Can Contemplation Change the World?
Four years ago I wrote a blog post titled Is Contemplation Dangerous? It was a review of a book called The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? Written by two …
Contemplation
Some Thoughts on the Roaring 20s — for 2020 (and Beyond)
I’m writing this on the second day of January 2020 — and I’m mindful of an amusing meme that made its way around Facebook last week. By the time you …
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My Christmas Recommendations for 2019: Books to Give to the Contemplatives You Love
Here’s a list of books published in the last eighteen months on a variety of contemplative themes. Most of these books are anchored in the Christian tradition, although several have …
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The Difference Between Meditation and Contemplation
A reader of my blog writes: As someone new and aspiring to find a more contemplative lifestyle, I’m curious of one thing. Is there a critical difference between sitting time …
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Gatekeeping and Contemplation: Is the Church Its Own Worst Enemy?
A friend of mine posted the following fascinating observation recently on Facebook: I am easing out of parish ministry because there are too many gatekeepers and not much interest in …
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Is Mystical Spirituality an Appropriate Response to the Social and Political Crises of Our Time? Absolutely.
I am writing these words on a Monday morning following two mass shootings that occurred on the previous weekend — one in El Paso, TX, and the other in Dayton, …
Finding a Mystical or Contemplative-Friendly Neighborhood Church
A reader named Connie wrote to me and asked the following question: Is there a mystic/al church? What would it look like? Does such a thing exist in your experience? …
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Appreciating the Rosary as a Method for Contemplative Prayer
Nothing says “Catholic” quite as much as a rosary. But anyone — Catholic or Orthodox, Protestant or Pentecostal, Anglican or Evangelical — can find a way to incorporate the simple …
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Thin Places, Contemplation, and Discernment
Recently I led a Celtic spirituality retreat through the Copper Beech Institute in Connecticut. During the retreat we talked about such topics as the spirituality of holy wells, thin places, …
If Contemplative Prayer is For Resting in God, What Role Does Repentance Play?
Over the past month I have written several posts about Centering Prayer and contemplation, all in response to an email I received from an Episcopal priest with some thought-provoking questions about the theory and practice of contemplative spirituality. You can read the original email here. Here are the posts I’ve…… Read more at Patheos
Intention, Attention, and the Practice of Contemplative Prayer
This is the third of a series of blog posts in response to a lengthy email I received a few weeks ago from an Episcopal priest who is a veteran centering prayer practitioner. You can read the email in its entirety here, and then the first post and the second…… Read more at Patheos
Six Videos on a Variety of Contemplative Topics
In August 2015 I had the opportunity to record a series of videos in front of a small audience. Here are each of those videos, in the order in which they were filmed. Enjoy! Enjoy reading this blog? Click here to become a patron…. Read more at Patheos
Inter-Religious Spirituality and the Contemplative Renaissance: How Other Faiths Helped Christians Rediscover Our Spiritual Heart
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
Contemplation, Atheism, and Amputees
N.B. I wrote the first draft of this post about a year ago, at a time when several militant atheist commentators were active on my blog’s comment section. Eventually I banned the ones who were trollish, some of them moved on, and many of those original comments got deleted. I…… Read more at Patheos
On the Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas) — Let’s Practice “Presenting” Christ to One Another
Today is the feast of the presentation. It’s also traditionally known as Candlemas; it was a time when candles would be blessed —a candle, after all, emits light, and Jesus is the light of the world. If Christmas were a forty-day season instead of just a 12-day season, today would…… Read more at Patheos