Contemplation begins with Wonder.
What Are you Wondering About Today?
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Experience
Anyone interested in mysticism may sooner or later face questions like this: what does it mean to have an experience of God? What is the nature of such experience?
Silence
Spiritual silence is not about the kind of silence that harms relationships or inhibits communication. Rather, the silence of spirituality is the silence of listening, pondering, meditating, contemplating. It can only be freely chosen; never imposed.
Jason M. Baxter: An Introduction to Christian Mysticism
An Introduction to Christian Mysticism approaches the topic from an academic perspective. Baxter begins by suggesting that the mystics of Christian history — figures like John Ruusbroec, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, and Gregory of Nyssa — offer a healthy corrective, perhaps even an antidote, to the domesticated, “nice” spirituality that has come to characterize so much of mainstream Christianity in our time.
Verbum / Logos
Most people think of contemplation and mysticism in terms of prayer and meditation — and rightly so. But there is still an impressive body of wisdom literature to explore — what Thomas Cranmer said about the Bible applies also to mystical literature: these are teachings to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.” You can take your study of the mystics so much further if you tap into a program as powerful as Verbum or Logos.
Spiritual Directors International (SDI)
SDI now is an educational nonprofit, serving over 6,000 members in 42 countries around the world. Although it began as a gathering of Christian spiritual companions, today the organization is interfaith in scope and supports spiritual guides of any faith tradition.
Of Love and Silence
This morning I wrote a little poem. I’m no Mary Oliver or John Keats, of course. But perhaps this is something worth saying. Our words and our myths can connect…
Another Conversation About Mysticism
Friends, I first published this video back in the summer, but I want to highlight it again today, in case you missed it back then. It was actually the first…
Mystics and Institutional Religion: A Word from Howard Thurman
Acts of worship must be tested by the degree to which they remain living channels for the direct release of God into the life of the worshipper. When they become…
Conversations about Mysticism: Podcasts and a Video Interview
With the publication of The New Big Book of Christian Mysticism, I’ve been making the rounds of doing interviews, for podcasts and for print. Here are a few of the recent…
“Breathe and Hope and Chase and Love…” Some Thoughts on the 50th Anniversary of “Tales from Topographic Oceans”
Things are all in colours And the size of others shall send you forward Arranged to sail you toward A peace of mind — “The Remembering (High the Memory)” (second…