Friends, it is holy week, and I cannot think of a better guide to this most sacred week of the Christian liturgical year than Julian of Norwich. Julian’s book of…
Author: Carl McColman
Soul Friend and Storyteller. Lay Cistercian, Centering Prayer Presenter, Author, Blogger, Podcaster, Speaker, Teacher, Retreat Leader.
How Do I Meet Other Mystics?
One of the patrons of this blog wrote to me recently: My question is, how do I meet other Christian mystics? Thanks for asking. It’s a question many of us ponder….
Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership (Pre-Order Today)
Friends, I am so honored to announce that I have an essay appearing in an upcoming anthology called Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership which is being…
Contemplative AI: Google’s “Bard” Answers My Questions About Mysticism, Centering Prayer, and Interspirituality
So I got invited to be a beta-tester for Google’s new AI assistant called Bard. Yesterday I received an email from Google that said, in part: Meet Bard, an early…
Unraveling the Myths of Grief: Sign Up for this Free Online Retreat Led by Mirabai Starr and Willow Brook
One of the great joys of my work has been the opportunity to meet other writers, teachers, retreat leaders and spiritual directors who are also engaged in the heart-centered work…
Encountering Silence: A Conversation with Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of “We Were Made for These Times”
Friends, here is the latest episode of the Encountering Silence podcast. This episode features a conversation the Encountering Silence team had last year with Buddhist author Kaira Jewel Lingo, author of We Were…
Celtic Spirituality in Athens, Georgia (In Person Event on March 16, 2023)
Long before I moved to Georgia, I knew about Athens GA, as some of my favorite bands — like the B-52s and R.E.M. — hailed from this quirky little southern…
Brother Elias Marechal, OCSO (1936-2023)
Friends, I am heartbroken to report that my dear friend and mentor, Trappist monk and author Elias (Paul) Marechal, passed away last night at the age of 86. He had…
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…
Register Now for CELTIC SPIRITUALITY SCHOOL (Online Program Begins February 11!)
Friends, I hope you will join me — and eleven other amazing Celtic and contemplative teachers and speakers, including John Philip Newell, Esther de Waal, Sharon Blackie, Christine Valters Paintner,…
Beyond the Seven Storey Mountain: Noteworthy Biographies & Autobiographies of Mystics
A regular reader of this blog wrote to me and asked if I could recommend a good biography on Hildegard of Bingen. As I thought about what book to recommend,…