A reader wrote to me recently: Hello, I am interested in becoming a Christian Mystic. However I am not sure if I can join a monastery due to being a…
Tag: spirituality
Contemplating How the Sausage is Made
Twice in recent days I’ve had conversations with people in ministry about their spiritual life, and the idiomatic phrase “seeing how the sausage is made” got used. Here’s a (paraphrased)…
If You Worship an Angry God, You’ll Be an Angry Person
A reader named Paul wrote to me with the following question: Why is there more often than not such an intolerance, condemnation and even hatred between the different faiths and…
In-Person Day of Reflection: Christian Spirituality & Gender Diversity
The New Testament boldly proclaims “there is neither male nor female: for are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28), but for so many people, gender difference is a cause for…
Reconciling Mystical Teachings with Conventional Christianity
A reader named Allen wrote to me: Dear Carl, I find myself struggling with a bit of a spiritual crisis. I feel torn between the teachings of more traditional Protestant thinkers…
The Politics of Emotions
This morning I came across this luminous insightful paragraph on page 132 of Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility: Many of us see emotions as naturally occurring. But emotions are political in two…
The Science of Meditation (and the Relationship between Meditation and Trauma)
A few years back the Buddhist magazine Lion’s Roar published an interesting article surveying what insights we can glean from the scientific study of meditation. These insights concern questions such…
Gnosis and Mysticism
A reader of this blog named Brian writes: Carl, How would you compare and contrast mysticism with gnosticism? Thanks! I suppose there are three ways to answer this question. First…
Julian of Norwich, Francis of Assisi, and Centering Prayer: Three Mystical Books for Children
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…
Seven Ways to Read a Mystical Book
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…
“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…
The Erotic Dimension of Mystical Spirituality (or, Why Do Mystics Love the Song of Songs?)
Almost from the beginning of the Christian era, mystics and saints and theologians and spiritual teachers have reflected on one of the most beautiful and poetic of the “wisdom writings”…