Cyprian Consiglio is a musician and composer, spiritual teacher, and Camaldolese Benedictine monk; he is part of the same branch of the Benedictine family to which I am connected as a lay oblate. Brother Cyprian begins Prayer in the Cave of the Heart by acknowledging the growing hunger for interiority in our world, and our […]
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Advent is the season in the liturgical year which precedes Christmas. It is a season of preparation and anticipation, of listening and openness. Listen: John’s Gospel says that “In the beginning was the Word,” and that “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Listen: People traveled to seek advice from early Christian monastics, the
Advent: Listening for the Word Read More »
As Americans prepare to commemorate Thanksgiving Day tomorrow, it is important to reflect on all that has changed since that first Thanksgiving in Plymouth, and all that has remained the same. Much is different, and many features have been added to what we consider typical of Thanksgiving today. There were no televised parades or football,
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November is, in many ways, a very contemplative month. It begins in the wake of costumes and frivolity; false selves on display for all to see. The days grow colder and darker, almost as if the month is turning inward. Candles and treats give way to the early evenings of standard time. Like contemplation, November
My research in preparation for the 2012 Craft Brewery Pilgrimage continues. I am a committed and dedicated researcher. I intend to leave no Stone untasted, and to check and recheck my results as many times as necessary to ensure that the best craft breweries in Southern California are included on our itinerary. It is a
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I have read quite a few books about contemplation and people who practice it as I have become one of those people. For me, those books often tend to be fairly conceptual and a little cosmic, and not to include much accessible or tangible help. It can be challenging to talk or write clearly about
Book Review: A Sunlit Absence Read More »
People who build walls want their walls to run true. Whether they are framed in lumber, built of bricks, or made of stacked stones, good walls are balanced and level, positioned correctly, and remain upright. True walls are in the right place, they are straight and square to their foundations, and they stay standing. Walls
I have met more and more people recently who believe in the power of ideas. They are passionate about generating and forming new ideas and concepts. They are often particularly creative people; it can be a little challenging to keep up with them, and very exciting to be around them. They have seemingly endless ways
Ideation & Implementation Read More »
I have posted about my ongoing research to find the best craft breweries in Southern California to visit on next year’s Craft Brewery Pilgrimage. Even before the culmination of this year’s pilgrimage last month, I was already beginning to think of the future. Though I have not yet made any final decisions, I wanted to
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Are there examples of activist contemplative leaders in history, or in our own time? How would that kind of leader work, and how would their leadership be received by other members of their communities? Activists tend to draw their purpose from responding to the needs they perceive in the world around them. They are connected
Who Are These Activist Contemplative Leaders? Read More »
