-2/1/21 I was back…
An Interview With the Georgia Writers’ Association
Earlier today I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Terri Dudenhoeffer of the Georgia Writers’ Association for their “Q&A Sessions with Georgia Authors.” I’ve had the good fortune to…
Do We Lose Our Identity When We Become One with God?
So much of the language of the New Testament, and of so many of the mystics (at least in the Christian tradition), is language of love. God is love (or as I like to say, “Love-with-a-capital-L”). We love because God first loved us. God’s love is poured into our hearts.
Contemplation
So contemplation, mystically speaking, is one type of prayer. And the Catechism definition gives us a pretty good way of understanding this unique dimension of communication with God.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the dimension of spirituality that goes deeper than belief, doctrine or dogma. It recognizes that spiritual reality cannot ever be fully comprehended by the limitations of human thought, language or logic.