Carl McColman's Blog, page 13

Mystical Literature: Poetry and Fiction

A reader of this blog (and a Patreon member) wrote to me and asked:

Hi Carl: Do you have a list of fiction and poetry you recommend for those on the Christian Mystic path? Thanks!

A wonderful question, and while I didn’t have a handy list I could just email back to him, it inspired me to draw up the following list. It’s a bit of hodgepodge: fiction about the mystics, and poetry by mystics. But together, I hope this list can be an inspiring way to dive into the beautiful contemplative world of Ch...

Discover the Three Forms of Contemplation, according to Evelyn Underhill! (Free Online Event: Sign Up Now)

Hi friends! Join me on Thursday, January 19 for a special Zoom call in which I’ll be sharing Evelyn Underhill’s Three Forms of Contemplation. Click here to register for this free program.

If you’re not familiar with Evelyn Underhill, a treat awaits you. She a leading Christian mystic of the early 20th century, and her writings influenced other significant contemplatives and mystics, from C. S. Lewis to Thomas Merton to Aldous Huxley! Her 1911 book Mysticism has for over a century now been regard...

Register Now for the 2023 Centering Prayer Summit!

Hi everyone! I’m so excited about an upcoming online “Centering Prayer Summit” that I’ll be participating with — I want to make sure all my online friends know about it.

Hosted by my friends Keith Kristich and Jana Rentzel, this program features speakers like Cynthia Bourgeault, Adam Bucko, Mary Dwyer, Phileena Nikole and others (including yours truly). Eight speakers over a two day period, and if you can’t attend all of it as it is live-streamed, you can access the recordings at a later date.

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Happy Anniversary to Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor!

December 6 is quite a special day. It’s the feast day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children (also known as Father Christmas). In 1875, one of the great mystics of the 20th century, Evelyn Underhill, was born on this day. Fifteen years later, another mystic, the esotericist Violet Firth (better known by her pen name, Dion Fortune) also was born on 12/6. The treaty between England and Ireland marking the end of the Irish war for independence was signed on 6 December 1921, and a year later — ...

Check Out the New Podcast from Contemplative Outreach!

I am happy (and honored/humbled) to announce that I’ve recently appeared as a guest on the new podcast from Contemplative Outreach! Opening Minds, Opening Hearts is a new initiative from Contemplative Outreach International, hosted by Colleen Thomas and Mark Dannenfelser. Other episodes of the podcast feature wonderful folks like Lerita Coleman Brown and Adam Bucko. Definitely check it out and subscribe to it. You can access the podcast’s home page by clicking here: www.contemplativeoutreach.org...

Five Approaches to Interspirituality

Brother Wayne Teasdale, author of The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World’s Religions and A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life, coined the new word “interspirituality.” Sort of a mash-up between “interfaith dialogue” and “spirituality,” interspirituality refers to the possibility or practice of integrating spiritual exercises and practices from more than one faith tradition into one’s own expression of spirituality.

Obviously this covers a wide terrain. F...

Come to the “Writing for Your Life” Conference, March 6-7, 2023!

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 ...

Join me at the “Writing for Your Life” Conference, March 6-7, 2023!

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 ...

In-Person/Online Hybrid Event, March 11, 2023: A Field Guide to Western Mysticism

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!

Click here for more information and to register. 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 w...

Books To Read and Savor During Advent and Christmas

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 Underhil...