Carl McColman's Blog, page 54
June 5, 2018
Six Months of Encountering Silence! (Episode 25)
Hello friends! Can you believe that the Encountering Silence Podcast released its first episode six months ago?!? Yes — our “pilot episode” was released on December 6, 2017. This week we’re celebrating our six-month-anniversary with a brief conversation in which we reflect on some of the insights and surprises that the last six months have … Continue reading Six Months of Encountering Silence! (Episode 25) →http://encounteringsilence.com/six-mo...
May 30, 2018
Mirabai Starr: Silence, Stillness, Passion, and Embodiment (Episode 24)
“I’m rather obsessed with the mystics of all traditions,” enthuses Mirabai Starr, as she muses on the profound relationship between silence and stillness and passionate/ecstatic mystical love. In a rich conversation that touches on the beauty of the high desert of the American Southwest, the earthy/embodied passion of the spirituality of wilderness, and the uniquely … Continue reading Mirabai Starr: Silence, Stillness, Passion, and Embodiment (Episode 24) →http://encounteringsilence.com/mirab...
May 24, 2018
Jessica Mesman Griffith: The Silence of Missing Voices (Episode 23)
What is the relationship between silence, creativity, fear, doubt, death, and missing voices — especially in terms of art and literature? To explore this provocative question, we turned to our mutual friend — and one of the most gifted and articulate writers of our time — Jessica Mesman Griffith. It’s very difficult for me to … Continue reading Jessica Mesman Griffith: The Silence of Missing Voices (Episode 23) →http://encounteringsilence.com/jessic......
May 18, 2018
We Need to Find the Silence Within — Even in the Midst of a “Joyful Noise”
Check out this insightful, evocative quotation from Barbara A. Holme’s wonderful book Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices in the Black Church: Those who study contemplation have assumed that the difference between European and Africana approaches to contemplation is the presence or lack of silence … We tend to presume that one must create silent spaces for contemplation. […]http://www.patheos.com/blogs/carlmcco...-...
May 16, 2018
Kurt Johnson: Silence, the Body, and Movement (Episode 22)
How is Silence related to the human body? To movement, exercise, and performance? To physical, as well as mental and spiritual, wellness? Today we begin what we hope will be an ongoing conversation in the Encountering Silence world, exploring these and similar questions. We open this exploration thanks to Kurt Johnson joining in the conversation … Continue reading Kurt Johnson: Silence, the Body, and Movement (Episode 22) →http://encounteringsilence.com/kurt-j......
May 8, 2018
Encountering Silence in Our Busy Lives (Episode 21)
If you could take a snapshot of your relationship with silence today, what would it look like? Perhaps you will have just come back from visiting a city where tragedy has brought about a new quality of silence. Perhaps you are just clinging to a daily sitting practice in the midst of a very busy … Continue reading Encountering Silence in Our Busy Lives (Episode 21) →http://encounteringsilence.com/encoun...
April 14, 2018
Running After Something You Already Have
A Dream About Montreat, Evelyn Underhill, and Learning to Let Go
I had a dream last night — about one of my favorite retreat centers, and one of my favorite books.
The setting of my dream was the Montreat Conference Center, in Black Mountain NC, just up the road from Asheville. I’ve been to Montreat numerous times over the past six or seven years, but always in a leadership role. But in last night’s dream, I was a participant in a program, led by one of the faculty members of Columbia Theolog...
March 17, 2018
A New Prayer for Contemplatives
Here's a Shorter Prayer for Beginning Your Silent Time with God
O Holy Trinity, we come to you in silent prayer, seeking only to love you and adore you beyond all words and thought.
Grant us the grace to long for you with such humble desire that we return to the fountain of your mercy, each and every day.
Foster in our hearts quiet confidence, that we may know you and follow your will, and trust you in steadfast hope.
Lead us to the vast haven of interior silence, that our distracted minds an...
March 8, 2018
In the Beginning Was the Tao…
The Mystery of God Frees Us From Our Cultural Blind Spots
Ken Leong, the author of The Zen Teachings of Jesus, posted this on Facebook the other day:
I was having a conversation with a group of American Christians. I told them that in the Chinese version of John’s Gospel, the WORD was translated into “Tao.” They asked me for the definition of the Tao. I replied that the Tao cannot be defined and they laughed. Apparently they don’t understand Christian theology very well. They don’t know th...
February 18, 2018
Seven Tips for Getting Started With the Divine Office
Incorporating Fixed-Hour Prayer into Your Daily Life
What does it take to get started with a daily practice of praying the Liturgy of the Hours?
A reader of this blog asks the following question:
I have an established practice of Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer in the early morning and Examen and Centering Prayer in the late afternoon. I’m captivated with praying the Daily Office, but I’m struggling how to incorporate Matins, Vespers, and Compline into my day. Suggestions?
The above commen...
