Contemplative Revolution

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.

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.

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

Fr Laurence Freeman speaks about Ripeness, a stage of the journey where a new dimension of Knowledge is acquired, and our Identity becomes sharper as we become more mysterious to ourselves. This is the third talk of the Milestones Series recorded at the Meditatio Centre, in London. Wisdom shows the stages of life we all pass through in uniquely personal ways. Meditation as a way of wisdom illuminates these stages of the journey of life and has its own milestones. In this series of talks Fr Laurence will show how the journey of meditation deepens the journey of life and gives us the courage and vision to live life as fully conscious travellers. Laurence Freeman is a Benedictine monk and the spiritual successor of John Main. He is the Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation. Author, retreat leader and international speaker, Fr Laurence sees the contemplative as the essential dimension of all spirituality.

These sonnets by the poet Rilke stand as one of the masterpieces of German poetry. Written near the end of his life in a brief period of intense creativity, the poems invite us to open our lives to the depths and to find new courage to indwell the world with creative passion. Our exploration of these poems will invite us to answer the poet’s call to “do the heart-work” with the memories and experiences of our lives, since—as he suggests—“the world, the more we observe it, wants to flourish in love.” As do we! The question is, how? This meditative day will engage this question, offering participants a chance to engage these remarkable poems slowly, and engage them in the depths. We will use a new translation of these poems by the retreat leader. Mark S. Burrows is a frequent presenter at the Meditatio Centre and is well known internationally as a retreat leader and speaker. He is Professor of Religion and Literature at the University of Applied Sciences in Bochum (Germany). His academic work explores the mystical literature of Christianity with a special interest in the intersection of mysticism and poetics. He edits poetry for the journal Spiritus and Arts. His publications include: Rainer Maria Rilke’s Prayers of a Young Poet (Paraclete Press, 2016), SAID’s 99 Psalms (2013), Meister Eckhart’s Book of the Heart: Meditations for the Restless Soul in collaboration with Jon Sweeney (Hamden House, 2017) and most recently a collection of his poems, The Chance of Home (2018). www.msburrows.com

Sean Hagan shares his personal experience as a leader and how his meditation practice has enabled him to upgrade his leadership style by engaging more effectively and more consciously and by learning to make better decisions over time. Sean Hagan was General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department at the International Monetary Fund. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Georgetown Law School. He is a member of both the Executive Committee and Advisory Council for the WCCM. This talk was part of a John Main Seminar in Bruges, Belgium. Sean Hagan was the IMF’s General Counsel for fourteen years (2004-2018). In this capacity, Professor Hagan advised the IMF’s management, Executive Board and membership on all legal aspects of the IMF’s operations, including its regulatory, advisory and lending functions. Prior to beginning work at the IMF, Professor Hagan was in private practice, first in New York and subsequently in Tokyo. Professor Hagan received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center and also received a Masters of Science in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. During the 2018-2019 Academic year, Professor Hagan has been Visiting Fellow at Oxford University (Exeter College).

Fr Laurence Freeman speaks about how meditation and the restoration of the real meaning of leisure are ways of recovering the contemplative experience in an age of distraction. This retreat Talk took place at Monte Oliveto in Italy. Music Credits: Aourourou by Blue Dot Sessions

Almost everything you think you know about differences between the brain hemispheres is wrong. The topic was taken over and distorted by pop psychology,and hence understandably, but nonetheless irrationally, neglected by the mainstream.So why is the brain, an organ that exists only to make connections, divided and asymmetrical? What does it tell us about the structure of the world we inhabit? Iain McGilchrist will argue that lateralisation is now the topic in neuroscience of greatest significance for understanding the human condition. Dr Iain McGilchristis a former Fellow of All Souls College,Oxford, a Fellow of the RoyalCollege of Psychiatrists, a Fellowof the Royal Society of Arts, andformer Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at theBethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital, London. He has been a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital,Baltimore. He is best known asthe author of The Master and his Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World(Yale 2009). Music Credits: Aourourou by Blue Dot Sessions

The Contemplative Executive Speaking from the experience of his own quest for "meaning, depth, significance, and purpose" in life, Peter Ng says: "The first challenge ... is to take a step away from the busyness of the business world." This step he found in the simple practicality of John Main's teaching on meditation. Download the transcript here: tiny.cc/ContemplativeExecutive 1. Wisdom and Transformation 2. The Road Less Travelled 3. Contemplative Consciousness 4. Meditation and Leadership 5. The Ethical Mind 6. Happiness and Success 7. Abandonment of Desire

Deep ecological awareness is a spiritual state of consciousness, and without the activation of spirit it is difficult to achieve this awareness. Secular policies and green politics may not be able to work the transformation that is required. This talk will explore the entry into ecological awareness as an initiation into the transpersonal and universal dimensions of spirit. 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. Music Credits: Aourourou by Blue Dot Sessions