Carl McColman's Blog, page 24

What I look for when I read contemplative books

I often get asked to recommend “the best” contemplative books. I’m happy to do so (see this post for a recent attempt to list some of the better books), but today I thought I’d do something a bit different.

Instead of just rolling off a list of my personal favorites, I’ll share with you how I decide which books I consider to be truly worth reading, savoring, and sharing.

There are a lot of contemplative books out there, and new ones are published every month. If you tried to keep up with all the...

Take This One-Question Survey: Your Favorite Way(s) to Explore Contemplative Spirituality

Friends, could you take a half a minute and fill out this 1-question survey?

I’m planning my calendar for the rest of the year, and I’m trying to gauge how I should apportion my time between blogging, podcasting, video creation, and of course, working on my next book(s).

I know the easy answer is “do what you love,” but to be honest I enjoy pretty much all of the above. So getting to know what is meaningful for you might help me to prioritize my time.

It only takes a minute — thanks for your fee...

When You Pre-order a Book, It Makes a Difference (Here’s Why)

Please click on the button of your preferred retailer to pre-order Eternal Heart: [image error] [image error] [image error]

If you have already pre-ordered Eternal Heart, I thank you.

If you haven’t, please do so. I’m not very good at marketing — I’d much rather spend my time coming up with new material for my blog or youtube or whatever. But we live in a world that is organized around commerce, and part of my job as a writer is to promote my book. So here goes.

Please click on one of the links above (or below) and pr...

Why Julian of Norwich Matters to Me

I first “met” Julian of Norwich through reading Evelyn Underhill’s magisterial book Mysticism: The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness. Underhill’s book changed my life, for a number of reasons: it gave me a language and a context for making sense of my spiritual experience, it helped me to see that there is a place for an intellectually honest, interfaith-friendly expression of Christian spirituality, and — perhaps most important of all — Underhill introduced me to the grand tradi...

So Many Books, So Little Time…

Lately I’ve been posting on social media a “book of the day.” It’s a combination of new books that I find interesting (which I may or may not have read), along with an assortment of books in my library ranging from antiquarian treasures to more recently published titles.

Here’s a recent example:

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A post shared by Carl McColman (@carlmccolman)

The feedback on these “bookstagrams” has mostly been positive, although a few people ha...

Even More (!) Advance Praise for “Eternal Heart”

In February I published the first words of endorsement that my forthcoming book, Eternal Heart, received, and then in March I published more words of support from authors like Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Adam Bucko, Br. Paul Quenon, Mirabai Starr, Judith Valente, and others.

Today’s post features more words of praise from advance readers.

Scroll down to see these latest endorsements that Eternal Heart has received. I hope this will whet your appetite for the book. If you would like to read it, please...

A “Top Ten” List of Christian Contemplative Books

A reader writes,

Wondering if you have an updated list of top ten books about Christian contemplation?

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I have a fondness for publishing lists of books I love and like to recommend. For example, two years ago I published a list of Twelve Contemplative Books for Christian Transformation. I can’t recall that I’ve ever published a “Top Ten” list, at least of contemplative books. So let’s do it now.

First, a few notes. I’m limiting myself to one book per author, ev...

Do You Follow Me On Instagram (Or Should I Say, “Bookstagram”)?

Friends, I’ve had an Instagram account for maybe seven years now, but it’s always been the poor stepchild of my social media accounts. All the action seemed to take place on Facebook and Twitter, with LinkedIn and Goodreads functioning as my “second tier” hangouts. Instagram, like Pinterest, seemed little more than a silly diversion, a chance to see (or post) amusing cat pictures but not much more. Even when I grew disillusioned with FB and Twitter (thanks especially to watching The Social Dilem...

Faith, Science, PBS — and Trappist Monks

I’m so happy to share this segment from a recent episode of the PBS News Hour with you. It features the monks of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit — the monastery of which I am a Lay Associate. The topic is about how the monks are getting vaccinated to protect themselves from the coronavirus, but of course it’s also a wee glimpse into the world of the cloister, a world of prayer and meditation — even during a pandemic.

Since I haven’t been to the monastery in over a year, this was a treat for me...

Hunting Magic Eels: the Quest for a Re-Enchanted Christianity

Richard Beck, professor of psychology at Abilene Christian University in Texas, has just released a book that will certainly be a finalist for “most whimsical title.” Hunting Magic Eels: Recovering an Enchanted Faith in a Skeptical Age covers a lot of ground that I love: looking at sacramentalism, Celtic spirituality, mysticism, contemplation, and even a sprinkling of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, to make the case that what Christianity needs today is not a more robust theology, more clever apologetic...