Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Strategic Monk

Home
Contemplative

2022-10-11T03:51:51-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Listening to Sacred Stillness: The Stillness of a Full Moon

Last updated on: October 11, 2022 at 3:51 am By Greg Richardson

The Stillness of a Full Moon Once each month, a full moon hangs in the night sky. This month the Hunter’s Moon is often brighter and more orange than usual. Last month was the Harvest Moon, the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. It can be easy for us to forget our idea of a “month” comes to us from the moon. Not all months have the same number of days because the path of the moon is not... Read more

Blog

Sacred Stillness

2022-10-06T03:43:28-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Spiritual Direction: What Does a Spiritual Director Actually Do?

Last updated on: October 6, 2022 at 3:43 am By Greg Richardson

What Does a Spiritual Director Do? It is not unusual, when anyone asks me about what I do, for their next question to be What is spiritual direction? or What does a spiritual director do? Not many kids say they want to be a spiritual director when they grow up. Most of us have never heard of someone being a spiritual director and we do not understand what it means. When I explain spiritual direction to people it tends to... Read more

Blog

Spiritual Direction

2022-10-04T03:50:05-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Practices From the Inside Out: Celebrating Harvest

Last updated on: October 4, 2022 at 3:50 am By Greg Richardson

Celebrating Harvest I grew up celebrating harvest, but I did not grow up where I live now. Where I live now is different from where I was born and raised in many ways. There is more traffic here on more freeways. Where I grew up you were more likely to drive behind a vehicle moving slowly on a two-lane road. We have earthquakes, droughts, and brushfires here, but tornadoes and blizzards there. There are more people, from more different parts... Read more

Blog

Spiritual Practices

2022-10-05T16:44:14-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Monastic Strategies: Practicing Urban Contemplation

Last updated on: October 5, 2022 at 4:44 pm By Greg Richardson

Practicing 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 contemplation. Sometimes getting away from... Read more

Blog

Monastic Strategies

2022-09-27T03:50:40-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Is Anyone Listening?

Last updated on: September 27, 2022 at 3:50 am By Greg Richardson

Is Anyone Listening? There are times when I wonder whether anyone is listening, even me. Some people spend time each day in a contemplative practice of listening to sacred stillness. There are people who have been practicing every day for years. We believe in the power of listening and the sacredness of stillness. Even those of us who believe ask, at times, whether anyone is listening. We practice listening to stillness. Sacred stillness offers to give us rest and refresh... Read more

Blog

Sacred Stillness

2022-09-22T03:47:25-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Practices From the Inside Out: Welcoming Autumn

Last updated on: September 22, 2022 at 3:47 am By Greg Richardson

Welcoming Autumn In my memories welcoming autumn is filled with sacred significance. Now I live in a place where autumn is more of a concept than an experience. The temperature does not drop, even though the hours of daylight grow shorter and the shadows grow longer. Most of the trees remain green. The seasonal transition from summer to autumn to winter happens in tiny increments. Our seasons have more to do with featured flavors than with changes in the weather.... Read more

Blog

Spiritual Practices

2022-09-20T03:34:23-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Spiritual Direction: Sacred Space and Sacred Places

Last updated on: September 20, 2022 at 3:34 am By Greg Richardson

Sacred Space and Sacred Places We hear people talk about sacred space. Actors and directors tell us the theatre becomes a sacred place for them. Some people describe places where boundaries between physical life and spiritual life become thin. Spiritual life helps us recognize and appreciate sacred space and sacred places. Some of us have visited places with a reputation for sacredness. We arrive in a place where we sense the presence of spiritual life. It may be somewhere people... Read more

Blog

Spiritual Direction

2023-09-18T14:59:03-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Spiritual Direction: Our Questions Matter More Than Our Answers

Last updated on: September 18, 2023 at 2:59 pm By Greg Richardson

Our Questions Matter More Than Our Answers Many of us are interested in spiritual life because we are looking for answers to our questions. We live in a world where questions can be a challenge. It is easy for us to believe life is all about finding answers. Most of us do not really appreciate our questions. They might make us feel nervous and a little uncomfortable. We do not want to have them, what we want are the answers... Read more

Blog

Spiritual Direction

2022-09-08T03:59:14-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Listening to Sacred Stillness: Finding Stillness Online

Last updated on: September 8, 2022 at 3:59 am By Greg Richardson

Finding Stillness Online We do not expect to find stillness online. Some of us find it difficult to have a normal conversation online, and more challenging to pay attention to wisdom. It is unusual to meet someone who knows how to listen online. We have a hard time imagining how to find sacred stillness online. It is easy for us to become distracted in our everyday lives. We get even more caught up in chasing the shiny objects which cross... Read more

Blog

Sacred Stillness

2022-09-06T03:50:47-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Practices For Each Day, Week, Month & Year

Last updated on: September 6, 2022 at 3:50 am By Greg Richardson

Practices Each Day, Week, Month & Year It is easy for us to fall into experiencing contemplative practice like practicing a sport or a musical instrument. We start to feel like we need to make sure we do not miss a practice. Some of us put together complex schedules of contemplative practices each day, week, month, and year. There are people who seem to believe we earn spiritual points by completing practice sessions. Our contemplative practices are not like spending... Read more

Blog

Spiritual Practices

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

According to Ecclesiastes 2, what did the author try in search of meaning?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Worship, prayer, and sacrifice Pleasure, work, and wisdom Fasting, solitude, and silence Teaching, healing, and prophecy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Blog Book Reviews Everything Else Guest Posts Leadership Monastic Strategies Neighborhood Pilgrimages Sacred Stillness Spiritual Direction Spiritual Practices Work

Select a Month May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Contemplative