My Stepping Stones from Evangelical to Contemplative Spiritual life invites me to discover the stepping stones from evangelical to contemplative. The church of my childhood was evangelical. The Bible meant what it said. I learned the books of the Bible in order and memorized plenty of King James’ English. The spirituality in which I grew up was direct, uncomplicated, and reassuring. The more I studied the more I knew, and I knew truths other people needed to know. My one... Read more
We Strain to Catch a Glimpse of the Sacred It is easy for us to believe what we hold sacred is out of reach. We must strain to catch a glimpse of the sacred, the smallest echo. It is far above us. We struggle to capture a taste of it, to find its aroma. Is the Sacred Even There? There are days when we wonder whether there is anything sacred anywhere at all. The experience of sacredness can feel so... Read more
The Feast Day of Saint Brigid Today is the Feast Day of Saint Brigid, also known as Imbolc. Brigid of Kildare, or Brigid of Ireland is the patroness saint of Ireland, one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. She founded the significant abbey of Kildare as well as other convents of nuns. We do not have a great deal of historical detail about Saint Brigid and her life. Much of the story we have is based... Read more
What Our Eyes See We trust what our senses tell us and what we experience. The things we can hear and taste, smell and touch and what our eyes see are the boundaries of our belief. Our lives are shaped by many things which are beyond what our eyes can see. We have heard Seeing is believing. The fact is, though, when we can see we do not need to believe. Belief becomes more important, and more challenging, as we go... Read more
Why Are Some Books More Enjoyable Than Others? A healthy practice of reading is more than simply loving to read. Why are some books more enjoyable than others? Reading books teaches us about the magic and power of words. Developing contemplative practices strengthens our love for reading and reflection. It is ironic how appreciating contemplation and stillness feeds the ways we value words. Our practice of reading and reflection combines the words and the space between them. Some books I... Read more
Making a New Beginning Each new beginning is a link in a chain which stretches back before we can remember and out into unforeseen potential. Today is a day for making a new beginning. We celebrate the beginnings which have gone before and anticipate those which are coming next. It was not always a certainty today would actually arrive, whether we would get this far. Now it seems like we have barely started. Each new beginning seems to bring more... Read more
Urban Contemplation Some of us apparently believe it is impossible to practice urban contemplation. We assume we need to head out of town and away from other people to really practice contemplation. Do we need to travel into the country, to the mountains or the desert, into the woods or to the beach to be contemplative? Many of us are convinced we need to get as far as possible from other people to practice true contemplation. Sometimes getting away from... Read more
Learning How to Pay Attention Many of us like to think we are good listeners, but are we learning how to pay attention? We think we know how to listen well while we are having a conversation with someone else. Maintaining eye contact, but not staring, demonstrates we are paying attention. We are not checking our phone or watching something else. Good listeners do not merely think about what they are going to say next while someone else is talking.... Read more
Going Beneath the Surface We think listening to sacred stillness is like stretching out and lying on the beach, not like going beneath the surface. With our eyes closed, we try to clear our minds of everything which distracts us. The immense empty stillness spreads out like the ocean stretches from the beach. If only we could let go of our concerns and assumptions, we could look out to the horizon. But standing on the beach looking out over the ocean,... Read more
Where Do We Look For God? Some of the people who come to me for spiritual direction want to look for God. Many of us have a hazy picture of God. We may have had an understanding of God when we were younger, but we have since lost it. Some of us grew up without a particular view of God. Some people have thought about God a great deal. They may have a professional interest in God, or a longstanding... Read more
Strategic Monk
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