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." By Paula Pryce. 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 j

“ 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." By Paula Pryce. 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

“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

Letter from Cynthia Bourgeault: I am very grateful to Joseph Azize for his willingness to make five of the Gurdjieff exercises available to us within the cyber confines of our Wisdom School Community. These exercises are powerful tools of healing, cleansing, and clarity, and even when practiced individually or in small groups, they have the power to significantly shift our present planetary atmosphere. They are something you can actually DO: to steady yourself and ready yours

I write to fellow travelers, who, like me, are wending their way into the living heart of silence…to women and men of all ages from far and wide, who are drawn to an inner stability that is not subject to the tempest of these times…  to those opening their lives to a creative force awaiting expression just behind chaos and disturbance.  I offer a few stories (out of untold myriads that could be highlighted) about ways an abiding ocean of latent potential, born in silence, fol

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”   “…Thou shalt not be tempested, thou shalt not be travailed, thou shalt not be distressed; …Thou shalt not be overcome.”     Julian of Norwich from Revelations of Divine Love.   A May 2025 online retreat with Heather Ruce is offered by TCS in this newsletter.   Silence, Presence, Creativity by Barbara Cecil     I write to fellow travelers, who, like me, are wending their way into the living hea

As spring approaches, Lent invites us to take a reflective journey. In these forty days before Easter, we’re encouraged to pause, shed layers, and renew ourselves. Beyond fasting, Lent is a time to think about our faith, compassion, and connection to others. In this newsletter, we are pleased to share a  new E-Course  to support your journey through Lent and Holy Week. This E-Course was developed from a retreat facilited by  Heather Ruce  titled  Holy Week Wisdom Teachings: A

Joyful blessings, fellow contemplatives. Offered in this newsletter: +  A new reflection by Paula Pryce . +  A TCS online retreat with Justin Coutts , held on February 22, 2025. + Links to access  TCS’s newest video  on: “Christian Contemplation”. +  A ‘Quiet Day’ , an in-person community retreat held on March 08, 2025. And more!   Home by Another Way: Trusting the Dark Journey of the Non-Sensorial  by Paula Pryce   If you are searching,you must not stop until you find.     

– Augsburger Wunderzeichenbuch, 16th c.  “If you are searching, you must not stop until you find. When you find, however, you will become troubled. Your confusion will give way to wonder. In wonder you will reign over all things. Your sovereignty will be your rest.” – The Gospel of Thomas, Logion 2 If you are searching, you must not stop until you find:   The Child slept in timothy and alfalfa, shining with earthy brilliance – more luminous even than the blazing star that had

New Year 2025 blessings, contemplative companions. A February 2025 online retreat with Justin Coutts is offered by TCS in this newsletter.   “The Gate of Heaven is Everywhere” ~ Thomas Merton by Barbara Cecil (Dedicated to the young people who are inheriting the world we have created.) I was touched by how Heather Ruce opened the daily Pause of meditation and Centering Prayer earlier this month. She spoke of a great wave surrounding us, permeating us, which is itself the flow