Obviously this covers a wide terrain. First, what it doesn’t cover are efforts that members of one religion may take to convert, suppress, or attack the adherents of another. So Christians who are out to convert Muslims are not engaging in an interspiritual practice. But a Christian who genuinely is interested in Muslim spirituality, and would like to integrate one or more Muslim practices (say, for example, keeping the Ramadan fast) into their faith as a Christian, is engaging in interspirituality.
Interspirituality could be as simple as reading a book to learn about another faith tradition, or as significant as a sustained effort to fully embody the observance of two (or more) religions on an ongoing basis. To illustrate this, I’d like to use a metaphor here. An interspiritual practice is like having a relationship with more than one country.
Let’s say you are an American, but you have a relationship with Japan. You might love Japanese culture: your house is filled with bonsai, and you catch every new anime movie as soon as it hits the theaters. You might travel to Japan as often as you can afford it, just to spend time shopping in Tokyo or visiting Shinto shrines in the countryside. Maybe you work for a multinational corporation and you visit Japan regularly on business. Or you might be an activist who works with your Japanese counterparts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to campaign for nuclear disarmament.
Maybe you get a job with the foreign service to work in Japan as an official representative of the United States; or — this would be the ultimate — you seek citizenship in Japan, without relinquishing your American citizenship, resulting in “dual citizenship.” At this point you fully belong to both countries (United States law specifies that a person does not automatically lose US Citizenship when becoming a citizen of another nation, unless they explicitly renounce their prior citizenship).
Now, let’s take this metaphor and apply it to interspirituality. Following my Japan-USA metaph0r, I’m going to write about interspirituality between Christianity and Buddhism. But the same logic could apply to any interspiritual engagement, involving any 2 or more traditions. Here are at least five approaches to interspirituality. Maybe there are more?
1. “Tourist” Interspirituality. Here a person is anchored in one faith, and has only a mild interest in another. An example might be a practicing Episcopalian who likes to read books by the Dalai Lama or Thich Nhat Hanh or Pema Chödrön. Once in a while she might attend a service or a program at a nearby Buddhist center, but her spiritual center of gravity remains primarily Episcopalian.
2. “Expatriate” Interspirituality. This one is common in our society today. The expatriate is unhappy with his “home” faith, and reduces or cuts off involvement with it. He then goes exploring, but may never fully engage with another faith either. Expatriates like to say they are “spiritual but not religious” and understand spirituality in a global or multi-faith context.
3. “Immigrant” Interspirituality. The immigrant is like the tourist, only in reverse. Immigrants move from one location to another. So they might let go of Christian observance and join a Buddhist sangha. Their identity is Buddhist and that’s how they present their religious/spiritual identity to others. But they still have a casual relationship with their “home” faith, even if it’s just attending holiday services when visiting Mom and Dad.
4. “Ambassador” Interspirituality. Like a member of the Foreign Service, ambassadors very consciously retain one spiritual identity while just as consciously engaging with another. Often this is done on a professional or leadership level. Here you find the Catholic priest who makes an annual retreat at a Zen monastery, or a college professor who practices one faith while researching and teaching about another. Ambassadors often become involved in explicitly interfaith or interspiritual programs, like Monastic Interreligious Dialogue or the Parliament of World Religions.
5. “Dual Citizen” Interspirituality. Finally, it is possible that interspiritual practice and identity becomes so essential to a person’s journey that she must simply fully embrace both traditions (in my example, a Christian takes refuge as a Buddhist). While this is challenging (it’s hard enough being an active and supporting member of one faith community, let alone two) and can be tricky on a cognitive level (after all, each religion contains its own customs or dogmas that cannot easily be reconciled with the teachings of other faiths), to a person who genuinely discerns they are called to walk this path, anything else would be unthinkable. Here the Christian remains a Christian, and yet also becomes a Buddhist. It’s not a blending of the two into some sort of new age mishmash; rather it is a respectful and committed practice of engaging fully with each faith in its own integrity.
Certainly there are other ways to engage with a faith tradition different from your own. Do you have any ideas as to what that would look like?
Note: This post, in a slightly different form, originally appeared on Patheos.
Note from Carl: I’m honored to be one of the featured speakers at the upcoming Atlanta “Writing for Your Life” conference, along with Barbara Brown Taylor, Luther Smith, Kate Rademacher, and many more! Click here for more information, and/or click here to register.
If you write, or read, books that matter – books with substance and soul – then this is the conference for you.
Writing for Your Life welcomes you to the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta for our next Writing for Your Life Spiritual Writers’ Conference on March 6-7, 2023! The conference is open to all who are interested in spiritual writing (and reading!). Speakers include authors Barbara Brown Taylor, Patricia Raybon, Carl McColman, Luther E. Smith, Kate Rademacher, and Kathy Izard, literary agent Barb Roose,David Morris from Lake Drive Books, and Brian Allain from Writing for Your Life and How to Heal Our Divides. You can learn more about each speaker here.
Tuition for the main conference is $349 and includes all General Sessions and Breakout Seminars, panels, morning refreshments, small group meetings with speakers, book readings with Q&A, and an open-mic session.
Registration Now Open! Click on the link below to pay for your registration (credit cards, debit cards, or PayPal are accepted; all payments are processed through PayPal). After you pay, an email confirmation will be sent to the name and email address you enter into PayPal (or the one associated with your PayPal account) within a day or so. If you need to change the name or email address please let us know.
Small group meetings with speakers – In addition to Q&A within each speaker’s presentation time, all attendees can also attend small group meetings with our speakers. These meetings are come-and-go “get to know you” meetings where writers can convey information about their project and ask questions. They are NOT manuscript review sessions, and the speakers are under no obligation to follow up with you after your meeting. No sign-up necessary.
Submit Your Pitch! – Within two months afterwards, submit your book proposal or pitch to the conference’s industry speakers (email it to Brian Allain, who will forward it)
Panel discussions
Industry panel: “How to break into getting published”
Author panel: “Tips on the craft of writing”
Open mic session – Attendees will have the opportunity to present a short excerpt of their writing to other conference attendees. Each speaker will have 5 minutes, including their introduction and reading. Don’t miss this important, but optional, opportunity to gain experience reading your work, and to support your fellow writers! Each speaker will be limited to 5 minutes. Sign-up will be available after you register for the conference – first-come, first-served.
Elevator pitch practice – Practice delivering your 50-word elevator pitch, and get feedback from other attendees and Brian Allain. No sign-up required.
Conference Contact List – We will maintain an online spreadsheet where attendees can (optionally) share their name, email address, website, and social media info if they would like to share it with conference attendees.
Private Facebook Group for WFYL conference attendees – stay in touch before, during, and after the conference
Parking – the most convenient parking is at the Peavine Parking Lot; all parking info can be found here
If you are taking a ride service, the conference location is the Candler School of Theology at 1531 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA 30322
Registration Now Open! Click on the link below to pay for your registration (credit cards, debit cards, or PayPal are accepted; all payments are processed through PayPal). After you pay, an email confirmation will be sent to the name and email address you enter into PayPal (or the one associated with your PayPal account) within a day or so. If you need to change the name or email address please let us know.
Writing for Your Life is pleased to offer 1.0 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for pastors for this writers’ conference. Writing for Your Life is a member of the Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning for Ministry (formerly the Society for the Advancement of Continuing Education for Ministry).
All conference and seminar information are subject to change.
Mystics, Monks, Magicians & Druids: A Field Guide to Western Mystery Traditions
with Carl McColman Saturday, March 11, 2023
9:00 am – 3:00 pm In Person/Zoom hybrid event
$45 ZG members / $50 general
This event will be recorded for participants only!
What is the difference between a pagan and a shaman? A monk and a friar? A mystic and a magician?
What makes the “new age” new, and why do many spiritual teachers and traditions emphasize what is old?
Why do Catholics venerate Saint Brigid while Wiccans revere the Goddess Brigid (and are they more like each other than either side wants to admit)?
What is the Kabbalah (and why is it sometimes spelled Qabalah or Cabbala)?
And most importantly of all: what does all these different spiritual teachings and traditions have to do with down-to-earth people in the 21st century who are trying to find their own spiritual path and practice?
If questions like these tickle your curiosity, then you just might enjoy this day-long program on the many faces of western spirituality! We’ll give Buddhists and Hindus and Taoists the day off, and focus instead on wisdom traditions and spiritual lineages out of the western tradition, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam… but also the indigenous and esoteric traditions associated with Northern Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas! There’s no way we’ll cover all of the spiritualities associated with these regions, but we’ll definitely hit the highlights… and most importantly, we’ll approach all of this from the perspective of contemporary spirituality, which is to say: we’ll be reflecting on how all the many spiritual and wisdom paths of the west can inform, enlighten, and maybe even entertain those of us who are spiritual seekers today!
This course is not designed to tell you what to think or believe, and it’s not really for anyone who is invested in believing that their religion is “the one true path” while all the others are misguided. Rather, we will try to find what’s good and true and beautiful in all the paths we explore, while also being honest about their various limitations as well. The point behind this program is not to promote any one particular point of view, but rather to celebrate the beautiful diversity of western spirituality — with a spacious understanding that everyone’s home in the western tradition will be unique. So come, learn about the past, and explore how the wisdom of old can bring blessings and insights to you today!
Carl McColman is an award-winning author, blogger, podcaster, spiritual director, retreat leader, and contemplative speaker/teacher based in Clarkston, GA. His books cover a wide terrain, from Christian mysticism to Celtic wisdom to Pagan & Goddess spirituality, such as, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism: The Essential Guide to Contemplative Spirituality; An Invitation to Celtic Wisdom: A Little Guide to Mystery, Spirit and Compassion; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Paganism; Before You Cast A Spell and more. Although rooted in the Christian tradition, Carl has a long-standing commitment to interspirituality and interfaith exploration. In 2012 Carl made life-promises as a Lay Cistercian (a layperson under the spiritual guidance of Trappist monks). Carl is the Contemplative-in-Residence with Zeitgeist, an Atlanta-based community that supports spiritual seekers and spiritual directors of all faith traditions (including those who are spiritually independent).
Saturday, March 11, 2023
9:00 am – 3:00 pm In Person/Zoom hybrid event$45 ZG members / $50 general Recording will be available to registrants after the event.
A reader of this blog wrote to me last week and asked:
I am writing to ask if you have any good recommendations for spiritual reading during Advent.
There are some wonderful books to explore for Advent. Some are new, some are classics, some are specifically “Advent-y” and others are simply books I’d like to recommend. So, here goes!
We’ll start with the Advent themed books drawn from the wisdom of one of my favorite authors, Evelyn Underhill. Music of Eternity is a new book by renowned Underhill scholar Robyn Wrigley-Carr, which weaves together Underhill’s words and Wrigley-Carr’s own commentary, paired with scripture passages, questions for reflection, and a short prayer for each day of the Advent season. It’s a robust but not overwhelming guide to the splendors of this season. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
Music of Eternity is a wonderful book but it’s not the only Advent-themed book from Evelyn Underhill! If you’d like something a bit small, consider Advent with Evelyn Underhill which clocks in at only 82 pages. For each day in Advent you get a nice excerpt from the writings of Underhill, along with a simple meditation prompt and prayer prompt. If you want a no-frills Advent devotional, this migh be the one for you. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
As much as I love Evelyn Underhill, I recognize that she is somewhat dated (she died in 1941); her language can be stiff and formal (although she had a wonderful heart and it shines through all her British reserve). So if you’d rather have a more contemporary voice to accompany you this Advent, why not Richard Rohr? The popular Franciscan author provides a Bible verse, a thoughtful reflection, and a meditation prompt for each day of the Advent season. As always, his writing is insightful and accessible. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
Okay, back to the past! Caryll Houselander’s Reed of God is my all-time favorite Advent book, and it competed with Music of Eternity to get top billing. So don’t let the fact that this is buried in the list fool you! The Reed of God may not be for everyone: it’s old-school Catholic writing from before Vatican II, so it’s traditional language all the way. But Houselander was a true mystic and her contemplative sensibilities flow on just about every page of this under-appreciated modern spiritual classic. It’s not an “Advent” book per se — it’s a meditation on the Blessed Mother, which to my mind makes it a perfect book for this season. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
If you’ve already read The Reed of God or simply would like a more structured devotional for Advent featuring the wisdom of Caryll Houselander, fortunately A Child in Winter is the book for you. Stretching from Advent through Epiphany, this devotional features a daily dose of Houselander wisdom, paired with a scripture verse, brief commentary from editor Thomas Hoffman, and a brief prayer. Although much of the material in this collection does come from The Reed of God, there’s plenty enough excerpts from other Houselander works to make this an excellent Advent selection. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
I’m so happy that Howard Thurman has his own Christmas book! Now, I know: Christmas is not Advent. But Thurman was Baptist and I believe in being generous toward those whose spiritual practice is not culturally equivalent to our own — so while he may not have thought of “Advent” when preparing this book, naturally any book of Christmas meditations — especially from an author of such contemplative wisdom as Thurman — works as a devotional for preparing for Christmas. After all, that’s what Advent is all about! So here is a chance to “prepare for Christmas” with one of the great Protestant mystics of the twentieth (or any) century. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
Here is the first of two Advent anthologies. While all the books listed above feature the wisdom of one beloved author (or that author and his or her editor), Bill Countryman’s Run, Shepherds, Run is a collection of poems for the Advent and Christmas seasons. So this is not only a chance to savor poetry for your devotional time, but poetry from a variety of voices, including classic poets like George Herbert, John Donne, Christina Rossetti, and Emily Dickinson, and with other lesser known contemporary writers. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
Another Advent/Christmas anthology, this time featuring wisdom from a variety of authors, including both recognized religious voices (John Donne, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther) but also writers who, while informed by their faith, are probably better known for their literary achievements (Madeleine L’Engle, Sylvia Plath, Annie Dillard). Socially conscious writers like Dorothy Day, Dorothee Soelle and Oscar Romero round out this devotional. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
For the last two books on my list I wanted to feature a couple of books that, like The Reed of God were not created specifically as “Advent devotionals” but nevertheless lend themselves well to spiritual reading during this sacred time. First up is a brand new offering from the Black Buddhist/Quaker author Valerie Brown. She one me over with her subtitle: “braving” is my favorite new gerund! And how appropriate for these challenging times we live in. Brown offers a gentle but meaningful invitation into hope for this season of hope. Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
When I drew up this list of recommended Advent books, I quickly jotted down the titles that came to mind, and when I realized I had nine such books on my list, I figured why not make it an even ten! And I hope readers will forgive me for indulging in a bit of shameless self-promotion; every author is part-huckster, and I’m no exception. But I’ve chose Unteachable Lessons because I believe of all the books I’ve written, it’s the one most suited as an Advent read. It’s relatively short, very personal/from the heart, and is basically a meditation on how life’s wisdom is found through living. As we wind down an old year and prepare for a new, I hope this message might be a blessing for some — maybe even you! Order from Amazon or order from Bookshop.
It’s time for another episode from the Encountering Silence podcast!
In this episode, Dr. Joy A. Schroeder, a Lutheran pastor, joins Cassidy, Kevin and me to explore the shadow side of silence — in this case, the silencing of many significants voices in the Christian tradition, of women Bible interpreters.
In Voices Long Silenced, Schroeder and Taylor introduce readers to the notable contributions of female commentators through the centuries. They unearth fascinating accounts of Jewish and Christian women from diverse communities—rabbinic experts, nuns, mothers, mystics, preachers, teachers, suffragists, and household managers—who interpreted Scripture through their writings. The book recounts the struggles and achievements of women who gained access to education and biblical texts. It tells the story of how their interpretive writings were preserved or, all too often, lost. It also explores how, in many cases, women interpreted Scripture differently from the men of their times. Consequently, Voices Long Silenced makes an important, new contribution to biblical reception history.
This book focuses on women’s written words and briefly comments on women’s interpretation in media, such as music, visual arts, and textile arts. It includes short, representative excerpts from diverse women’s own writings that demonstrate noteworthy engagement with Scripture. Voices Long Silenced calls on scholars and religious communities to recognize the contributions of women, past and present, who interpreted Scripture, preached, taught, and exercised a wide variety of ministries in churches and synagogues.
Hi friends, just wanted to give readers of this blog a look at what your membership in my Patreon program will provide in 2024.
If you’re new to Patreon, it is an ongoing membership/crowdfunding program specifically for writers, musicians, podcasters, artists, game designers and other “content creators.” It’s a way for you to invest a small monthly amount (most people choose between $5 and $20) to support the ongoing work of a specific creative person (or persons). As I say at the bottom of every page on this website, my blog is made possible through the generous people who make this monthly support.
But Patreon is far more than just a way for feeding the starving artists. It’s been designed so that participation in Patreon includes membership rewards, which could include exclusive or early access to new work, special work that is exclusively for members, opportunities to interact with the artists/writers, and so forth. Once a year or so, content creators are encouraged to update their membership rewards programs, so that current and prospective Patreon members know what is included with their membership.
Here is a rundown of my current menu of Patreon membership rewards. If you are already a Patreon member, you’ll have access to the rewards based on your membership tier. If you are not currently a member or would like to change your membership amount, you can sign up by clicking here.
“The Contemplative Study of Mystical Writings” is available to all Patreon members at Tiers II and above.
Overview of the Program
Here are the tiers available to patrons who support Anamchara.com. Note that the membership levels are inclusive of the rewards from all previous tiers, so if you opt for tier II you get the rewards for both tiers I and II; with membership in tier III, you get access to all the materials from tiers I through III.
Tier I: Basic Supporters ($5 or more per month, or $51/year):
Patreon members at this (or any level) have members-only access to 1-2 (sometimes more) exclusive or new writing from me (Carl McColman). This runs the range from meditations, to poetry, to newsletters, to first drafts of future blog posts or book chapters. This is a chance to get a “behind the scenes” look at the life of a contemplative blogger, with the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping to make the blog possible each month.
Tier II: Companions in Silence ($10 or more per month, or $102/year):
I know everyone is weary of Zoom — but it remains a powerful tool for long-distance interaction. Membership at this tier gives you access to bi-weekly Zoom calls with me, that include time for centering prayer, a brief presentation from me on a topic related to contemplation or mysticism, and time for shared reflection and discussion. Come every time, or just when you can. Each session stands alone; all are available to support your spiritual practice. In January we will start with two calls a month, one on a weeknight and one on a weekend day. This program may expand to three or even four calls a month, depending on demand and number of participants. If enough members want to meet weekly, we’ll find a way to make it happen.
Tier III: Contemplative Learners ($20 or more per month, or $204/year):
In 2022 I started The Contemplative Study of Mystical Writings: a series of self-study course materials designed to help you unpack some of the most challenging writings from the mystical and contemplative tradition. Once or twice a month I send out emails with detailed study guides, spiritual exercises, and quotations for reflection from the visionary writings of mystics. These study guides will open up your deep dive into wisdom writing. Remember, the monthly Zoom meetings and exclusive access to new writing is also available at this level; and members at this tier (or higher) get bonus goodies (see below).
Bonus Reward for Tier III: All members at the $20 or higher level get presents! And in 2023 there may be two presents: in the first quarter, current members will receive an autographed copy of one of my books (you’ll get to choose which one); and then when the new book comes out (probably in November, although that is subject to change), current members get an autographed copy of that one as well.
You can join Patreon at any time; your membership begins the day you join, and renews each month (or year) on the anniversary of your joining. Join now and you’ll get immediate access to the current membership rewards. The new rewards will be available in 2023: Tier II meetings will begin in January, and Tier III study materials will begin in February. Tier I benefits are already available on an ongoing basis. Books for Tier III members will be mailed out in the spring, and then as soon as the new one is published.
Contemplative Study Program (Tier III): What Will We Be Reading Together?
Here are seven books that current Patreon members have voted on. I’m not sure how quickly we will get through these books, but figure we’ll get through at least four in 2023. And of course, I plan on creating course materials like this until I retire, so over the next 8-10 years I expect to create 30-40 study guides for both classic and contemporary mystical/contemplative writings. For 2023, we’ll begin with at least four books from this list:
Membership can be cancelled at any time, and if you are unhappy with your membership for any reason, write to me and I can refund you for up to the past 90 days. Please note that you are supporting a writer, and sometimes your rewards may be delayed depending on my overall schedule including deadlines, speaking engagements, etc. On the other hand, current members have access to both current and previous membership rewards, so for example if you opt for the contemplative study program, you’ll have access to an ever-growing library of study materials, for as long as you remain a member.
If you have any questions, please let me know, using the “Contact” form at the bottom of this page. Otherwise, I hope you will prayerfully consider joining the circle of contemplatives and visionaries who partner with me each month to keep this blog running. A deep bow of gratitude!
On October 29, 2022 I led an online retreat day for my friends at Contemplative Outreach of Chicago. We had a wonderful day of reflection, which was called Centering Prayer and the Mystical Imagination.
We explored how silence and imaginative prayer are complementary pathways to a deepening spiritual life. Our time together included two sessions of Centering Prayer, along with some imaginative exercises, a few presentations from me, and some wonderful conversation with the participants at the live event.
The retreat day was recorded, and we have decided to make it freely available to anyone who wishes to watch. So here it is! I hope if you want to take some time for a mini retreat day of your own, that this might be a helpful resource for you.
Please consider supporting the ministry of Contemplative Outreach Chicago with a donation through their website. And of course, if you’d like to support my work, please considering joining my Patreon circle.
One of my favorite topics to explore when leading a retreat is “The Mystical Imagination.” I often pair it with Centering Prayer, exploring how the silence of Centering Prayer naturally complements the inner imagery of prayer anchored in the imagination.
When I lead such retreats, I often will share a variety of quotations with the retreatants to make the case for why the imagination is so important, spiritually speaking. I thought it would be fun to list some of these quotations here. I invite you to reflect on these words, not merely as an argument for the importance and value of the imagination, but as invitations to enter your own imaginal space as a way to go deeper in prayer.
Praying with the imagination is not the same as Centering Prayer (or other forms of silent prayer). It’s a kataphatic form of prayer in contrast to the apophatic nature of silent methods of prayer. I invite you to see these ways of praying as complementary. Not everyone feels drawn to silent prayer, and not everyone is drawn to imaginative prayer. Some people, like me, love it all (I’m weird that way), but I encourage you to simply trust your own mind and heart to determine what “prayer style” is right for you. As Abbot John Chapman was famous for saying, “Pray as you can, not as you can’t”!
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.
— Albert Einstein, Cosmic Religion and Other Opinions and Aphorisms
The fundamental job of the imagination in ordinary life, then, is to produce, out of the society we have to live in, a vision of the society we want to live in.
— Northrop Frye, The Educated Imagination
The prophet seeks only to spark the imagination of this people, and that in itself turns despair to energy.
— Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination
So what could bridge that gap between what we perceive with our senses and the reality far greater than our rational minds? For me the answer is imagination… When I use my imagination in prayer and reflection, I glimpse a deeper reality beneath my everyday experience.
— Margaret Silf, www.ignatianspirituality.com
The real work of imagination is to make contact with the strange world in which we live and to serve as both guide and inspiration for our development within it. It is the way we evolve. Imagination presents us with possible, potential realities that it is our job to actualise. It also presents us with a world that would not be complete without our help.
— Gary Lachman, Lost Knowledge of the Imagination
Images of the imagination are not always ‘imaginary’ or untrue, but ‘imaginal,’ presenting truths of a different, inner kind… The psyche or soul is the imagination.
— Stephen Larsen, The Mythic Imagination
The mystical imagination can show us something that science, wonderful though it is, cannot, namely, it can show us the many grace-drenched and spirit-laden layers of reality that are not perceived by our physical senses. The mystical imagination can show us how the Holy Spirit isn’t just inside our churches, but is also inside the law of gravity.
— Ronald Rolheiser, “The Mystical Imagination”
Imagination is your interior sense. When you say imagination, you get into something pretty deep. . . . What normally people think of as imagination is simply fantasy . . . but imagination is not fantasy, imagination is creative. . . . The artist makes you an artist, whether you like it or not, or else you don’t connect . . . what is the deepest part of yourself, your heart or your whole self. . . . It gets right into the depths of you.
— Thomas Merton, “God Speaks to Each of Us: The Poetry and Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke” (audio recording), quoted in Carl McColman’s Eternal Heart
I perceived that God’s continual working in every kind of thing is so beautifully done—so wise and so powerful—that it surpasses our greatest imagination. God’s goodness transcends all thought, all comprehension. At that point, all we can do is contemplate God and rejoice. We allow ourselves to be filled with the overwhelming desire for union with our Beloved, to listen deeply for the divine call. We delight in God’s goodness and revel in God’s love.
— Julian of Norwich, The Showings (translated by Mirabai Starr)
Here, in this spark or “part of the soul” where the spirit, as religion says, “rests in God who made it,” is the fountain alike of the creative imagination and the mystic life.
— Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism
A layered reality is part of the [Christian] imagination. To possess this imagination is to dwell in a universe inhabited by unseen presences — the presence of God, the presence of saints, the presence of one another. There are no isolated individuals but rather unique beings whose deepest life is discovered in and through one another. This life transcends the confines of space and time.
— Wendy M. Wright, Sacred Heart: Gateway to God
The fourteenth revelation is that the Lord God is the ground of our praying. Arising from this, we are shown true prayer and steady trust and God wants us to be generous in both alike. In this way our prayer is pleasing to him and in his goodness he fulfills it.
— Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love (translated by Halcyon Backhouse and Rhona Pipe)
If you’ve read chapter one of Unteachable Lessons you know all about my wife Fran and my late daughter Rhiannon (who passed away in 2014). Thankfully, we have a number of videos of Fran and Rhiannon singing together, as they often performed especially for events related to the Atlanta L’Arche Community. Here is a collection of some of the videos we have posted to Youtube over the years while Rhiannon was alive. My apologies for how amateurish they are… clearly, filmmaking is not my calling. But I still hope you enjoy them, warts and all!
Yesterday I was leading a class for Zeitgeist Atlanta and one of the participants shared an amazing song by a musician named Spencer Lajoye, called the “Plowshare Prayer.” It is profoundly beautiful, and I’ve had it on repeat for pretty much the rest of the weekend. Check it out — here’s a video of a live performance of the song (you can also find it on Spotify or download it from Amazon or Apple).
It reminds me of a prayer I wrote last year called “General Intercessions.” When I wrote it, I posted it on Patreon, and this morning I thought it’s time to share it with everyone through the blog. Maybe these two prayers can flow together. I’ll let you decide. In any event, I hope you enjoy them and may each of them be an invitation for your own prayer.
General Intercessions
O Divine Lover, Creator, Healer, and Life-Giver, I offer these prayers to You — on my behalf, the behalf of those I love, and indeed for the sake of the entire world.
I pray for all the quiet people, those who may be shy, or introverted, or simply have little to say; those who prefer to stay in the background, doing simple work on behalf of their family or others they love, who shun the spotlight and avoid the grand gestures.
I pray for all the so-called ‘good Christian people,’ the churchgoers, the committee members, the ministry volunteers, the pillars of the local community who give so much of themselves and often ask or receive very little in return, who do it only for the joy of giving.
I pray for the artists, innovators of every type imaginable, from the obvious ones like painters, poets, fashion designers, musicians, and dancers, to the less visible creators, the event planners, the mechanics, the athletes and graphic designers, indeed everyone who creates something new.
I pray for the farmers and gardeners, the salt-of-the-earth types who know the soil and the rhythms of the seasons, who seek not so much to dominate nature as to partner with it, who take joy in the ordinary labor of tending the land and cultivating the bounty by which so many are fed.
I pray for nerds and the freaks and the geeks, the cosplayers and convention-goers, the ones who know all the stories and often weave new stories of their own, who seek meaning and purpose in the myths and legends of our time, who find community and insight in the tales we all enjoy.
I pray for those who suffer with addiction, whether it be the brutalizing terror of alcohol or drug dependency, or the slow anxiety of over-spending or compulsive gambling, or the hidden shame of pornography obsession — indeed for anyone whose lives are constrained by compulsion.
I pray for the inhabitants of the underworld places, the prostitutes, the drug dealers, the escort service providers, the peepshow performers and the strip club dancers, the victims of trafficking, and also for those who spend money to purchase their “services” or who profit from these.
I pray for the angry people on social media, the arguers, debaters, trolls, inflamers, who get caught up in emotional whiplash and shouting-match debates, who forget our common humanity and common quest for knowledge and simply insist on attacking all whose views differ from their own.
I pray for political and religious extremists, for those who become locked in their views and values and ways of seeing things, who can only regard those who differ as enemies or victims or dupes, who lose sight of the horror of violence and begin to entertain the idea that force is good.
I pray for the queer folks, the gay and lesbian and bisexual and pansexual persons, for transgender and nonbinary persons and all whose sexuality or gender takes them outside the neat lines of mainstream social convention, and for those who simply are asexual by choice or chance.
I pray for those who benefit from social privilege, whether by virtue of their skin color or gender identity or physical sex or socio-economic status; and I pray for those who suffer because they lack such privilege, as well as those who work hard to dismantle all divisive privileges.
And I pray for the forgotten people, for those whom I have forgotten to pray for, today or any day, as well as those who have no one to pray for then at any time; the homeless, the elderly, the abandoned, the runaways, the sick, the dying, the feeble and the forlorn.
I pray for all these, and in all cases my prayer is the same: bless us as we need to be blessed, heal us as we need to be healed, convict us as we need to be convicted, transform us as we need to be transformed, and strengthen us to love — to love You, to love ourselves and to love our neighbors and our enemies, so that we may allow You to work through us to repair our beautiful broken world.
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, I will be leading an online day of reflection on Centering Prayer and the Mystical Imagination. If you’d like to explore how to integrate silent prayer with imaginative prayer, this program may be for you. To learn more and to register, please click here: Centering Prayer and the Mystical Imagination.
A few years ago, a popular contemporary Christian rock band called Mercy Me had a hit song called “I Can Only Imagine.” The band’s lead singer wrote the song for his father, who was dying at the time; the song tells of imagining what eternal life is like: imagining the beauty of heaven, the joy to be found in the presence of Christ. For Mercy Me, the imagination is a doorway into a beautiful experience of intimacy with God through Christ.
The song works because, after all, the human imagination is powerful. It’s fun to imagine what it must be like to be reunited with family and loved ones in heaven. Here on earth, children love to imagine a world of wonders, shaped by generous “imaginary beings” like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. And while us adults sometimes seem to lose sight of the imagination thanks to our busy, oh-so-practical lives, the ongoing popularity of fantasy stories like the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Marvel Comics are reminders that even for grown-ups, the human imagination is truly a source of entertainment — and also wisdom and insight.
How does the imagination relate to prayer? As someone who finds great joy and spiritual nourishment in the practice of Centering Prayer, I know that this particular way of praying is not about the imagination at all! In fact, in Centering Prayer, any interior ideas, daydreams or imaginings are viewed simply as “thoughts” that we learn to let go of during prayer, gently returning to a simply Sacred Word that empowers us to rest in the wordless beauty of silence in the present moment.
The great Trappist monk and mystic Thomas Merton once gave a lecture where he had some interesting things to say about the human imagination. “Imagination is your interior sense,” he remarked. Recognizing that for many people imagination is just another word for fantasy or make-believe, Merton when on to say “imagination is not fantasy, imagination is creative.” In this particular talk Merton was speaking about poetry, but he might have said this about any type of artistic endeavor. To be an artist is to a person who imagines.
Merton is famous as a poet and a writer, so it only makes sense that he would value the imagination as a doorway to creativity. But Merton is also renowned for his wisdom as a Christian contemplative and mystic — and is widely credited as inspiring the monks who started the Centering Prayer movement in the 1970s. Centering Prayer is famous for its emphasis on silence and stillness as important ways to consent to God’s presence and action in our hearts and lives. How does this square with the “creative” quality of the imagination?
I’d like to suggest that silence and the imagination go together in the spiritual life, just like a diamond goes together with its setting in a beautiful gold ring. Without the ring, a diamond could get lost, but without a diamond, even a gold ring’s beauty is diminished. For spiritual seekers, silence and meditation and contemplation are like a sparkling diamond, while the imagination — and the stories and teachings of faith that inspire the imagination — are like the shiny gold ring with its prongs that hold the diamond in place.
The diamond is not the gold, and vice versa. Silence and imagination have different roles to play in the spiritual life. But just because they are different does not mean only one is necessary, or that one is better or more important than the other. Human beings need silence, and we also need the creative spark that we discover in our imagination. A well balanced spirituality encompasses both.
Someone who truly understood this was Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus and the creator of the 30-day program of Spiritual Exercises. Ignatius emphasized using the imagination in prayer, whether that means reviewing the ups and downs of daily life in the Prayer of Examen, or using creative visualization to imagine interacting with Christ as a kind of interactive/imaginative way of praying. The Spiritual Exercises can help you feel closer to Jesus by imagining a more intimate relationship with him. It’s not the same thing as Centering Prayer, and it’s a good idea to try to understand the difference between prayer that is centered in silence, and meditations that are structured around the imagination. Like gold and the diamond, these very different styles of prayer can compliment each other beautifully.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” — Albert Einstein, On Cosmic Religion and Other Opinions and Aphorisms
Albert Einstein is famous for saying “imagination is more important than knowledge.” It’s a pretty bold claim, coming from a scientist of his stature. But it also reminds me of a slightly different, yet no less powerful, statement from a medieval mystic — the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, whose wisdom inspired the Centering Prayer movement. The author of The Cloud insisted that the way to know God is through love, for God “is incomprehensible” to the ordinary human mind. “Nobody’s mind is powerful enough to grasp who God is. We can only know God by experiencing God’s love.” The author goes on to say “Knowledge hinders, not helps you in contemplation.”
Neither of these quotations should be interpreted to mean that knowledge is unimportant! They are not criticisms of knowledge but rather are ringing affirmations of imagination — and love. The heart’s capacity to love and cherish, like our mental capacity to visualize and imagine, provide us with powerful ways to learn, to grow, and — spiritually speaking — to draw closer to God.
God’s grace restores our souls and teaches us how to comprehend him through love. He is incomprehensible to the intellect. Even angels know him by loving him. Nobody’s mind is powerful enough to grasp who God is. We can only know him by experiencing his love. — The Cloud of Unknowing
I like to think of the imagination, silence and love as a kind of three-legged stool that can help anyone to grow closer to God. Some people might naturally prefer silence, while others might find that they feel more at home while praying with their imagination This is not about what’s “right” or “wrong.” Think of Centering Prayer and the imagination as complementary approaches to spiritual living. Some people will naturally feel more drawn to one than the other, and that’s okay. But then there are some folks who might feel equally drawn to both. Wherever you may fall on that particular spectrum, I encourage you to think of ways to integrate silence and the imagination in your day-to-day spiritual life. You just might find that the cooperate in helping you to feel more close and connected to the God who loves you.
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, I will be leading an online day of reflection on Centering Prayer and the Mystical Imagination. If you’d like to explore how to integrate silent prayer with imaginative prayer, this program may be for you. To learn more and to register, please click here: Centering Prayer and the Mystical Imagination.
N.B. This homily was written for the Community of Hope International at their annual retreat, during the Saturday evening Taizé service, October 8, 2022 at Camp Allen, Navasota, Texas. The readings included Psalm 66:1-12, Psalm 111 and Luke 5:12-16.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This is a powerful statement, capstoning the beautiful song of praise that we find in Psalm 111. But what exactly does it mean?
If you are like me, you may remember knowing people — or at least, knowing of people — who were described as “God-fearing.” A God-fearing Christian was someone who took their faith seriously. They did not mess around. There was no hint of presumptuousness in their faith, they did not take their salvation for granted, and one might assume that their fear of God was intimately part of an overall spirituality shaped by reverence, moral rectitude, and an utmost respect for the power and judgment of God.
But you know, we live in the age of sociology and psychology, and the fear of God, as a religious concept, has fallen on hard times. We have begun to question if fearing God can really lend itself to loving God. As a friend of mine who is a Mennonite theologian once said, “Many people keep an eye on God the way the mouse keeps an eye on the cat.” We may do a perfectly good job of fearing God but remain entirely unmoved by any possibility of loving God.
The plot thickens! Recent scholars of Biblical Hebrew have made the case that the Hebrew word that gets translated as fear — yir·’aṯ — really should be understood as implying awe. We may fear an abusive parent, but we experience awe when we contemplative the Milky Way galaxy. I live in Atlanta where there is so much light that we rarely can see many stars, even on the clearest of nights. But a couple of years ago my wife and I were on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico during the Leonids Meteor Shower; we read online that the best time to see it was about 4 AM. So like Trappist monks we got up before dawn, bundled up — that November morning was quite chilly, even in Florida — and we made our way to the beach, where we sat, gazing south over the gulf, hypnotized by the steady drone of the surf, and entranced not only be the dramatic meteors that kept streaking across the sky, but by the unexpected delight of clearly discerning the Milky Way, dancing across the firmament like a ribbon of ancient light. Immediately, we felt awe: awe at the sheer beauty of it all, awe at the vastness of the universe and our corresponding tiny-ness, awe at the immeasurable unlimited dimensions of space and time to which we were privileged to be given this tiny glimpse at a specific moment in time. I don’t know if it was made us wise, but I do know that we tasted awe that autumn morning — and it felt nothing like fear.
Still, I can understand why “the Fear of the Lord” is a thing. Believe it or not, I was a timid child, and I grew up in a very traditional gendered household where mom was the nurturer and dad was the disciplinarian. My relationship with my mom was very intimate, warm, and cuddly, whereas my father and I had a very formal and rather distant relationship. Mom and I hugged, but Dad and I shook hands.
So why would someone fear God? Let me hasten to say that I don’t think God is particularly turned on by the idea of us fearing him. But I do think that a person who is amending their life, perhaps coming to face some hard truths about themself and their tendency toward selfishness, narcissism, and perhaps even lack of caring for others, might find that being afraid of God’s terrible judgment may be part of theprocess of compunction, contrition, and repentance. Those are tough words, so let’s take a closer look. Compunction is like getting poked by a sharp object — it’s a jabbing sensation of pain that comes from recognizing that one’s behavior has been, well, sinful — or to put it in more contemporary language, unkind, unloving. Our Buddhist friends would say it isinevitable that human beings cause suffering. Compunction is feeling the pain that our behavior creates, both for ourselves but especially for others.
The next step, contrition, is feeling sorry for what we’ve done. In the Roman Catholic world, you need contrition in order to participate in the sacrament of reconciliation, or confession In other words, it’s not enough to admit you’ve done something wrong — you need to be sorry for it. This does not and should not be a matter of intense or long-lasting shame. When we are contrite, we are called to do something to alleviate the unpleasantness. Just as having a headache means it’s time to take your Acetaminophen, feeling contrition means it’s time for that most misunderstood of spiritual processes: it’s time to repent.
Many people equate repentance with compunction or contrition. But if they were the same thing, we wouldn’t need all these big words, would we? No, repentance is the solution to the problem of compunction and contrition, which in turn are problems that arise out of our sinfulness. To repent, you see, is to take your spiritual aspirin to counteract the pain of your aching contrition.
What is repentance? The Greek word for it is metanoia — which literally means “beyond the mind.” To repent literally means to adopt a new or higher level of consciousness — to go beyond the limitations of the old mind, conditioned as it is toward selfishness and fear. It means to adopt the Mind of Christ: a mind shaped by God’s presence, compassion and love. To repent is to exchange the old ways of seeing things that are based in fear and dualism, for a new way of approaching life grounded in trust, kindness, mercy, forgiveness — and the love of God.
Well, when you see it that way, repentance sounds awesome! When can we sign up for it!
And you notice, I said AWE-some! Yes, repentance may mean the shift from fear into love, but it is still grounded in that awe before God which the Psalm assures us is the beginning of wisdom.
You see, here’s how I think it works. The fear of the Lord — whether we are talking about awe — or dread — truly is the beginning of wisdom. But it’s not the “end” of wisdom. To find that, we need to turn to a powerful verse from the first letter of Saint John, tucked away toward the end of the New Testament. The fourth chapter of I John is a hymn celebrating the love of God, as beautiful in its own way as St. Paul’s legendary hymn of love found in I Corinthians 13. John assures us that “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” He goes on to say, more than once, that “God IS love,” which to my mind remains the single best one-word definition for the nature of God. But then he throws in this delicious word of wisdom:
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. (I John 4:18)
What a powerful declaration! I think it makes sense that we fear being punished, whether it is a child who doesn’t want to get spanked after stealing some cookies from the cookie jar, to the wealthy business person accused of tax fraud who fights the charges as hard as he can. Even if we acknowledge that we are guilty as charged, we seek clemency and mercy.
Paolo Veronese, “Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane” (1570)
But what if we can let go of all fear of punishment when we encounter the presence of the Living God? What if, even in our sinfulness and brokenness and imperfection, we can approach God with love rather than fear, with trust rather than anxiety, with the confidence of a child rather than the bargaining of an adult?
If fear is the beginning of wisdom, sooner or later love will come along and cast fear out, replacing the terror of the small mind with the limitless trust of the Mind of Christ. And remember, when we say “love casts out fear” — remember, God is love. If we allow God entry into our hearts, God will seek to turn us away from fear and toward the deepest wisdom of all, the wisdom of profound, trusting, love.
We see in tonight’s Gospel reading a powerful insight into Jesus. Everyone knows Jesus was a healer, and so this reading from the fifth chapter of Luke represents Jesus doing what Jesus does best: healing the sick. But as Jesus’s gift as a healer turns into a rapidly spreading reputation — even without Twitter and Facebook, word spread fast — Luke points out something really important: “he would slip away to deserted places and pray.”
Next time you sit down to read the Gospels — not just to listen to the short lessons that show up on Sunday mornings or during your daily prayer, but to really read the entire narrative — notice how much Jesus prays. It seems like he is always sneaking off to be alone with God. From the forty days in the wilderness right after his baptism to the night in the Garden of Gethsemani before his arrest, trial and crucifixion, Jesus is consistently a person of prayer. And friends, I would like to make two observations about this: first, that it is not mistake that Luke comments on Jesus’s prayer right after telling yet another story about his gifts as a healer. For Jesus, prayer and healing go hand in hand. But just as important, ask yourself: is Jesus’s behavior the actions of somebody who is scared of God? I don’t think so. Jesus prayed all the time because Jesus LOVED God, and Jesus trusted in God’s love for him. And we are asked to enter into the same dynamic when we related to God. God is love. Love casts out fear. We are able to love, because God first loved us. Think about what that implies: the more you immerse yourself in the presence of God, the more loving a person you become. Let me repeat that: the more you immerse yourself in the presence of God, the more loving a person you become. I don’t know about you, but that thought makes me want to pray as much as I possibly can.
Carl McColman answers a question after speaking at the Community of Hope annual retreat, Camp Allen, Texas, October 8, 2022.
Psalm 66 invites us to make a joyful noise to God! Even though I myself am an introvert with monkish tendencies who likes nothing more than a quiet evening at home, I can relate to Psalm 66. I think making a joyful noise to express our love for God is a beautiful thing to do — and I commend it to us all. Sing, scream, shout for joy: praise the God who loves us so much!
But you know, the psalm right before Psalm 66 — Psalm 65 — makes another powerful statement about praise. It often gets lost in English translations, but he original Hebrew of Psalm 65:1 very explicitly says, “Silence is praise.” What an extraordinary statement! Silence is praise. This is not either/or: we still praise God with our joyful noise. It’s a both/and situation: we praise God with our songs and our words, but we also praise God with our reverent, awe-struck silence. Silence can be a wonderful way to notice the love in our hearts: love that is put there by God through the Holy Spirit! Don’t believe me: check out Romans 5:5. So let’s celebrate the wisdom that might begin with fear, or better yet, awe — yet ultimately yields to the beauty of love. Just as our praise may begin with a joyful noise, but ultimately even our silence can be a way of returning love to the one who gives us the ability to love.
So let’s take a few minutes now, and be silent before the beautiful, compassionate, merciful, presence of the God who IS Love — and who loves us all, so very, very much!
