How Annie Haslam — the golden voice of the 70’s classical rock group Renaissance — became the spokeswoman for the Angel of Bliss Interview by Carl McColman “I’ve had a…
Answers to Contemplation’s Objectors
I continue to be amazed at how some Christians reject, if not outright attack, contemplative and centering prayer. As best I can tell, the anti-contemplation arguments can be distilled down…
Rhiannon’s Star
If you are my age or older, you probably remember a wonderful symphonic rock band from the 1970s called Renaissance. The band featured tasteful orchestration, mid-tempo rock anchored by virtuoso…
Sparkle the Dark Up
Every year on December 1, I play what is far and away my favorite secular song for the holidays: December will be Magic Again by Kate Bush. Rhiannon and I…
Meditating with a Cat
This morning my wife had a migraine. Poor lass, she gets one about every three months or so (the stress of living with me). Anyway, she squirreled down into the…
Five Goals of Celtic Spirituality
Well, at least, these are my goals for doing the Celtic do: 1. Development of the imbas, which is to say, higher/mystical knowledge; 2. Growth in the nine virtues, including…
Box of Fairies
The softly romantic cover illustration of Gwen Knighton’s Box of Fairies, replete with a half-dozen or so cute diminutive naked fairies frolicking about Gwen Knighton and her harp in a…
"The More We Are Protected, The More We’re Trapped Within"
Last night I saw Peter Gabriel and Sevara Nezarkhan at Chastain Park Amphitheatre here in Atlanta. The set list: Red Rain More Than This Secret World Games Without Frontiers Mercy…
Priestess of the Drum: An Interview with Layne Redmond
Author, recording artist, and drum instructor Layne Redmond is passionate about the frame drum, the music of ecstasy, and the recovery of women’s role as percussionist priestesses to the Divine…
February 5, 1977
Here is an excerpt from my book The Aspiring Mystic: Practical Steps for Spiritual Seekers (2000). This passage describes my own initiation into an embodied, luminous encounter with the Divine,…
David and the Phoenix: A Gentle Masterpiece of the Mythic Imagination
David and the Phoenix, gentle masterpiece of children’s literature first appeared in the late 1950s, bringing a dimension of magic and wonder to young baby boomers growing up in a…
Evelyn Underhill: Mysticism
Ultimately, mysticism is not found in a book, but in the lived process of relating to the Divine. It’s ironic that this message needs to be passed down in books, and yet, Underhill’s wonderful study of the subject does just that.