Rooting into I AM
I want to start with words attributed to the Armanian Mystic, G.I. Gurdjieff (there’s no evidence he said them): Behind personality is essence.Behind essence is Real I.Behind Real I is God. On Part 1, we distinguished our ordinary, everyday personality, or ego, as the parts of our self that are lost in thinking-feeling-doing, from what I called our […]
Our simple “I am”
To kick it off, here’s a guiding quote attributed to the Armenian Mystic-Philosopher-Composer, G.I. Gurdjieff: Behind personality is essence.Behind essence is Real I.Behind Real I is God. The rest will explore what it means to slowly gravitate from personality to essence, to the Real I, to God. And I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions after […]
A Borderless Practice: The Interspiritual Invitation of Centering Prayer
Deep prayer is the laying aside of thoughts. It is the opening of mind and heart, body and feelings—our whole being—to God, the Ultimate Mystery, beyond words, thoughts, and emotions. Thomas Keating I consider myself lucky to have stumbled into contemplation, for it was an accident. Midway through college, over ten years ago, I began […]
Centering Prayer as a Practice of Disillusionment
Have you ever had the experience of feeling “disillusioned?” Perhaps it was with a friend or family member who shared with you something that changed how you saw and understood them. Or maybe it was with an institution – a space you trusted and depended upon but then witnessed something that caused your certainty to […]
What is Perennial Philosophy? A Short Guide
Perennial Philosophy 101 Perennial Philosophy is a school of thought affirming the good, the true, and the beautiful in all religious traditions based on the belief that all religions emanate from the same Source. You can imagine a single spring feeding many unique bodies of water. Each of the religions is a way of bringing […]
Evelyn Underhill & The House of the Soul
To be human is to be a “mixed being.” We are at once animal and spirit. We are utterly earthy, made of dust and yet, enlivened by the spirit: we are each an image of the Divine. Our uniquely human task is to learn to live fully in both worlds. Please enjoy the words of […]
5 Meditation Tips for the Complete Beginner
You want to start a regular contemplative practice. There is almost nothing more simple than meditation and contemplative prayer. All you do is sit there in the silence. Easy, right? But don’t mistake the simplicity of meditation with meditation being easy. It’s not easy, which is why I wrote up these 5 simple tips for those trying […]
Stop Being So Spiritual (Start Being Human)
Spirituality is a loaded term. What does your “spirituality” mean to you? For some, spirituality and practice is about chasing some sort of spiritual high. For others, it’s about “attaining” union with God. And for others still it’s about reaching that permanent state of spiritual enlightenment — “ah finally, the suffering is over, I can […]
Thomas Keating’s Interfaith Vision
In 1984 Trappist Monk and popularizer of the meditation method of Centering Prayer, Thomas Keating invited contemplatives from the various world traditions together to engage in interfaith conversation and interspiritual practice. He invited meditators of the the following faiths: • Jewish• Buddhist• Hindu• Native American• Protestant• Catholic• Russian Orthodox• Islamic What would come of bringing […]
What is the Enneagram?
The Claim: the Enneagram is a personality typing system. The Truth: the Enneagram is a tool for personal transformation, weaving together spiritual insight and personality psychology. MORE THAN A PERSONALITY TYPING SYSTEM The enneagram is most commonly known as a personality typing system highlighting 9 unique personalities born of our unconscious motivations that drive our […]
