Recently a reader of this blog wrote the following to me: I am just starting out on this journey and feel drawn to the mystical/contemplative side of Christianity. To this…
Category: Contemplation
Divine Union is Embodied: Notes on the Incarnational Nature of Christian Mysticism
I’ve been working my way through Mystical Theology and Contemporary Spiritual Practice: Renewing the Contemplative Tradition, a book in Routledge’s “Contemporary Theological Explorations in Mysticism” series. There’s a delightful essay in it…
Le Point Vierge
Cynthia Bourgeault’s latest book, just published this year, is a brief statement of her faith; the book is called The Corner of Fourth and Nondual. If you have been exploring…
The Contemplative Life in Three Easy Steps
Origen of Alexandria came up with the idea first. Unless you’re a Christian history geek, chances are you’ve never heard of Origen. He lived in Egypt from about 185 to…
A New Thank You Gift for Patrons: “Contemplative” Prayer Cards!
Hello friends, here’s a little video for you to watch… I recently did some training with the folks who operate Patreon, the membership website that provides a way for individuals…
Two Essential Questions for the Mystical Journey
I was speaking with a few friends of mine who are spiritual directors recently, and we were talking about the work they do accompanying people who seek to draw closer…
Putting the “Christian” into “Christian Mysticism”
Mysticism crosses all religious and spiritual boundaries. In other words, mysticism — like prayer or meditation or worship or sacrifice — is a universal spiritual/religious concept, not something that is…
All the Episodes of Encountering Silence in One Audio Player
The Encountering Silence podcast, which I co-host, is available through all the normal podcast channels, from Apple (iTunes) to Google to Spotify to Amazon. So please listen to it using…
Between Thomas Keating and Teilhard de Chardin: On Finding Your Own Personal Spiritual Style
Have you ever heard of the Enneagram or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator? These are psychological tools that we can use to discover the unique characteristics of our personalities. Are you…
Questions About Different Methods of Contemplation
Recently I had an email exchange with a long-standing reader of this blog. With that person’s permission, I am sharing the conversation here, edited to protect the reader’s privacy. The…
How Do Contemplatives Make a Difference?
Consider these teachings from Jesus, all taken from just one Gospel (Matthew): “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do to me.” “Sell your possessions, and give (the…
Even Your Breath Can Be Your “Sacred Word”
A reader of this blog submitted this question: How explicitly Christian does the prayer word need to be in contemplative prayer (e.g., Centering Prayer)? My quiet-time practice is a hybrid…