The Center for Contemplative Practice
A Lay Cistercian Looks at Spiritual Reality
Month: October 2023
READING RESOURCES FOR RETIREES AND THINKERS
Every so often, I come across some URLs that I find astonishingly helpful in crafting my reading agenda within and without the corpus of spiritual works. I offer these to you for your consideration. RESOURCES FOR THE CRITICAL THINKER Here are my favorites that… Continue Reading “READING RESOURCES FOR RETIREES AND THINKERS”
THE MARTYRDOM OF EVERYDAY LIVING: Five Scenarios played out in my life
As I reach 83 years of age, I reflect on what has happened to me and how I have grasped the meaning of life with the life experience I have chosen in my wheelhouse. It’s not a pretty picture, looking back. As far as… Continue Reading “THE MARTYRDOM OF EVERYDAY LIVING: Five Scenarios played out in my life”
PERSPECTIVE: Looking for meaning about my humanity from space
This blog may be my shortest one, but it is certainly not the highest. Watch this one. http://www.organism.earth.
NEW WINE IN OLD SKINS
Christ is, and always will be the new wine in my life each day. I have a choice to be an old skin or make the inconvenient switch to that of a new skin. In terms of my Lay Cistercian Way, I think of… Continue Reading “NEW WINE IN OLD SKINS”
THE GOD WHISPERER: WE CAN’T KNOW WHO GOD IS, SO HOW DO WE KNOW WHO GOD IS?
I find myself on this Wednesday thinking about how humans cannot know who God is (with human reasoning and knowledge). The fact that I am sitting here thinking about a topic that is so obscure that there is a good chance no one on… Continue Reading “THE GOD WHISPERER: WE CAN’T KNOW WHO GOD IS, SO HOW DO WE KNOW WHO GOD IS?”
THE PROBLEM WITH UNIVERSALISM AND NIHILISM
As I understand it, “universalism” means that everyone has an idea and no one can say another idea is better than yours, so everything is relative. “Nihilism,” in its modern cloak of invisibility, is that profound belief that all an individual has to do… Continue Reading “THE PROBLEM WITH UNIVERSALISM AND NIHILISM”
LOSING FAITH MIGHT BE EASIER THAN YOU THINK
Faith is the divine energy, grace, that only comes from the divine nature. We can share in this pure energy only because Christ became one of us and mediates that energy as we can absorb it. No one can look in the face of… Continue Reading “LOSING FAITH MIGHT BE EASIER THAN YOU THINK”
CRITICAL THINKING IMPLICATIONS FROM A WEARY TRAVELER OF LIFE’S MOVEMENTS AND COMPLEXITIES
Whenever I think about heaven, there are many scenarios that come to mind. I make the following statements based on what I have learned about what is real and what is fool’s gold. When you make a statement about the word, HEAVEN, for example,… Continue Reading “CRITICAL THINKING IMPLICATIONS FROM A WEARY TRAVELER OF LIFE’S MOVEMENTS AND COMPLEXITIES”
THE EQUILIBRIUM OF NATURE
We don’t make our nature when we are born, but our nature does make us who we are. As a human being, I can know that I know. Having the ability to reason seems to be hampered by my freedom to choose what my… Continue Reading “THE EQUILIBRIUM OF NATURE”
ADDING A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO YOUR SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION: Building the School of Love
I always take the easy path when I look at my choices and how I behave in most situations. In the movie about Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Professor Dumbledore frames a life lesson to Harry with this dilemma. He states that… Continue Reading “ADDING A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO YOUR SPIRITUAL PROGRESSION: Building the School of Love”
THE INEVITABILITY OF NATURE
While humans like to think we are in control of our surroundings, strangely, we do control our personal space in our unique lifespan because of our ability to say YES or NO to any choices presented to us. My latest Lectio Divina has to… Continue Reading “THE INEVITABILITY OF NATURE”
THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF MAKING THE WRONG CHOICE ABOUT WHAT IS GOOD.
This Lectio Divina is about making choices and their consequences. Free will is one of the hallmarks of being human, something that animals don’t have. Animals must obey the laws of their nature as animals. Humans have reason and freedom to choose even what… Continue Reading “THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF MAKING THE WRONG CHOICE ABOUT WHAT IS GOOD.”
SAINT FOR ALL SEASONS: Charles de Foucauld.
It is hard to imagine a more conflicted and convoluted life than Saint Charles de Foucauld, Martyr. Yet, he is indeed one to whom I look for inspiration in my journey from my false self to my true self as an adopted son (daughter)… Continue Reading “SAINT FOR ALL SEASONS: Charles de Foucauld.”
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