Newsletter

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In this first issue of the new year, we invite your participation in an important “Discernment Day” on March 5 to help plan future directions for our organization, and we also ask for a special favor:  please take a few minutes to complete a quick survey that will help us create an expanded lineup of 2016 programs.

This issue also includes Part 2 of Alan Krema’s discussion of the Wisdom School, important news about our upcoming Winter Weekend Retreat, information about new activities at Healing Gardens, an introduction to the Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey, and insights from Henry David Thoreau, Thomas Merton, Sheng-Yen, and Thomas Aquinas.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – January 2016

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The December issue includes a Christmas message from Phil Jackson, information about a weekend retreat you may want to participate in this February, a first-hand description of what it’s like to spend a week at a Wisdom School, information about the Portiuncula Center for Prayer, and insights from Peter Matthiessen, St. Paul, the Dalai Lama, and St. John.

Please help us make Spirit Journal a more valuable and interesting forum in 2016.  Use the e-mail address at the end to send your ideas, contributions and feedback.

Christmas, Centering Prayer, Change, and Continuity

 

Dear Centering Prayer Community –

At this most mystical time of year, may you enjoy the fruits of our prayer.  May the quiet calm that Centering Prayer offers, and its focus on the ultimate reality, be your way to joy.

It’s been such a pleasure to see and talk with so many of you this year, and to see the transformation, both individually and in groups, that Centering Prayer provides through the efforts of the Holy Spirit.

 

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – December 2015

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Our November issue includes a reflection on Thanksgiving, descriptions of several upcoming retreats you may want to participate in, information on regional and technical resources to support contemplative practice, and insights from Thomas Keating, James Finley, Ram Dass, and Nick Bostrum.

Please help us to continue developing Spirit Journal as a unique, thoughtful, and interesting resource.  Use the e-mail address at the end to send your ideas and feedback.

Giving Thanks

 

by Jack Lloyd

Unlike Christmas or Easter, this week’s holiday isn’t linked to a pivotal event in religious history.  Instead, we’re told, Thanksgiving began on an ordinary autumn day when two tribes – Native American and English – simply decided to come together to share food, drink, and a peaceful moment of pure spiritual gratitude.

In that moment, somehow, they were fully awake to the fact that our existence on this Earth is pure grace.  It’s a gift we don’t have the power to give ourselves.   Naturally, this awareness made them feel grateful, and they found a beautiful way express their thanks.  To this day, at its best, the tradition of Thanksgiving carries this deep meaning forward, and gives us a chance to feel it and express our gratitude, as well.

So, this Thursday, I hope we can keep in mind our ancestors’ wisdom and courage as they faced a difficult future together.  And I wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – November 2015

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This new issue includes feedback from the Annual Fall Workshop we hosted on October 3, thoughts from Thich Nhat Hanh on “why we practice,” information about our Winter Weekend Retreat (coming up in February), a link to our expanded online events calendar, insights from Mary Oliver, Thomas Merton, Pope Francis, and Richard Rohr, and a recommended link to the interesting website of the public radio program On Being.

We invite you to help us make Spirit Journal a unique, thoughtful, and interesting resource.  Please use the e-mail address at the end to send your ideas and feedback.

Fall Workshop Revisited

 

Were you there?

Contemplative Outreach Chicago’s fourth annual Fall Workshop took place on October 3 at St. John of the Cross in Western Springs. Participation grew to more than 130 people this year, and there was a tremendous feeling of unity and friendship as we practiced Centering Prayer together to start the day!

The workshop sessions were all well-attended and participant feedback was very positive.  Here are some sample comments participants wrote after experiencing the individual sessions:

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – October 2015

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This month’s issue includes thought-starters from two people who will be serving as session leaders at our Fall Workshop on October 3, a personal meditation on this September 11 anniversary, information about an upcoming weekend retreat that will focus on the teachings of Teresa of Avila, a reminder about “Silent Saturdays” at Healing Gardens, insights from Henry David Thoreau, Rowan Williams, and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and a link to the very educational and interesting website of the Center for Action and Contemplation.

We hope you’ll enjoy it and invite your participation. Please use the e-mail address at the end to send your feedback. 

Fall Workshop Thought-Starters

 

Contemplative Outreach Chicago’s fourth annual Fall Workshop is only three weeks away! It will take place Saturday October 3, 2015 at St. John of the Cross in Western Springs, Illinois. (Full details and registration here.)

Below, Al Krema and Nancy Sylvester, two of our Fall Workshop session leaders, offer some initial thoughts on the ideas they plan to explore on October 3.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – September 2015

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This month’s issue includes a personal reflection written by a participant in our eight day mid-summer retreat, thought-starters from two people who will be serving as session leaders at our Fall Workshop on October 3, information about “Silent Saturdays” at Healing Gardens and a Merton Society jazz concert, insights from Carl Sagan, Fr. Thomas Keating, Lao Tzu, and W.H. Auden, and a link to the very interesting website of a “center for contemplative activism.”

We hope you’ll enjoy it and invite your participation. Please use the e-mail address at the end to send your feedback.

Reflection: Mid-Summer Intensive and Post-Intensive Retreat

by Al Krema

 

(The Portiuncula, July 19-27, 2015) Have you ever wondered what a Contemplative Outreach intensive and post intensive retreat is like? Have you ever considered attending one?

If you are familiar with centering prayer and have read the book Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating, you have some idea of Keating’s contribution to the 2000-year tradition of Christian mysticism, and how he applies the understanding of modern psychology to the traditional description of the transformation process that takes place during the journey of the mystical path.

Our Chicago chapter of Contemplative Outreach recently sponsored an eight-day intensive and post intensive retreat at the Portiuncula retreat center in Frankfort, IL. I attended this retreat along with 19 others and found it to be a source of growth and transformation, true to the promise of faithful practice in centering prayer.   Initially, I had felt that the event seemed a bit daunting — requiring a full week off and spending that week in silence. I hesitated for some time before making the commitment to attend, and did so because it was so conveniently located in the Chicago area, at a facility that I knew was a wonderful place to be.

Let me give you an idea of what the week is like:

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – August 2015