Interspirituality – Anamchara: Carl McColman

“It Cracks Up the Archangels Every Time!” (“Because They Have No Taste in Comedy!”)

I read lots of serious books: books about Christian theology, spiritual direction, the history of mysticism, and the psychology of meditation… that sort of thing. I’m not complaining — I love pretty much everything I read (actually, at this point in my life and career, if I don’t love it, I quickly stop reading it, because there’s …

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All the Episodes of Encountering Silence in One Audio Player

Contemplation, Interspirituality

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 your favorite podcasting service. Alternatively, you can listen to it right here, using this handy little audio player. The most recent episode is featured at …

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Why Do So Many Christians (and Christian Churches) Reject Esotericism and Occultism?

Interspirituality

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 ( I am now 63) been living and working in Anthroposophical circles, I have friends in the Rosicrucian movement and I am impressed with the wisdom …

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Optional Reading List for the Zeitgeist “Contemplation and Practice” Course — with Guided Meditations

Interspirituality

From September 28 through November 9, 2020 I’m leading a program called “Contemplation and Practice” through Zeitgeist Atlanta. Here are some of the meditations that participants will have access to. On this page I’m listing books that may be of interest to persons taking the course — or to anyone else interested in exploring meditation …

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Mysticism, Esotericism, Exotericism, Occultism… Sorting Through the Spiritual Wilderness

Interspirituality, Mysticism

A reader posted this recently on my Facebook feed: I have a question, have you covered the differences between exoteric vs. esoteric spirituality? thanks. huge and vast topic… My reply: it is a huge topic! But I said I’ll see if I can pull together at least a few thoughts for my blog. She went on to …

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Where Do You Draw the Line: Discerning Appropriate Boundaries for Interspiritual Practice

Interspirituality

I recently received a letter from a reader of this blog who grew up an evangelical Baptist, and when to a conservative Christian school, the kind of place where if you doubted that God created the world in seven days, people were worried for the state of your eternal soul. As an adult, he discovered …

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Spiritual Lessons from a Pilgrimage to Ireland

Interspirituality

I wrote the following article in 2002, when I was exploring Celtic paganism. I found it recently while looking for something in my archives and I thought it was worth sharing. It’s a reflection on my first trip to Ireland, when I was doing research for The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Celtic Wisdom. I wrote …

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“The Settling of the Mind Into Silence” — How a Definition of Yoga also Defines All Forms of Contemplation

Interspirituality

The first four lines of the ancient text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, offer a basic definition of yoga — that might surprise many westerners who are used to thinking of yoga primarily as a form of physical discipline. But the kind of yoga practiced at your local gym or yoga center is simply one type …

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Magic and Miracles: What’s the Difference?

Interspirituality

The other day I was having a conversation with an acquaintance who asked me to comment on the difference between “magic” and “miracles.” It was an interesting conversation, especially given my history — that I spent a number of years explore magical spiritualities like Wicca and Celtic paganism, only to eventually forsake those paths in …

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A Few Thoughts on the Passing of Ram Dass

Interspirituality

Ram Dass, author of many books including the spiritual masterpiece Be Here Now, has died. He passed away yesterday, 22 December 2019, at his home in Maui. He was 88 years old. I never met Ram Dass, or even saw him in person. My friend Mirabai Starr knew him well, so she would be in a …

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Advice to a Young Christian — about Witchcraft and the Spiritual World

Interspirituality

Since I have written about witchcraft and neopaganism — both books and posts on this blog — I often get requests, especially from Christians, who are seeking advice about their interest in magic. When I answer such requests, I try to be kind, thoughtful, and to avoid the knee-jerk reaction…… Read more at Patheos

Inter-Religious Spirituality and the Contemplative Renaissance: How Other Faiths Helped Christians Rediscover Our Spiritual Heart

Interspirituality

Christianity has a long history of contemplative practice. But many scholars and spiritual teachers within the faith recognize that in the centuries immediately preceding and following the Reformation, the church (at least in the west) largely lost its contemplative heart. Theologian Robert Davis Hughes III addressed this topic in his…… Read more at Patheos

Religious Violence, Hate Crimes, and Contemplation

Interspirituality

About ten miles or so from Thomas Merton Square in Louisville, KY — the street corner where Merton had his famous “Fourth and Walnut” epiphany in 1958 — is a Hindu house of worship, Swaminarayan Temple. Earlier this week, the temple was vandalized. The crime was described this way in the Louisville…… Read more at Patheos

Remaining at the Cross: On Being a Contemplative Christian in a Church That Has Forgotten Its Mystical Heritage

Interspirituality

This is turning out to be “James Ishmael Ford” week at my blog. Earlier this week I posted a review of his new book, Introduction to Zen Koans. Check it out if you haven’t done so already. One of the reasons I like his writing so much is that he is…… Read more at Patheos

Want to Learn About Zen? Here’s a Book to Get You Started

Interspirituality

Introduction to Zen Koans: Learning the Language of Dragons is the latest book by James Ishmael Ford who is one of my favorite Patheos bloggers (if you don’t know his blog, Monkey Mind, do yourself a favor and check it out). James is a Unitarian-Universalist minister, but also a Soto Zen priest…… Read more at Patheos