The Prayer of Recollection: A Classic Mystical Practice as Taught by Evelyn Underhill
Contemplative spirituality has its own jargon, and this “language of prayer” evolves over time. Nowadays you’ll find students of the mystical ...
Tag: Via Mystica
Praying with the English Mystics
Dear friends, I have now experienced what it is like to direct a spiritual retreat online. And while it is certainly not the same thing as a retreat in person (...
Twelve Mystics Who Lived Through Epidemics and Pandemics
It’s been over a month now since the World Health Organization has acknowledged that COVID-19 is a pandemic. As of today (4/13/20), over 22000 Americans a...
“Don’t Call Yourself a Mystic” — How Kenneth Leech’s Challenge Helped Me To Embrace Contemplative Practice
In my book Unteachable Lessons I talk about Kenneth Leech, the Anglican priest who wrote a variety of books on topics related to both contemplative spirituality...
“For Darkness is as Light to You” — Why Mysticism Isn’t Afraid of the Dark
One of the most powerful images in the Bible is the distinction between light and dark. Light represents God, or Christ, or goodness; darkness, by contrast, rep...
Seven Mystical Affirmations
Currently I’m reading two classic self-help books, both for my personal edification and as research for a project I’m working on. The books are Juli...
Silent Prayer Every Day: How Much Do We Need?
A reader writes, I just finished reading the article about having everything you need for Divine union. I want to share it with my Carmelite spirituality group....
Can Contemplation Change the World?
Four years ago I wrote a blog post titled Is Contemplation Dangerous? It was a review of a book called The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You? Written by tw...
What We Need for Union with God
Recently I posted this quote from Fr. Thomas Keating on Facebook: If you’re curious about the source of this quote, it is found on page 71 of Open Mind, O...
The Chrysalis and the Butterfly: A New Way to Think About the Relationship Between Spirituality and Religion
“I’m spiritual but not religious.” It’s an increasingly common way for people to identify their relationship to spirituality (as a syste...
A Few Thoughts About Julian of Norwich (Video)
Here’s another one of the videos I filmed in the summer of 2015. Previously on this blog I posted a video on mysticism. More will be coming, on topics li...
What is Mysticism — and What Does it Mean for Christians?
A couple of weeks ago I posted to this blog an article called Just What is Mysticism Anyway? And Why Should Anyone Care? But a few years ago, I made a short vid...
Understanding "The Dark Night of the Soul"
A reader writes, Carl, have you written any articles on the “dark night” or about the struggles we face on our paths? I’d be grateful if you could either link m...
The Difference Between Meditation and Contemplation
A reader of my blog writes: As someone new and aspiring to find a more contemplative lifestyle, I’m curious of one thing. Is there a critical difference b...
Just What is Mysticism Anyway? And Why Should Anyone Care?
I love to tell the story of a monk, Fr. Anthony Delisi (author of Praying in the Cellar) who was my mentor as a Lay Cistercian and one of the earliest readers o...