Yesterday I received an advance copy of a wonderful book coming out this fall, that tells a simple children’s story about grief and loss, while using the wisdom of Julian of Norwich to underscore the message that “all shall be well.” All Will Be Well: Learning to Trust God’s Love by Lacy Finn Borgo, illustrated by …
Twice this week I have learned of the death of an acquaintance. I hesitate to say “friend” because neither of these people were friends in a close sense: one of them I hadn’t seen or been in contact with in almost four years, the other not since the mid-1990s. But they were both men I …
Memento Mori: The Contemplation of Death and the Wonder of Life Read More »
A reader of this blog sent me the following question today. Hi Carl, I see from conservative Christian circles that WCCM and Centering prayer is labelled new age and dangerous. Are these practices Christian really? Or are we trying to incorporate eastern meditation into Christianity ? First, the short answer. Contemplative practices like Centering Prayer …
Reading the writings of the great mystics — of figures like St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Ávila, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, or even modern writers like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin or Bernadette Roberts — is not always easy. Many mystics use dense or figurative or poetic language in their attempts to …
Back in June I announced that Eternal Heart is being published as a 4-CD audiobook. As of today, the CD audiobook is now available through my E-Commerce store. You can order it by clicking here. This means that Eternal Heart is now available in three formats: as a hardcover book, an ebook (Kindle and all other major ebook formats) …
An awake heart is like a lighthouse helping others to find a safe way home. ―Rolf van der Wind I’m one of over thirty presenters for the 2022 Mystics Summit hosted by The Shift Network — along with Mirabai Starr, James Finley, Rami Shapiro, and Greg Boyles, among many others! It’s free to register for …
Hi friends, I’m happy to announce that my Celtic spirituality course through the Spirituality and Practice website will be running this August — August 8 through September 2, 2022! To register for the course, click here. The course will include a Zoom call with me on Thursday, August 18. Here’s the description and enrollment information from the …
I was speaking recently with one of my Patreon supporters (Patreon is a crowdfunding program to support writers, bloggers, musicians, etc. This blog is made possible by the generous people who support it through Patreon). She asked me a blunt question. How do you do it? How do you, as someone who writes about contemplation, …
How to be a Contemplative in Today’s Political Climate Read More »
Hi friends, I recently was a guest on the “Mystics and Skeptics” podcast. Needless to say, we talked about… Christian mysticism, of course! Sybil, the host of the “Mystics and Skeptics” podcast, is a wonderful conversation partner; she and I quickly developed a rapport which led to a wide-ranging conversation about mysticism — both Christian …
Encountering Christian Mysticism with the “Mystics and Skeptics” Podcast Read More »
Friends, I am thrilled to announce that my good friends at Zeitgeist Atlanta are hosting a Pilgrimage in Ireland, September 20-27, 2023 — and they have asked me to be the spiritual guide for this pilgrimage! This will be a very special week, as we will be keeping the size of the group very small: …
Ireland Pilgrimage in September 2023!!! Informational Meeting on Zoom — August 4, 2022! Read More »
Click here to learn more about this program and to register for it! I’m so excited to announce that I will be facilitating the nine-month program for Exploring Group Spiritual Direction sponsored by Zeitgeist Atlanta — Atlanta’s home for the spiritually independent person (and for open-hearted spiritual seekers of all faiths)! This is a wonderful stand-alone program …
I’ll be returning to one of my favorite monasteries, Mepkin Abbey near Charleston, SC, to pray with the Trappist monks there and lead an in-person, Monday-Friday retreat on the spirituality of the great Spanish mystic, St. Teresa of Ávila! St. Teresa of Ávila is one of the greatest of Christian mystics. Her books, including The Interior …
In Person Event: The Mystical Wisdom of Teresa of Ávila (August 22-26, 2022) Read More »
Join me (Carl McColman) for a special online quiet day of reflection on June 25, 2022. We’ll spend time together in silence, and I’ll share with you some of the wisdom of two of my favorite 20th century theologians: Kenneth Leech and Pauli Murray. Ken Leech (1939-2015) was a priest of the Church of England, …
Hi everyone, just a quick note to let you know that Eternal Heart: the Mystical Path to a Joyful Life is now available as an audiobook on CD. It’s been available since publication as an Audible audiobook, but for those of us who are old-school and like having our audiobooks on CD, this is a great …
♾♥️💿 — “Eternal Heart” Audiobook Now Available on CD! Read More »
On June 16, 2022 my friend and colleague Carmen Acevedo Butcher PhD is offering a free online program to explore the wisdom of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, author of The Practice of the Presence of God. Click here to register for this free event. You probably know Carmen Butcher from her luminous translation of The Cloud of …
