Today’s post is just for fun! This morning on Facebook my cousin Danny, up in Manhattan, made a comment about the beautiful icon of the Holy Cross, written by iconographer…
Author: Carl McColman
Soul Friend and Storyteller. Lay Cistercian, Centering Prayer Presenter, Author, Blogger, Podcaster, Speaker, Teacher, Retreat Leader.
Praying with the English Mystics
Dear friends, I have now experienced what it is like to direct a spiritual retreat online. And while it is certainly not the same thing as a retreat in person…
Hildegard of Bingen: A Medieval Mystic Superstar
A human being is a vessel that God has built for himself and filled with his inspiration so that his works are perfected in it. ~ Hildegard of Bingen, Letter…
How to Find the Right Contemplative Community
A reader named Brian writes: Being a Lay Cistercian seems to be an important part of your journey. I’m wondering if becoming an oblate is a next step for me?…
A Centering Prayer Video for You
During this time of social distancing and sheltering at home, it’s a perfect opportunity to learn — or refresh your knowledge of — one of the simplest and yet most…
How Does Contemplative Practice Benefit Us — And the Communities We Are Part Of?
In response to an old blog post of mine, Between Shambhala and the Catholic Church, one reader tweeted the following: https://twitter.com/met_annoy_a/status/1254242028965289987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Maybe those questions were big for Twitter, but I…
Contemplating Calm Awareness
The contemplative psychiatrist, spiritual director, and author Gerald May wrote in his book Will and Spirit: A Contemplative Psychology: Water is a commonly used metaphor for consciousness and awareness in…
Some Thoughts On the Dolphins That Are (Not) in Venice
Shortly after the shelter-in-place orders started to show up at local and state governments across the land, I read somewhere — I don’t remember where — that dolphins had been…
Every Mystery is a Story
I have a guilty pleasure that I don’t think I’ve ever written about, here on my blog. Well, here goes: I’m a fan of Neil Gaiman. Years ago somebody told…
Twelve Mystics Who Lived Through Epidemics and Pandemics
It’s been over a month now since the World Health Organization has acknowledged that COVID-19 is a pandemic. As of today (4/13/20), over 22000 Americans and 116,000 people worldwide have…
The Break-Up of the Beatles — and the Fragmented Spirituality of Our Age
Fifty years ago today — on April 10, 1970 — the Beatles announced that they were breaking up. We now know that this had been brewing for at least two…
“Don’t Call Yourself a Mystic” — How Kenneth Leech’s Challenge Helped Me To Embrace Contemplative Practice
In my book Unteachable Lessons I talk about Kenneth Leech, the Anglican priest who wrote a variety of books on topics related to both contemplative spirituality and the struggle for social…