Center for Action and Contemplation

In this volume of the “Turning to the Mystics” series, clinical psychologist and mystics scholar James Finley offers a close, contemplative reading of Teresa’s “The Interior Castle.”

Download up your copy! Our new issue of “ONEING” explores how contemplative wisdom can help us move from overwhelm toward discernment, solidarity, and loving action — and discover what is ours to do. buff.ly/PMSMHCO

“What Do We Do with Our Tears?” is happening online on November 13. Find wisdom you can return to again and again for clarity and grounding alongside fellow spiritual seekers. You can tune in live or watch the replay later. buff.ly/KfzcIQo

We continue studying Genesis 12 and put Abraham’s story in contrast with the conquest narrative in Joshua 1. Randy Woodley explores why settlers in North America emulated Joshua instead of Abraham and discusses how that choice shaped our nation. Tune in: buff.ly/AQxUUKE

“Wisdom is knowing that goes beyond one’s mind and embraces the whole: mind, heart, and body.” That’s the heart of CAC’s online course, “Wisdom Foundations.” Your teacher, Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault, guides you into practical Christian wisdom teachings. buff.ly/rsemWpK

The Tears of Things: Integrating the Prophetic Path with @RichardRohrOFM will lead you on a journey from righteous anger at injustice, through grief for the world’s suffering, and finally to grace-filled love. buff.ly/vtP8aQ3 Enrollment is open for this online course!

“You can’t skim-read Emily Dickinson. She won’t allow it.” —James Finley buff.ly/KuQiB2R You’re invited to slow down and enter Emily Dickinson’s poetry contemplatively. Together, we’ll explore how her poems can help us find our way toward the presence of God.

In celebration of our 39th anniversary, we invite you to explore our archival recordings of Fr. Richard Rohr’s teachings! buff.ly/ZR0HfOG

In “Wisdom Foundations,” discover a practical path rooted in Christian wisdom. Through teachings from Cynthia Bourgeault, explore Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, and the Rule of St. Benedict. This is a self-paced online course — revisit it anytime! buff.ly/nCbsSF5

Discover our online courses — Falling Upward, Mystical Sobriety, The Divine Exchange, and The Tears of Things! buff.ly/lXiTxGe These self-paced courses offer practical, accessible pathways into the Christian contemplative traditions.

What if poetry could help you come home to yourself — and to God? In this season of “Turning to the Mystics,” James Finley turns to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Her poems invite us to notice the divine presence in the ordinary details of each day. buff.ly/iF1TM0b

“James Finley shared that ‘God meets you exactly where you are.’ His words brought me to tears, as they often do.” —Nancy P., CAC community member Learn LIVE from James Finley at “What Do We Do with Our Tears?” on November 13. buff.ly/UPzPXTT

This meditation video is inspired by the Feast of St. Francis and the “Blessing the Animals” events that take place throughout the world. St. Francis deeply believed that every creature, every leaf, every moment — just by being — gives glory to God.

Our friends at Illuman have their upcoming Awaken gathering — November 5–8 in the mountains near Santa Fe! In a world filled with competing ideas about masculinity, many men are asking a deeper question: What does it mean to live as a man who is fully alive? buff.ly/ZZRFreJ

In The Divine Exchange: Living in Sacred Rhythm, discover a contemplative path rooted in Christian Wisdom. Through teachings from Cynthia Bourgeault, you’ll find sacred moments within ordinary life. buff.ly/BW679Sw This is a self-paced online course; revisit it at any time!

Registration is now open for “What Do We Do with Our Tears?” This online event features James Finley, @RichardRohrOFM, and Rabbi Tirzah Firestone. They will guide us in exploring how contemplative wisdom can help us meet our tears with greater love. buff.ly/FlnqSqb

Unpack the story of the Tower of Babel and reframe your understanding of it. Diverse languages aren’t the curse — the tower is. buff.ly/9v4DYpk Explore the cost of enforced sameness: from Native American boarding schools to the pressure to hide what makes us unique.

James Finley’s beloved podcast “Turning to the Mystics” has returned! For this new season, we turn to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. buff.ly/7PhHKEI Each episode provides a roadmap for unpacking Emily Dickinson’s wisdom to find deeper meaning in your own life.

Today is Rumi’s birthday. Few have captured the essence of divine love like the scholar, mystic, and Sufi poet, Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, or Rumi. How does poetry guide your spiritual life? Unpack that question with this podcast episode, “When Only a Poem Will Do.” buff.ly/E9R8U2x

“Prophets, then, are full truth-tellers, not fortune tellers.” —@RichardRohrOFM buff.ly/n0Ck9ht Unpack teachings of prophets from ancient times to modern day in The Tears of Things: Integrating the Prophetic Path — an e-course from the Center for Action and Contemplation.

Take a guess — which Christian mystic do you think wrote these words? buff.ly/B6tdmz5

Do you feel like Western Christianity has misapplied Jesus’s teachings? buff.ly/25inMgI What if following Jesus was less about right beliefs and more about living in harmony with creation? Randy Woodley shares themes from his book “How Western Christianity Got It Wrong.”

What does it mean to live as a man who is fully alive? Explore that question at Illuman's Awaken retreat, November 5-8, near Santa Fe, NM — learn more at buff.ly/ZZRFreJ

Which CAC podcast host shared these words about mystics? Write your guess in the comments! buff.ly/p0E9eGR

Have you ever experienced something your rational mind could not articulate? We invite you to watch this video with @RichardRohrOFM. He shares how mythology, poetry, and symbols can help us access truths that logical thinking alone cannot explain. buff.ly/F81fQZB

Today is the Feast Day of St. Hildegard! In this video, Carmen Acevedo Butcher illuminates St. Hildegard of Bingen's invitation for us to sing. buff.ly/gQDa0wj In what ways have you discovered that the song of rejoicing can soften hard hearts?

We hope you will join us in celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month! Listen in — Father Rafael Garcia shares on his work at the U.S.–Mexico border and his Cuban refugee roots. He has discovered that radical hospitality transforms both giver and receiver. buff.ly/O6tG869

Our “Learning How to See” podcast with @Brian_McLaren is back with our special guest hosts @RandyWoodley7 and Edith Woodley. In this new season, explore the book of Genesis through fresh perspectives. Check out Episode 1 today!  buff.ly/fbgWAoy

How can we invite reflection, repentance, and repair into our lives? buff.ly/4FErkvQ Today's Rosh Hashanah, marking the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is the start of the 10-day period known as the Days of Awe, a time of contemplation, introspection, and reflection.

In this new episode of “Everything Belongs,” @RichardRohrOFM and Morgan Harper Nichols introduce us to the qualities associated with Enneagram Type Fives, including self-criticism, detachment, curiosity, and the ability to live with uncertainty. buff.ly/CYk5mtZ

There’s still time to get your ticket for our virtual event, “What Do Women Do with Christianity?” Together, we’ll explore what more expansive and inclusive expressions of the Christian faith could look like. buff.ly/fD5ab0e

Chanting is a physical act of prayer that uses the vocal cords to unite the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Get a taste of Cynthia Bourgeault’s teachings on chanting, pulling from The Divine Exchange online course. buff.ly/1rJXJVr

“We are children of heaven and earth, both at the same time. Much of the work of enlightenment is bringing those two identities together, just as Jesus did.” — Richard Rohr Keep reading from this week’s “Daily Meditations” on the true self and false self at: buff.ly/ksYzmxI

Which Christian mystic said this quote?

James Finley’s beloved podcast “Turning to the Mystics” returns on September 28! For this new season, we turn to the poetry of Emily Dickinson. buff.ly/PkhT4uh Each episode provides a roadmap for unpacking Emily Dickinson’s wisdom to find deeper meaning in your own life.

“It is not joy 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 grief. It is joy 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 grief.” How does this insight from Kate Bowler resonate with you? Read more: cac.org/daily-medita...

Have you experienced a confrontation with your false self? Read more from Sue Monk Kidd, quoted in today’s “Daily Meditations”: buff.ly/ha1Ki7S

“We Conspire” is a series from the Center for Action and Contemplation featuring wisdom from the growing Christian contemplative movement. With August’s “We Conspire” articles, explore how grace reshapes our relationship with wealth, power, and each other. buff.ly/bxpCidt

“Jesus revealed and accepted a paradox in his entire being: Human and divine are not separate, but one! His life shouted it. I wonder why we so resist our same destiny. For most of us, this seems just too good and too dangerous to be true.” — Richard Rohr buff.ly/SGapm0D

“Jesus and most other great spiritual teachers make it very clear that there is a self that has to be found and one that has to be let go of or even ‘renounced.’” — @RichardRohrOFM Explore this concept with us in this week’s “Daily Meditations.” buff.ly/WlLcmGI

In this conversation, Dorcas Cheng-Tozun, speaks about the challenges faced by Enneagram Fours and highly sensitive people. Drawing from her book “Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul,” Dorcas offers us sustainable ways to pursue justice. buff.ly/XraM8ej

Biblical prophets “have a fascinating role as custodians of the hopes, desires, and dreams of their society. And when they see people behaving in harmful ways, they warn them by picturing the future to which that harmful behavior will lead.” — Brian McLaren buff.ly/9XehPqj

Can you guess which CAC faculty member spoke these words? Share your thoughts here in the comments.

The late Dr. Barbara Holmes, who was a beloved CAC faculty member, wrote about the complicated feelings that prophets can evoke. Though they are often portrayed as solitary figures, Dr. Holmes emphasizes the communal nature of the prophetic role. buff.ly/KmMWWgc

Today, Richard Rohr reminds us that the “prophets are concerned above all with transformation and freedom of the heart, and then out of that free heart, the prophet says, ‘Listen.’” buff.ly/Meblp8A

Discover the Hebrew prophets through this week’s “Daily Meditations.” In today’s reflection, Richard Rohr writes about the Bible’s prophetic books and how the messages of the prophets continue to be important for us today. buff.ly/k6f2g9A

Today, our friends in the Eastern Orthodox tradition celebrate the Dormition of the Mother of God, a holiday that celebrates Mother Mary’s ascension to heaven. Mary invites us to find the courage to accept our true spiritual calling.

“Now that he has fallen in love with God, Francis recognizes his relatedness to all life. If the creator is his father, then all living things are his sisters and brothers.” — @MirabaiStarr buff.ly/arOV2Vy

“What would the world be like if Christians actually believed in a humble God? If following a God of poverty and humility led them to abandon their opinions, prejudices and judgments so they could be more open to love others where they are, like God?” —Ilia Delio buff.ly/k9t0qZV

It’s been a busy summer here — we have a lot of new offerings to explore! buff.ly/w6jIVNf Learn from actor @JoshRadnor in our recent “Everything Belongs” interview on the Enneagram. We also have an upcoming online event featuring special guest Christine Valters Painter.