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January 2026 Newsletter

Updated: 2 days ago

White berries on a twig with green leaves in the background. Text: "The Contemplative Society" and "January 2026 Newsletter."

"All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

 

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king."


~ J.R.R. Tolkien: "The Riddle of the Strider." From his novel,

The Fellowship of the Ring.



In This Month's Issue...


  • Reflect with Erin Carson DeWolfe on Creation Over Consumption: Practising Discernment Online.

  • Join A look at Thomas Keating and Full Contemplative Engagement, an online retreat with Cynthia Bourgeault, to be held on February 28, 2026.

  • Gratitude is given for your gifts offered in support of TCS's Advent Appeal 2025.


Creation Over Consumption: Practising Discernment Online

by Erin Carson DeWolfe


A green cartoon figure meditates in a lotus position with green WiFi signals overhead, on a white background, conveying calmness.

When I was 11 years old, my dad—then a programmer analyst at UVic—told me about this new thing called “the internet,” which he had just started playing around with at his office. (I later learned that the ’net had been around since the 1960s, but only at the dawn of the 1990s was it beginning to gain global traction.) There was this tool called “email” that allowed you to send an electronic “letter” almost instantly to somebody else, anywhere in the world, who also had a computer connected to the internet.


We didn’t yet have the internet at home, but my dad had found a list of kids my age looking for email pen pals and asked me if I’d like to try it. So began my first foray into the wonders of our hyper-connected age: writing out letters to my Texas pen pal, which my dad would type out and send for me, printing her replies to bring home when she responded.


When I was 14, we finally got the internet at home, and I took to it like a duck to water. I had already loved computers and technology for my whole short life. I remember my dad taking me to work when I was very young and showing me the mainframe computer, with its lights and whirling tape reels. Later, he introduced me to simple computer programs like Logo, where one programmed a “turtle” (the cursor) with commands to draw lines, shapes, and geometric patterns across the screen. To my young and curious mind, it all seemed magical and futuristic.




Book cover of "Thomas Keating" and text for a live seminar with Cynthia Bourgeault on February 28, 2026, 10 am–12 pm PT. Brown background.

Saturday 28 February 2026

10 am – 12 pm Pacific Time (PT).

 

This online live seminar recaps Cynthia Bourgeault’s recent work on the evolution of Thomas Keating as a modern-day mystic, and explores how his prophetic last words challenge us as contemplatives to step outside our comfort zones into full engagement with the world.

 

Cynthia will explore the implications of Keating’s directive to meet the world guided by the truth of silence and science, and filled with creativity and compassion. She will consider the invitation to step outside of religious and political boundaries; and what it might mean that we choose to leave ourselves open to the “inspiration from the heart of God.”

 

This seminar will build on the evolution of Thomas Keating’s thought, and take a further step into the application of his “last words” to the world in which we live. Cynthia will address the necessary and painful kinds of maturation which the contemplative community needs to undergo in order to hold a collective Wisdom presence for the fracturing world in which we live.

 

We invite you to participate in this live seminar teaching time as joined together with others in your contemplative community. TCS will be providing a series of reflection questions for small groups to ponder “in real life” after the Zoom presentation.





Thank-you!

 

TCS extends its fulsome and heartfelt thanks and appreciation to each and all members of our community who so generously gave of themselves in support of the

Advent Appeal 2025 of The Contemplative Society.


Your financial contributions allow TCS to offer its spiritually-focussed retreats and activities for our community and the general public.

 

With our gratitude.


Contributions to TCS activities continue to be welcomed.




Stylized text logo reads "The Contemplative Society" in brown and gray, evoking a calm, reflective mood against a white background.

TCS is a non-profit society and registered charitable organization in Canada run by a volunteer board and a dedicated circle of contemplatives. It was formed in Victoria, BC, Canada in 1997 to serve an emerging contemplative renewal, and to support and spread the teachings of Cynthia Bourgeault and other distinguished Wisdom teachers. We lovingly carry forward this work, adapting to the changing needs of the present and future, while anchoring ourselves in the ancient Wisdom tradition.

 

We would love for you to join us as a member and to help sustain and build our offerings with a donation of any amount.


Please visit our website to find out more about membership & support options.



Our mailing address is:PO Box 23031, Cook St. RPOVictoria, British ColumbiaCanada, V8V 4Z8

Telephone: +1.250.381.9650

 Copyright © 2025 - The Contemplative Society. All rights reserved.

 
 
 
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