Tag Archives: longing
The Way of Unknowing
Unknowing The Way of Unknowing Friday, February 5, 2021 Descriptions of the “dark night of the soul” from the Spanish mystic John of the Cross (1542–1591) have become the marker by which many Christians measure their own experience of unknowing. He fits an entire life spent exploring God’s mystery into memorable poetry, and even dares… Continue Reading The Way of Unknowing
A Perennial Wisdom
Julian of Norwich A Perennial Wisdom Monday, May 11, 2020 Although Julian of Norwich is an anonymous woman who lived over 600 years ago, seekers and scholars return to her “showings” again and again. Author Veronica Mary Rolf describes why Julian’s wisdom is perennial, valuable, and needed whenever there is confusion and suffering, which is… Continue Reading A Perennial Wisdom
Type Four: The Need to Be Special
Enneagram Part Two: Heart Center Type Four: The Need to Be Special Friday, March 6, 2020 Holy Idea: Holy Origin Virtue: Equanimity, Emotional Balance Passion: Envy [1] Fours once lived serenely as an essential part of a united and beautiful world. But at some point during childhood, the union and beauty were seemingly broken. So, for… Continue Reading Type Four: The Need to Be Special
Mind, Body, Heart: Weekly Summary
Mind, Body, Heart Sunday, February 16–Friday, February 22, 2020 Wisdom is not the result of mental effort. It cannot be gained through intellectual study. Even life experiences do not make us wise if we don’t process them humbly and consciously. (Sunday) Wisdom is a way of knowing that goes beyond one’s mind, one’s rational understanding, and embraces the… Continue Reading Mind, Body, Heart: Weekly Summary
Love: The Highest Form of Knowing
Knowing and Not Knowing Love: The Highest Form of Knowing Friday, January 31, 2020 My good friend, Franciscan sister and scientist Ilia Delio, has written a wonderful autobiography. In it she recounts how her parents decided to name her Denise. (She would have been named Denis had she been a boy.) Later in life, she was delighted to find a… Continue Reading Love: The Highest Form of Knowing
Nonviolence: Weekly Summary
Nonviolence Summary: Sunday, August 18—Friday, August 23, 2019 The root of violence is the illusion of separation—from God, from being one with oneself and everything else, and from Being Itself. (Sunday) Mohandas Gandhi said nonviolence was the active, unconditional love toward others, the persistent pursuit of truth, the radical forgiveness toward those who hurt us,… Continue Reading Nonviolence: Weekly Summary
Sustaining Awareness
Contemplation: Week 2 Sustaining Awareness Thursday, December 20, 2018 As we saw yesterday, there are many forms of contemplative practice. CAC faculty member James Finley describes how meditation—another name for contemplation—is simply any practice that opens us up to Presence: There is something about simply sitting still, quietly attentive to your breathing, that tends to… Continue Reading Sustaining Awareness
The Abyss of Grief
Death and Resurrection: Week 2 The Abyss of Grief Monday, November 19, 2018 My friend and brilliant translator of many mystics, Mirabai Starr, who lives nearby in Taos, New Mexico, has encountered numerous deaths and losses, each cultivating in her a deeper spiritual practice and longing for God. But the death of her fourteen-year-old daughter,… Continue Reading The Abyss of Grief
Searching for Love
Love: Week 1 Searching for Love Friday, November 2, 2018 All Souls’ Day John of the Cross (1542-1591) is one of many Christian mystics who writes about being loved by God in an intimate way. My friend and fellow CAC faculty member James Finley reflects on John’s Dark Night of the Soul as a journey… Continue Reading Searching for Love
Purity and Passion
God as Us: Week 2 Purity and Passion Monday, November 13, 2017 I want to say a little about purity and about passion. What I mean by purity is singleness of heart, when the head and the heart are working together in a way that allows you to see wholeness, to see from your True… Continue Reading Purity and Passion