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Explore the beauty, importance, and vitality of silence, as we explore the spirituality, psychology, and sheer humanity of silence.
Practical meditations, reflections and contemplative prompts to support your daily adventure of walking the mystical path. Via Mystica is Latin for "the Mystical Way" but you could also translate it as "the Way of Mystery." It embodies my sense that mysticism is a path, a way of life, a journey toward the greatest of goals: union with God. The meditations and exercises presented here are intended to be support for you as your travel your own unique path into the heart of God: your own unique ...
The elevation and development of the Mind, Body, and Spirit, one day at a time, one person at a time.
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Encountering Silence
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Encountering Silence and Contemplating Now
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44:36
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In this very first Episode of Contemplating Now, Cassidy Hall interviews previous guest of Encountering Silence, Therese Taylor-Stinson in a conversation titled, "Everybody Can Be A Mystic." “I think everybody can be a mystic… Mystic means you’re living with a certain amount of uncertainty.” –Therese Taylor-Stinson Therese is the co-editor of "Embo…
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Encountering Silence
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Silence in Sound: A Collection of Ambient Field Recordings
34:30
34:30
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This episode of Encountering Silence is a little different from our regular format. Carl McColman gives co-hosts Cassidy Hall and Kevin Johnson the week off, and shares an assortment of field recordings — mostly, but not entirely, recordings of nature from a variety of locations, times of day, and times of year. All of these recordings were capture…
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Encountering Silence
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Sarah Griffith Lund: Silence, Marriage and Mental Health (Part Two)
36:21
36:21
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Today Sarah Griffith Lund returns to Encountering Silence. She is the senior pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Indianapolis, and serves the United Church of Christ on a national level as the Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice. She holds degrees from Trinity University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Rutgers…
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Encountering Silence
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Sarah Griffith Lund: Silence, Marriage and Mental Heath (Part One)
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40:53
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Today Sarah Griffith Lund returns to Encountering Silence. She is the senior pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Indianapolis, and serves the United Church of Christ on a national level as the Minister for Disabilities and Mental Health Justice. She holds degrees from Trinity University, Princeton Theological Seminary, Rutgers…
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Encountering Silence
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Patrick Shen: Silence and the Dawn Chorus
42:58
42:58
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Our good friend Patrick Shen returns to tell us about his latest project, "The Dawn Chorus."By Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson, Carl McColman
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Kaya Oakes, Silence, the Body, and Women Mystics (Part Two)
29:41
29:41
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The conclusion of our conversation with writer Kaya Oakes. Click here to listen to part one. Essayist and journalist Kaya Oakes is the author of The Nones Are Alright: A New Generation of Believers, Seekers, and Those in Between, Radical Reinvention: An Unlikely Return to the Catholic Church, Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture, a…
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Encountering Silence
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Kaya Oakes, Silence, the Body, and Women Mystics (Part One)
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38:21
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Essayist and journalist Kaya Oakes is the author of The Nones Are Alright: A New Generation of Believers, Seekers, and Those in Between, Radical Reinvention: An Unlikely Return to the Catholic Church, Slanted and Enchanted: The Evolution of Indie Culture, and a book of poetry, Telegraph. Her next book, Medieval: How Women who Don’t Fit in are Chang…
A meditation based on the spirituality of Julian of NorwichBy Carl McColman
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Encountering Silence
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Zenju Earthlyn Manuel: Silence, Ritual, and the Earth (Part Two)
38:04
38:04
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The conclusion of our conversation with Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Zen priest, author, and poet.By Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson, Carl McColman
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Encountering Silence
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Zenju Earthlyn Manuel: Silence, Ritual, and the Earth (Part One)
40:03
40:03
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This episode features part one of our conversation with Zen poet Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is the author of numerous books, including The Deepest Peace: Contemplations from a Season of Stillness, Sanctuary: A Meditation on Home, Homelessness, and Belonging, The Way of Tenderness: Awakening through Race, Sexuality, and Gender, Tel…
Contemplative spirituality has its own jargon, and this "language of prayer" evolves over time. Nowadays you'll find students of the mystical path speaking about meditation, nonduality, mindfulness and heightened consciousness, whereas a century ago you'd be more likely to encounter terminology like mental prayer, unitive life, recollection and rap…
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Encountering Silence
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Emilie Townes: Silence, Storytelling, and Womanist Thought (Part Two)
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24:52
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Our conversation with Dean Emilie M. Townes concludes.By Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson, Carl McColman
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Encountering Silence
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Emilie Townes: Silence, Storytelling, and Womanist Thought (Part One)
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Today on Encountering Silence we present part one of our two-part interview with womanist theologian Dean Emilie M. Townes. Dr. Emilie M. Townes, an American Baptist clergywoman, is a native of Durham, North Carolina. She holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Ph.D. in Religion in Society and Personal…
A meditation practice inspired by the Sufi muraqabah meditation practice.By Carl McColman
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Encountering Silence
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Marie Howe: Silence and the Depth of Poetry (Part Two)
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29:44
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The conclusion of our conversation with poet Marie Howe.By Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson, Carl McColman
Practice the method of Centering Prayer, with instructions conforming to the teaching of the Trappist monks William Meninger, Thomas Keating and Basil Pennington. This recording uses the four step guidelines as published by Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.By Carl McColman
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Encountering Silence
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Marie Howe: Silence and the Depth of Poetry (Part One)
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37:47
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Marie Howe is the former poet laureate of New York and the author of four volumes of poetry: Magdalene, The Kingdom of Ordinary Time, What the Living Do, and The Good Thief. She is also the co-editor of a book of essays, In the Company of My Solitude: American Writing from the AIDS Pandemic. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, …
This meditation on the Hebrew Divine Name (YHWH) is based on a "Breathing the Divine Name" meditation from the book Gate to the Heart: A Manual of Contemplative Jewish Practice by Rabbi Zalman M. Schachter-Shalomi, with additional instructions based on a Yahweh breath meditation I learned from Richard Rohr.…
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Encountering Silence
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Cynthia Bourgeault: Silence and the Imaginal Realm (Part Two)
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Part Two of Our 2020 Conversation with Cynthia Bourgeault.By Cassidy Hall, Kevin Johnson, Carl McColman
Tonglen is a Tibetan word, that means “giving and taking” or “sending and receiving.” It is a long-standing Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, and in our time has been taught by figures like the Dalai Lama and Pema Chödrön. It’s a way of meditation that cultivates a compassionate heart and helps us to see others with an eye of kindness and care.…
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Cynthia Bourgeault: Silence and the Imaginal Realm (Part One)
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Cynthia Bourgeault is a theologian, Episcopal priest, and core faculty member of the Center for Action and Contemplation's Living School. She also is the founding director of an international network of Wisdom Schools. She is the author of numerous books, including The Heart of Centering Prayer, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening and The Wisdom J…
For the beginner in meditation, the human mind can be compared to a stray dog, noisy and frenetic. If this untrained feral dog runs loose in a village, it can wreak considerable havoc. Likewise, the mind, left to its own distractible devices, can cause considerable damage to our quest for inner peace and serenity. But if the dog is invited into a r…
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Rick Hanson: Silence, Buddhism and the Brain
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Rick Hanson, PhD, is a psychologist, senior fellow of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, and New York Times bestselling author. His books include Neurodharma, Resilient, Hardwiring Happiness, Just One Thing, Buddha’s Brain, and Mother Nurture. He has released an audio series called The Enlightened Brain and is the creator of the Just O…
The four elements of air, water, earth and fire invite us to acknowledge our bodies as sacred — and as the home for the Spirit. This imaginative meditation leads us into a reflection on each of the elements, followed by time for silent reflection.By Carl McColman
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Encountering Silence
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Jim Forest: Silence, Protest, and Radical Love (Part Two)
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31:48
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Returning Guest Jim Forest is a noted author, biographer, photographer, peacemaker, and friend.He is the author of numerous books, including most recently Writing Straight with Crooked Lines: A Memoir. Some of his previous titles include The Ladder of the Beatitudes, Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment, and Praying with Icons…
This audio file offers instructions for a basic breath meditation, with timed silence for practice. Take the opportunity to gently rest in silence, allowing your breath to be your guide and the focal point of your attention. When your attention wanders, simply and gently return it to your breath. Do this on a daily basis and you will begin to culti…
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Encountering Silence
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Jim Forest: Silence, Protest, and Radical Love (Part One)
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Returning Guest Jim Forest is a noted author, biographer, photographer, peacemaker, and friend.He is the author of numerous books, including most recently Writing Straight with Crooked Lines: A Memoir. Some of his previous titles include The Ladder of the Beatitudes, Loving Our Enemies: Reflections on the Hardest Commandment, and Praying with Icons…
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Encountering Silence
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Paul Quenon, OCSO: Silence, Poetry and Monastic Wisdom (Part Two)
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26:43
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Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO, Trappist monk, poet, and photographer, is the author of books like In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk's Memoir and Unquiet Vigil: New and Selected Poems. He returned to Encountering Silence for a conversation recorded last April (to hear his previous conversations on this podcast, click here and here). In this episode …
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Encountering Silence
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Paul Quenon, OCSO: Silence, Poetry and Monastic Wisdom (Part One)
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30:50
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Brother Paul Quenon, OCSO, Trappist monk, poet, and photographer, is the author of books like In Praise of the Useless Life: A Monk's Memoir and Unquiet Vigil: New and Selected Poems. He returned to Encountering Silence for a conversation recorded last April (to hear his previous conversations on this podcast, click here and here). This time, he of…
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Encountering Silence
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Dr. Leah Gunning Francis: Silence, Ferguson, and Faith (Part Two)
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35:23
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In this episode we conclude our conversation with Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana.This is part two of a two-part episode. Click here to listen to part one.During the Ferguson uprising in 2014, Dr. Gunning Francis was serving as the A…
