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Contemplative

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--Year-- 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2004 --Month-- December November October September August July June May April March February January

October 2013

October 03, 2013

Exploring the “Inner Wasteland” (Why Contemplation is Revolutionary)

In September and October 2013 I wrote a series of blog posts called "Why Contemplation...

September 2013

September 27, 2013

Why Contemplation is Revolutionary

In September and October 2013 I wrote a series of blog posts called "Why Contemplation...

September 26, 2013

The Archbishop and the Community Theologian

I've posted both of the following quotes in this blog before, but they are such...

September 25, 2013

Embracing Depth and Diversity: a Contemplative Approach to Interspirituality and Religious Commitment

Autumn in Georgia is a mild and lovely season, marked by golden sunlight, cool...

September 20, 2013

Our Words, Our Breath, Our Bodies, Our Spirit

Once again, Alison Leigh Lilly wows me with the elegance, beauty and insight of her...

July 2013

July 31, 2013

Contemplative Commerce

The motto of Benedictine spirituality is ora et labora — a deceptively simple Latin phrase that...

May 2013

May 31, 2013

On Being a Lay Cistercian

"Are you a monk?" I get asked that question a lot, especially when I'm at...

May 29, 2013

Three Video Clips: Speaking of Mysticism in Portland, OR

Here are three brief excerpts from a talk I gave in Portland, OR, in October...

January 2013

January 17, 2013

John D McColman: Obituary and Reminiscence

First, the obituary... Retired Major John D McColman, USAF, 89, passed from this life in...

January 16, 2013

A Few Pictures of Dad: John McColman (1923-2013)

My father passed away yesterday. He was 89 years old. This was the end of...

December 2012

December 21, 2012

101+ Books for Buddhist-Christian Dialogue

Are you interested in exploring the richness of dialogue and interspiritual practice between Christianity and...

December 07, 2012

The Ethics of Sharing Mystical Knowledge: Meister Eckhart and the Cloud Author

Pick up any edition of The Cloud of Unknowing, and you are likely to find...

November 2012

November 01, 2012

Instead of singing for your supper, how about blogging for books?

This post is aimed at people who blog, or have a podcast, or in some...

August 2012

August 09, 2012

Journey to the Heart

A relatively new offering from Orbis Books provides a very nice overview of the history...

July 2012

July 23, 2012

Atlas and Aurora: Of Gods and Men, Movies and Violence

As our nation reeled in shock and dismay after the mass killings at the premiere...

July 23, 2012

Nonduality in the Bible … and us

A reader writes: I love reading your articles but am new to the terminology. What is...

July 20, 2012

The Nondual Writers of Footnote #45

A reader of this blog writes to me: Hi Carl. I was reading Richard Rohr's The...

June 2012

June 12, 2012

The Mystic Way of Evangelism

...there are other, deeper indicators of a loss of vitality in the American church. The...

March 2012

March 30, 2012

With Great Reverence and Above Reason

But now see what it is to adore God: it is, in the Christian faith,...

December 2011

December 14, 2011

An Accident and its Aftermath

In the summer of 1992, I was in a rather nasty car accident. It left...

September 2011

September 04, 2011

“Where Two or Three Are Gathered”

A sermon preached at First Christian Church of Decatur, Decatur GA, on September 4, 2011 Scripture: Matthew 18:20 “Where...

September 01, 2011

“Accept all things… silently and with a tranquil mind…”

Then you should readily and trustfully commit yourself and all that concerns you to the...

October 2010

October 31, 2010

“He Climbed a Tree to See Him”

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was...

August 2010

August 03, 2010

Fran McColman’s Awesome Kale Salad

Note from Carl: Sunday the lay associates had a potluck lunch at the Monastery of...

March 2010

March 05, 2010

Intercessory Contemplation

This thought came to me yesterday. We Christians understand spirituality and mysticism in communal ways:...

September 2009

September 22, 2009

On Learning a Musical Instrument as a Metaphor for Contemplative Practice

I'm a beginner with the bass guitar. I bought an inexpensive Ibanez bass the January...

September 05, 2009

Five Marks of Authentic Mysticism (Underhill)

In her introduction to Orbis Books' Essential Writings of Evelyn Underhill, Emilie Griffin notes that...

July 2008

July 11, 2008

The Feast of St. Benedict: Ad Deificum Lumen

Today is the feast of St. Benedict. This morning at mass, Father Tom Francis (who...

January 2008

January 05, 2008

Remembering John O’Donohue

I am saddened to have learned of the passing of John O'Donohue, author of Anam...

December 2007

December 23, 2007

Distinctive Qualities of Celtic Christianity

I've been pondering the question, "What are the disctinctive qualities of Celtic Christianity?" In thinking...