Having a heard time orienting our new platform? Take a look at our new site tutorial resource. Dear Friends and Community, The Contemplative Society (TCS) is pleased to share that a refreshed version of our website will be launched on December 10th, 2025. For nearly a quarter century, ever since our first site went live in 2001, our digital home has helped us stay connected across distance, share teachings, and support one another in contemplative practice. Over time, however

"The reason why so few contemplative persons are found, is that so few know how to separate themselves entirely from what is transitory and created.” - Thomas à Kempis: "The Imitation of Christ." Book Three, The Thirty-First Chapter. In This Month's Issue... Reflect with Paula Pryce on The You-ness of Me. Listen for God's promptings through Here I Am , an Advent 2025 online retreat with Therese DesCamp, Lorie Martin and Milla McLachlan, to be held on December 11, 2025. Await

All photos courtesy of Leslie Sandra Black Fr Thomas Keating taught “ Divine Therapy ” through “ opening to the Presence and Action of God within”.   His core contemplative practice is Centering Prayer; mine is Energy Healing.   As a contemplative method, energy healing helps us connect with the present moment and encourages transformation. With mindful intention, practitioners can support holistic wellness and spiritual growth, following the modelling of Jesus.   Let’s refl

“Every seeing, no matter how calamitous to the ego, is an enhancement of Being….” – Cynthia Bourgeault: “Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening,” Page 132.   In This Month’s Issue… Reflect with Leslie Sandra Black on  Energy Healing: A Contemplative Practice. Journey in image through TCS’s “A Wisdom School on Wisdom Rhythms & Relationships, held with Heather Ruce @ Sorrento Centre”. Explore Contemplative Activism in Challenging Times, through an online retreat with Cynthia Bou

“The Wonderful Effect of Divine Love…. Nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger or higher or wider; nothing is more pleasant, nothing fuller, and nothing better in heaven or on earth, for love is born of God and cannot rest except in God, Who is above all created things….”

     Discussing the ineffable with the devotedly non-religious can be tricky. For my efforts to engage them, I’ve found that their alternative perspectives can sometimes elbow me out of blind spots. Sometimes unsettling, but ultimately always welcome. That happened at a dinner party I recently hosted. It all started with spidey senses and flying fish.

Exploring the Heart of Christian Wisdom For more than two decades, Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault has been one of the leading voices in the Christian Wisdom movement. Through her books, she invites readers into a deeper encounter with silence, prayer, and the transformative path of contemplative living. Whether you are new to Cynthia’s work or a long-time student, her writings open doorways into the rich lineage of Christian mysticism while also engaging in conversation with oth

Be freeway now cascading over sun-bleached hills into the restless city digest the swelter the  glare of glass and steel carry the fast-flowing river of human yearning and exchange the  striving aching gluttonous rush the drive to be anywhere  but here     Be labyrinth now bless the hands that built you  stone by stone no dead ends  your seven circles cruciform welcome the feet of all who venture here seeking the weighted stillness of the oaks consent to crow’s harsh caws, th

Enjoy the latest news from The Contemplative Society for September 2025

As I sit here looking through my living room window in the early morning, gathering my thoughts for the day, I’m watching the birds in my yard—just sitting there, being birds. And I’m reminded again of the importance of beingness, of living from the true identity, the true self we were created to embody.

“Do this work until you feel the delight of it.” – The Cloud of Unknowing   In This Month’s Issue… A reflection from Gillian Drader on Returning to What Was Never Lost . Registration opens for TCS’s November 29, 2025 online retreat with Cynthia Bourgeault. Enjoy a “ Contemplative Summer 2025 ” e-store promotion. Membership Season.  TCS’s In-person & Online retreat with Heather Ruce in October 2025.   Returning to What Was Never Lost: A reflection on uncovering the authentic s

Revulsion is not my instinctive response when someone confides their image of Love. But when she said, “I think of Love—big, universal Love—as couch grass,” I grimaced. Because I detest couch grass.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…” – Ecclesiastes 3:1   In This Month’s Issue… A reflection from Therese DesCamp on couch grass. Share your contemplations with TCS through a short community survey. A new TCS video: “Meet TCS Teacher, Therese DesCamp.” Upcoming retreats. Wide Spot: Couch grass by Therese DesCamp Revulsion is not my instinctive response when someone confides their image of Love. But when she said, “I think of Lo

“Love is the religion and the universe is the book.“ (Rumi, his sentiment as expressed in Coleman Barks’ book, “Rumi: The Book of Love: Poems of Ecstasy and Longing.“)   In this newsletter for you:  A new reflection from Paula Pryce; Save-the-dates for two new and upcoming TCS retreats with Cynthia Bourgeault; Thanks to donors; Advance details on TCS’s Advent 2025 retreat; A poem by Ilka Fischer; and Continued registration opportunities for TCS’s October 2025 hybrid (in-perso

Tools for Carrying the Burdens of a Hostile World photo by Yassir Abbas   Part Two:  Intentional Suffering   Traffic in Boston is mythic. People racing, gesticulating, and jockeying in whatever way possible. Rules are optional, it seems, and civility? Well – I’ve often thought Boston traffic to be the perfect microcosm of the get-ahead society. Here are a few of the images seared into my mind: A father with a carload of toddlers drives onto the sidewalk to jump the queue and

“ Our talent, our gift, is our willingness to enter the reciprocal dance with whatever cards we’ve been dealt in this plane.“ (Cynthia Bourgeault) In this newsletter are:  retreat registration opportunities, including for TCS’s upcoming annual in-person retreat; a 15% discount coupon for TCS’s online store; links to a new TCS video; and  an important update for donors. Witnesss by Therese DesCamp Every night at 8 p.m., after the war began, Pope Francis called Holy Family Chur

Every night at 8 p.m., after the war began, Pope Francis called Holy Family Church in Gaza. Every night until he drew his last breath, Francis faithfully picked up the phone and checked in. I haven’t been able to get this picture out of my head. Actually, what I haven’t been able to get out of my head is the image of what happened after the Pope spoke with Fr. Romanelli, the pastor. After the assembled community, listening in on speaker phone, said hello. After Francis asked

With great gratitude,  we acknowledge the life and work of Brian Mitchell , a longtime member of TCS and a central contributor to the work of sharing the good news of contemplative Christianity. Brian, who had struggled with debilitating illness during the last years,  passed into t he heart of the Beloved on Monday, April 8 , surrounded by his family.  We ask your prayers for Brian, his family, the contemplative community in Kamloops  whom he led with such grace and skill, a

Tools for Turning around a Hostile World photo by Lavinda Weber Part One: Conscious Work, Conscious Play Illuminated by a near-full moon, several women and I made our way along a forested lakeshore across from a Midwestern Benedictine monastery. We had crept out that night to extend our Wisdom School lessons in intentional living to the serious work of play. A half hour of twisting climbs and descents brought us to a rustic altar and wooden benches that the monks had built hi

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.“ (From: John 13:34-35.)   In this newsletter are registration opportunities for: a TCS online retreat on May 08, 2025 with Heather Ruce; a TCS gift: a workshop on May 31, 2025 with Therese DesCamp a TCS online retreat on June 14, 2025 with Alana Levandoski; and an in-person (with a Zoom option) retreat with Heather Ruce over the dates of October 05-09, 2025.   Whirling Water Dervishes Tools for Turning arou