I’m so excited to be returning to the Wild Goose Festival in Union Grove, NC (north of Charlotte) for a day-long event called “Wisdom Camp: Radical Mysticism.” I’m co-facilitating this program along with Debonee Morgan, the executive director of Zeitgeist Atlanta, a ministry for the spiritually independent. See below to learn more about Wisdom Camp, and to get a coupon code to save $50 off your admission to the festival!
This event takes place during the day on September 3, 2026 (the main festival begins that evening and runs through the 6th). To sign up, you need to register for the festival (we’ll be speaking at the main festival, too, along with many other amazing speakers and musicians); Wisdom Camp is an “add-on” event with a separate ticket required. But here’s a way to save some money: use the discount code A-CM when you register, and you’ll save $50 off the price of your festival admission! Share this code with everyone in your network who plans to attend. Click here to register — be sure to add tickets for Wisdom camp and to enter your discount code.
Wild Goose Festival is a transformational community grounded in faith-inspired social justice. It’s a one-of-a-kind gathering that brings together activists, artists, and seekers from all walks of life to explore justice, art, spirituality, and community. From engaging workshops to inspiring panels and interactive experiences, Wild Goose has something for everyone. So, mark your calendars and join me and Debonee to be a part of this incredible community that is committed to making a positive impact in the world.
Here’s more information about Wisdom Camp…
Wisdom Camp 2026: Radical Mysticism
Subversive Contemplation, Playful Visioning, Storytelling and Other Keys to Interior/Exterior Healing and Transformation
Pre-Festival Offering
Thursday September 3, 2026
9 am–5 pm
Cost: $59.00 (in addition to festival admission)
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS (be sure to use discount code A-CM to save $50 off festival admission)
Facilitated by Debonee Morgan and Carl “Skye” McColman
What happens when contemplation refuses to stay quiet and compassion refuses to sit still? Since the story of Mary and Martha, seekers have wrestled with the tension between stillness and service, between listening deeply and acting boldly. Yet across spiritual history, some of the most transformative voices have woven these threads together: mystics who reshaped the world, and activists whose work flowed from profound interior depth. Drawing inspiration from legendary mystics, psychologists and activists such as Howard Thurman, Simone Weil, the Buddha, Carl Jung, Esther Perel, and Gabor Maté, this day-long gathering invites participants into a spacious exploration of inner life as a compass for courageous, meaningful engagement with the world. Guiding the experience are Debonee Morgan and Carl McColman, two Atlanta-based contemplative co-conspirators committed to curiosity, connection, and holy imagination. Carl is the author of The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Read the Bible Like a Mystic, and other works that explore contemplative wisdom for everyday life. Debonee is a queer-centric therapist, death doula, community convener, and executive director of Zeitgeist, a center without walls for spiritually independent seekers and their allies. Together they draw from a wide constellation of contemplative communities, including the Living School, Shalem, Contemplative Outreach, Holy Rascals, Ligare, and the California Institute for Integral Studies. Expect rich conversation, shared discernment, playful spirituality, and an openhearted trust that deep listening can spark creative, love-rooted action in our time. Our day will include short presentations from Deb and Carl, conversations with them (and all participants), exercises for discernment and possibility-play, somatic practices like meditation and embodied prayer, and an appreciation for rest, silence, wonder, and not-knowing.
Our Schedule for this Day-Long Event:
- Playful Possibilities for the Contemporary Crisis with Debonee Morgan and Carl McColman
- Dissolving Binaries, Dissolving Dualities: The Polarity and Paradox of the Contemplative Life with Carl McColman
- Morning Practice: Befriending Silence and Stillness
- Trauma and Broken Attachment: From Woundedness to Wholeness with Debonee Morgan
- Contemplation as Resistance: The Subversive Side of Mary and Martha with Carl
- Love and Re-ligion: Authenticity and Beauty (Beyond the Institution) with Debonee
- Afternoon Practice: Embodied Prayer/Meditation
- Living Presence: Conversation and Connection in the Service of Personal and Planetary Healing with Carl and Debonee
FACILITATORS
Debonee Morgan
(aka “Punk Perennialist”)
Debonee Morgan is a Certified Spiritual Director, licensed psychotherapist (specializing with Religious Trauma) and the Exec Director and principal teacher at non-profit Zeitgeist – creating education, practice and community for Spiritually Independent people in Atlanta and beyond. Ordained by Rabbi Rami Shapiro as a Holy Rascal and honored to be a graduate of the inaugural cohort of Richard Rohr’s Living School, Debonee is committed to the perennial and panentheistic tradition, (as Richard says, “What’s true is true everywhere.”) She is certified as an End-Of-Life Doula and in Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy by the California Institute for Integral Studies. Debonee is an active member of Spiritual Directors International, teaching at multiple conferences, and a contributing writer for their publication, Presence. She’s a firm believer that the only true answer to any theological question is, “I don’t know.”
Carl “Skye” McColman
(aka “Feral Contemplative”)
Carl “Skye” McColman is a spiritual director, retreat leader, and speaker and teacher on mystical spirituality and contemplative living. He is the author of many books, including The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Eternal Heart: The Mystical Path to a Joyful Life, and Unteachable Lessons: Why Wisdom Can’t Be Taught and Why That’s Okay. His latest book is Read the Bible Like a Mystic: Contemplative Wisdom and the Word. He is one of the co-hosts of the Encountering Silence podcast, and blogs regularly at Patheos, Medium, and his own Substack, www.carlmccolman.net. Skye’s approach to contemplation and mysticism is inclusive and expansive; he is dedicated to exploring the common ground between faith traditions, with a particular interest in the connecting points between Christian, Buddhist and Pagan wisdom.
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS (be sure to use discount code A-CM to save $50 off festival admission)
