What is a Mystic?

This week I gave a morning chapel talk to the student body at a local Episcopal school. It had been awhile since I had been in front of a large group of discerning teens, challenged not only to say something meaningful, but also to merely keep their attention as they groggily awoke to the day. I chose to tell the story of a recent winter fat biking expedition I had undertaken in the mountains near Yellowstone....

February 5, 2020 · 918 words

Thoughts on Empty Hubs and Love

I first encountered Cynthia Bourgeault through her book, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening. I found it to be surprisingly rich, delving into the practice in detail, offering not only advice for practitioners of centering prayer but also nuanced commentary on the spiritual life in general. Her book, Wisdom Jesus, which I just finished, did not disappoint. Bourgeault once again discusses practices but spends more time building the case for a larger concept—drawn largely from apocryphal, early Christian texts and Eastern religious philosophy—that she feels ought to overlay one’s understanding of Jesus and the spiritual life....

November 16, 2019 · 764 words