Two ground breaking Christian thinkers discuss the meaning of homosexuality for today. Why has a natural human orientation so often been cruelly punished and persecuted by church authorities? Why do churches still split over the issue? James and Sarah will explore these questions and suggest how this tragic history in a religion of love can be given a new direction today through intellectual honesty and contemplative wisdom. James is a Catholic priest, theologian and author. His principal work h...
Sep 20, 2019•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 20
This is the second talk in the Milestones series. In this episode Fr Laurence Freeman speaks about maturing into the contemplative consciousness. Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk and the spiritual successor to John Main. He is the Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation. Author, retreat leader and international speaker. This Talk was recorded at the Meditatio Centre, in London. Music Credits: Aourourou by Blue Dot Sessions
Sep 13, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 19
n this dialogue Dr Wallace explores the themes of enlightenment and salvation and responds to questions such as: Are salvation and enlightenment the same? Is grace at work in the individual journey? At what levels do (or can) different traditions achieve sameness? Is the origin of grace within or without yourself, and where is the demarcation? Does Christianity treat God as an emotional projection? Alan Wallace is a prominent voice in the emerging discussion between contemporary Buddhist thinker...
Sep 06, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 18
In this episode we’ll hear Bernard McGinn speak about the nature of mysticism, its development and its importance for the contemporary world. Professor McGuinn recaptures the riches of the mystical tradition and invites us to enter into the practical character of it. Bernard McGinn is widely regarded as the preeminent scholar of mysticism in the Western Christian tradition.. This talk was part of a John Main Seminar held at the University of St Thomas, in Houston, Texas. Music Credits: Aourourou...
Aug 30, 2019•51 min•Ep. 17
Fr. Laurence speaks about the need of teaching the richness of our contemplative tradition and the knowledge and wisdom behind the simple repetition of a sacred word. This talk was part of a John Main Seminar at Quest University in Squammish, Canada. Music Credits: Aourourou by Blue Dot Sessions
Aug 23, 2019•52 min•Ep. 16
Underlying Rumi’s magnificent poetry is a coherent world-view and spiritual psychology. A living tradition of human transformation has continued in the spirit of his legacy. Through contemplative practice, ceremony, metaphysical reflection, artistic expression, and community service a process of psycho-spiritual maturity has been refined. We will explore the fundamentals of this tradition and consider how they might be applied in today’s world. Kabir Helminski is the Co-Director of the Threshold...
Aug 16, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 15
Aug 02, 2019•49 min•Ep. 13
There is no Christian zen but Christians can do zen and grow in wisdom. Zen is about personal liberation and growth. Zen is about the opening of the heart. Robert E. Kennedy, S.J. directs a number of communities practicing interfaith zen in the metro New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. Roshi Kennedy is an American Jesuit priest and a Zen master. He is the founding teacher of Morning Star Zendo in New Jersey. His books include "Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit" and "Zen Gifts to Christians." Kenned...
Jul 26, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 12
This Talk on Faith and Belonging was part of the John Main Seminar 2018: A Contemplative Response to the Crisis of Change 20-23 Sep, Bruges, Belgium. Teresa Forcades, a Spanish Benedictine nun, theologian, physician and political activist, is one of Europe’s leading radical thinkers. She came to prominence for her eloquent condemnation of abuses by some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies. She founded a leading Catalonian anti-capitalist independence movement and is one of the leadi...
Jul 19, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 11
This is the first talk in the Milestones series. In this episode Fr Laurence Freeman speaks about the spiritual and psychological aspects of our life journey and how the practice of meditation leads to the recovery of the essential childlike state. John Main saw meditation as the recovery of our innocence. We recover the essential qualities we had as children, our innocence, through our mature relationship to our Source, our ontological parenthood in God as the ultimate ground of our being. Wisd...
Jul 05, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 9
This is the second talk Sarah Bachelard gave on the Silent Retreat at the University of Waikato in 2017. She expands on the relationship between contemplative practice and active life: how contemplation changes the agent and shifts his/her vision to see the nature of reality, and the context in which he/she is acting. Experiencing God is not about having a particular experience, it is about having the ground or the context for all our experiences. God is that in which everything else is containe...
Jun 28, 2019•42 min•Ep. 8
This Talk on New Ways of Wisdom was part of the John Main Seminar 2018: A Contemplative Response to the Crisis of Change 20-23 Sep, Bruges, Belgium. Charles Taylor is a Canadian philosopher known for his examination of the modern self. Taylor’s first major work, Hegel (1975), was a large study of the 19th-century German philosopher that emphasized the ways in which Hegel’s philosophy continues to be relevant to contemporary political and social theory. In 1989 Taylor published Sources of the Se...
Jun 21, 2019•52 min•Ep. 7
This Talk was part of a John Main Seminar in Hamilton, New Zeland. David Tacey is Emeritus Professor of Humanities at La Trobe University, Melbourne, and Research Professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Canberra. He is an interdisciplinary scholar and public intellectual who has written extensively on spirituality, religion, youth experience and mental health. He is the author of fourteen books, including The Spirituality Revolution.
Jun 07, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 5
This Talk was part of the John Main Seminar 2018: A Contemplative Response to the Crisis of Change 20-23 Sep, Bruges, Belgium. The concept of Contemplative Medicine which places meditation at the centre of its insights is being developed by Dr Barry White, a consultant haematologist at St James’s Hospital, Dublin and member of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland. SLIDE PRESENTATION - Download here: adobe.ly/2OlCJKc Music Credits: Aourourou by Blue Dot Sessions...
May 31, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 4
This talk was held at Saint James Episcopal Church, in Lancaster, PA, USA. In 2018 Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk of the Congregation of Monte Oliveto and Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation. He has conducted dialogues and peace initiatives such as the historic Way of Peace with the Dalai Lama and is active in inter-religious dialogue with other faiths as well as in encouraging the teaching of Christian meditation to children and students and in the re-appropriation ...
May 16, 2019•48 min•Ep. 2
