Carl McColman is a Roman Catholic layperson and a lay associate of the Cistercian Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. He is the author of several books on the spiritual life, including The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, 366 Celt and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Celtic Wisdom.
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Carl McColman is a Roman Catholic layperson and a lay associate of the Cistercian Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. He is the author of several books on the spiritual life, including The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, 366 Celt and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Celtic Wisdom. He teaches classes and conducts retreats on mysticism and contemplative spirituality, and is the author of The Website of Unknowing (www.anamchara.com), a blog devoted to ecumenical and interfaith spiritual practice.
Latest Content by Carl McColman
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A reader writes...
Carl, I am a theoretical physicist by training and have struggled with the idea of supernatural concepts like God. Even so, contemplation has increased my sense of God being part of me, which I like very much. So here is my question: Do you think it is too radical to say God IS your consciousness? After all, Jesus said, "The Father and I are one." Personally, it seems wonderful to have such awareness of God 24/7. Since we have no idea what consciousness is, saying it is God seems OK to me. What do you think?
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Taken with permission from Carl's blog.
A reader writes:
Carl, when you are sufficiently silent with the "waters stilled" how do you experience revelation. I suppose a better question would be what is your experience "there" like? Does God float into view ... or does God whisper ... ?? Or do you find a path to look inwardly in order to find answers, results, etc. I guess that one overarching question here would be "Do you have a purpose or question in mind before you start out?"
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Other Recent Content by Carl McColman
March 30, 2013
Carl McColman
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Recently I was asked two questions about my personal spiritual practice. First, what does my own daily practice look like? And secondly, what do I think about using more than one method of contemplative practice?
March 02, 2013
Carl McColman
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Historic Christian spirituality encouraged meditation on one’s own mortality. Today we consider that morbid and so we don’t do it. But perhaps reflecting on impermanence is not such a bad idea.
January 31, 2013
Carl McColman
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while on the one hand it is tempting to think "It's too late for a New Year's resolution column; I had better come up with a more timely topic," I've decided that the more truly contemplative thing to do is to stick with my original idea.
January 14, 2013
Carl McColman
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In our rush to employ technology in ways to make life better (at least for some people), are we not inadvertently also making life worse (for others, or perhaps for all of us?). It's not a fashionable question, and perhaps never has been, but it's the type of question that informs Thomas Merton's ambivalence toward the technological progress of his day.
December 17, 2012
Carl McColman
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Pick up any edition of The Cloud of Unknowing, and you are likely to find the following language a bit intimidating...
December 02, 2012
Carl McColman
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My family and I went to see Life of Pi last night. I have not (yet) read the book, but Gareth Higgins (who knows a lot more about movies than I do) says it’s one of the best novel adaptations he’s ever seen. I can only judge the movie on its own merits, and I’d say it’s well worth seeing.
November 16, 2012
Carl McColman
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Purity does not lie in separation from but in deeper penetration into the universe. — Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
October 07, 2012
Carl McColman
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Just what exactly did Elijah hear on the mountain?
September 16, 2012
Carl McColman
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Contemplative silence really is boring—at least, if we do it right. It bores down beneath all the psychic defenses we normally employ to distract ourselves from the presence of God in our lives.
August 28, 2012
Carl McColman
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A 12th-century mystic's holistic vision of the Trinity offers fresh theological insights for us today.
August 20, 2012
Carl McColman
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"The peace that passes understanding" just might lead us to places that hardly seem serene.
July 29, 2012
Carl McColman
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As we grieve the tragedy of Aurora, Colorado, an under-appreciated French film can offer a pathway to hope.
July 22, 2012
Carl McColman
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Contemplative spirituality is like the French resistance of the Nazi era. Think about Jesus, who insisted that to follow him Christians should be "in, but not of" the world. Compare that to the rather challenging task that a member of the resistance faced during World War II.
July 15, 2012
Carl McColman
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Are our over-consumptive, and often cluttered and hoarding lives a result of our stuffed and cluttered minds, hearts and souls?
June 30, 2012
Carl McColman
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Sometimes, the most complicated spiritual ideas really can be expressed in beautifully simple ways.
June 23, 2012
Carl McColman
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The monastic life is not for wimps. Look at Saint Benedict, who nearly drank a deadly cup of wine prepared for him by his own brothers.
July 02, 2011
Carl McColman
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The Wild Goose Festival was far more than a summer music festival for progressive and emergent Christians — it was a venue where needed conversations could take place.
December 14, 2010
Carl McColman
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While it's worth seeing, the movie adaptation of C. S. Lewis's "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" ultimately sacrifices the book's nuanced spirituality for plenty of cinematic action.
September 04, 2010
Carl McColman
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The death of theologian Raimon Panikkar last week at the age of 91 marked the passing of not only a great interfaith theologian, but also one of the great mystics of our time.
Carl McColman
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Carl McColman, author of The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, talks with Day1 host Peter Wallace about the history, purpose, and practices of contemplation and mysticism in the Christian faith.
Carl McColman
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Day1 Key Voice blogger and author of the new book, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Carl McColman sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss the ideas and history of Christian mysticism, contemplative prayer and what connections there are to the Emerging Church movement.
Carl McColman
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Day1 Key Voice blogger and author of the new book, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Carl McColman sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss the ideas and history of Christian mysticism, contemplative prayer and what connections there are to the Emerging Church movement.
Carl McColman
(other)
Day1 Key Voice blogger and author of the new book, The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Carl McColman sits down with Day1 host Peter Wallace to discuss the ideas and history of Christian mysticism, contemplative prayer and what connections there are to the Emerging Church movement.
August 14, 2010
Carl McColman
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Tomorrow I leave for a week-long retreat on Celtic spirituality and peacemaking I'm co-conducting in Northern Ireland. The more I reflect on the retreat, the more I realize how peacemaking is always about each and every person's heart.
July 31, 2010
Carl McColman
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When we adopted a rescued kitten this summer, she brought more than mere amusement to our home.
