Newsletter

Preview

Merry Christmas! Our December issue features:

• A reflection on Advent as a time for contemplation and consent
• Dates and details for three Enter the Chaos online retreats being offered January-March by the Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue
• A suggestion that you save the dates in mid-June for our 2021 Intensive and Post-Intensive Retreats
• Our monthly listing of additional online and in-person contemplative events
• Insights – this month devoted to a Christmas poem by Howard Thurman

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – December 2020

Preview

• Our November issue begins with a heartfelt Thanksgiving reflection and an invitation from Alan Krema.
• Next, we announce the dates and details for Intensive and Post-Intensive Retreats we’re planning for next June. Save the dates!
• Deborah Marqui offers Golden Glory — a poem inspired by an exuberant burst of fall color.
• Our monthly listing of additional online and in-person contemplative events includes several Advent activities, a free Introductory Workshop, and also lets you know about one important postponement.
• This month’s Insights come from Yolam Ottolenghi, Antoine de Saint Exupery, Tennessee Williams, and Thomas Keating.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – November 2020

Preview

• This issue begins with information about an online workshop coming up on Sunday. It carries the somewhat startling title, A Gorilla with a Smart Phone. Explanation below.
• Next, we let you know about a four-day online seminar coming up next week from the WCCM: One Heart, One Hope, Indigenous Wisdom and the Future of Humanity.
• More than 170 of you participated in our 2020 Member Survey, and we share the interesting results with you in this issue.
• Next comes our monthly listing of additional online and in-person contemplative events and retreats in our region
• This month’s Insights come from Richard Rohr, the Dalai Lama, Thomas Keating and Rowan Williams.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – October 2020

Preview

• Our September issue begins with the announcement of an online workshop entitled Facing Our Crises with the Help of Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day. We are again collaborating with the International Thomas Merton Society to present this workshop on September 20.
• Next, we provide links to video recordings of Cynthia Bourgeault’s recent conference on The Secret Embrace – Thomas Keating’s Poetry, now available to all on YouTube.
• Jeff Ediger offers his in-depth reflections on The Power of Persistence as Prayer.
• We announce and provide a link to a new nationwide calendar of contemplative events and retreats – most of them available online – compiled for Contemplative Outreach Chicago by Charlie Welsh
• Next comes our monthly listing of additional online and in-person contemplative events and retreats in our region
• This month’s Insights come from Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Cynthia Bourgeault, and Thomas Keating.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – September 2020

Preview

• This issue begins with the announcement of an online workshop entitled What Would Thomas Merton Say about the “New Normal”? We are collaborating with the International Thomas Merton Society to present this workshop on August 16.
• Next comes Alan Krema’s reflection on the current era of transformation.
• We provide a listing of many online and in-person contemplative events and retreats available to us this summer.
• In lieu of the usual monthly feature Insights, we offer a poem by Tsunekichi Suzuki.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – July 2020

Preview

• This issue begins with Alan Krema’s reflection on some important lessons of the past three months.
• We provide a listing of many online and in-person contemplative events and retreats available to us this summer.
• Next, we get a book recommendation from Jeff Ediger – a newly published work from Victor Frankl.
• A new article about Sanctuary from Alison Hine.
• June Insights come from Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, and William Meninger.

[Read more…] about Spirit Journal – June 2020