Sunday August 10: Are We There Yet?

To Practice

1. Certain physical places can have a unique resonance in our personal history, setting off a kind of vibration that suggests a meeting-point of earth and heaven. These may not necessarily be places of grandeur or even of beauty, but simply places where we feel the engulfing presence of the Mystery of God in our lives, perhaps because of a person, an event, an insight. They are, as Celtic spirituality would say, “thin places” or “thin spaces.” After Centering Prayer, sit quietly with your own history – use pen and paper or artistic media if this helps – and seek out one or more of those places, because they live within you. You may not be able to make a physical visit to any of them, but an internal pilgrimage would be a form of grateful prayer.
2. After Centering Prayer, review your own unique spiritual journey. What keeps you on the road? What holds you back or bogs you down? Prayerfully consider what needs reinforcement, what would be better let go of. And then ask the help of the Spirit, recognizing that this ultimately isn’t your work, but God’s.
3. Watch this brief video “Entering into Contemplative Reality” (about 80 seconds) with Thomas Keating. The Contemplative Outreach YouTube channel offers hundreds of short and longer videos to support your contemplative spiritual journey.
4. The Spiritual Journey series with Thomas Keating is considered foundational curriculum for those on the contemplative journey. You can find the whole updated program here, which includes narratives, videos, transcripts and more.
5. You may listen to today’s recording here (about 14 minutes long). Comments and suggestions are welcome by replying to today’s email.
6. In case you missed it, the latest issue of the CO News newsletter is now available online here. It includes articles about Thomas Keating’s last conversations with a dear friend; his early interest in Zen as well as several articles from the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, and those serving in prison outreach.

If you wish, you may re-read today’s email here: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/2025_word-of-the-week-aug10?e=c7503d001a

Certain physical places can have a unique resonance in our personal history, setting off a kind of vibration that suggests a meeting-point of earth and heaven. These may not necessarily be places of grandeur or even of beauty, but simply places where we feel the engulfing presence of the Mystery of God in our lives, perhaps because of a person, an event, an insight.

My thin places, as revealed this week: The cloud formations/prairie winds of my childhood {spirit/SPIRIT}; prairie willows, whispering{SPIRIT/spirit} aspen poplars are a prairie slough ( a small collection of water from spring run off usually dry by late summer {  my God, a giant willow; me, a very small willow so close to the giant willow}; heavy fog along the Elbow River in AB, the meow of a cat as the fog slowly lifted, then I knew: John 8:12; on the south side of the church of the Transfiguration, Israel, the panorama view {BELOVED/beloved ,<chosen>- suffering}. These are my anchor “thins spaces” that popped up this week because  they are faithful companions, my spontaneous go-to spaces. BLESSED/THANKFUL/GRATEFUL wrapped in JOY!

Addendum: July 17, 1965: Jn 13, Be Washers of Feet/Sieger Koder painting.

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