Thomas Keating: The Secret\nEmbrace\nPart One<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\nPoetic Legacy<\/strong>\nMonday, \u202fOctober 19, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Can the Creator of all lure poetry\nout of a stone?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Or cause a stirring of Divine Love in a human heart?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All is possible for the Creator of all,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Who loves to manifest the impossible<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In endless configurations. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014Thomas Keating, \u201cOut of a\nStone\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Cynthia\nBourgeault was a close friend and colleague of Father Thomas Keating. Over the\npast year, she has devoted much time to studying and praying with the eight\npoems offered in <\/em>The\nSecret Embrace<em>. She calls this\nvolume of poetry written in the last months of his life \u201chis final gift to the\nworld.\u201d Today Cynthia describes why she believes the poems are so important:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First,\nthese poems offer an intimate window into the last stage of Thomas\u2019 own\nspiritual journey, as he emerged fully into what he liked to call \u201cunity\nconsciousness.\u201d Others might call it \u201cnon-dual realization,\u201d \u201cthe unitive\nstate,\u201d or oneness. Basically, it means seeing the world as whole, seamlessly\ninterwoven, dynamic, coherent, radiant, precious, creative, and compassionate;\nknowing yourself as belonging to and suffused in this oneness. This state is well\nknown in all the great spiritual traditions, and he stands on the shoulders of\nJohn of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, Catherine of Genoa, and others. Thomas\u2019\nversion gives us a beautiful glimpse of non-dual realization shimmering through\na contemporary Western lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second,\nand more movingly, he allows us to glimpse the costly road that must be\ntravelled in order to arrive at this state. It does not fall like a ripe fruit\nfrom a tree or open itself like a lotus blossom. It comes at the end of a\nfierce struggle, a journey of deepening self-knowledge brought through\ndeepening dying to self. In Christian teaching, this final passage has\ntraditionally been known as \u201cthe Dark Night of the Spirit,\u201d and it is a\nwilderness journey indeed, overturning not only most of our familiar reference\npoints, but even the structures of consciousness through which they are\nmaintained. \u201cDying to self\u201d proves itself to be something like an onion skin,\npeeled back to reveal still further layers of dying\u2014until finally there is nothing\nleft except the All.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many\nof us on the Centering Prayer path know a fair bit about that first layer of\npeeling back the onion\u2014the dying to false self, perhaps courtesy of Thomas\nhimself. His early and most influential teaching was all about \u201cdismantling the\nfalse self.\u201d But what is the false self? As Thomas voyaged bravely through his\nlast three decades of life, his answer to this riddle shifted steadily toward\nthe non-dual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third and\nfinally, Thomas draws on the metaphor of journeying into the unknown, which has\npressing relevance for our own world just now. In this season of planetary\nupheaval, Thomas\u2019 courageous spiritual work has deep wisdom to offer us as we\nbegin to wrap our collective hearts around what is required next. However far\nany one of us is destined to travel on this wilderness journey, learning to\nlean into the diminishment, to live with paradox and unknowing, and to\ncelebrate the creativity without dissociating from the pain are all vital\nsurvival skills as we humans collectively feel our way into the new beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace<br> Part One<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A\nChristian Contemplative<\/strong><br>\nSunday, \u202fOctober 18, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I first met Father Thomas Keating (1923\u20132018) in 2002\nwhen he came to Albuquerque to speak at a conference on Centering Prayer [1]\nwith me. I knew of his work and of Contemplative Outreach, the organization he\nhad founded, but our paths had never crossed. As a Trappist monk, Keating had a\nlife more circumscribed than my own as a friar. While Franciscans are called to\nbe \u201cin the world,\u201d the Benedictines, Trappists, and other cloistered orders\nhave vowed to be \u201cnot of it.\u201d Our emphases balanced one another; Thomas was\nmore inclined to \u201ccontemplation\u201d while I gravitate, by temperament, more toward\n\u201caction.\u201d As the name of the Center for Action and Contemplation implies, both\nof our vocations are integral parts of the Christian contemplative tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\nhad the pleasure of going to St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado for\nretreat a few times, even in the last years of Thomas\u2019 life. Each time I was\nimpressed with his deep spirituality and his commitment to living \u201con the edge\nof the inside\u201d of his own tradition within the Catholic Church. His passion for\nsharing the practice of contemplative prayer with a wider audience of\nChristians was truly admirable. He knew what was his to do and he did it,\ndespite the criticism that he must have received from many of his peers who\nwere more used to their quiet, secluded existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas\nKeating made his religious vows well before Vatican II, a full generation\nbefore I did. I believe he showed great courage in heeding the call of the\nSecond Vatican Council, \u201copening the windows\u201d of the monastery, and offering\nCentering Prayer to the world. Prior to that, contemplative prayer was the\nexclusive \u201cgift\u201d of the monastic orders, and some may have preferred to keep it\nthat way. He made the ancient practice of contemplation an accessible,\nrelevant, and transformative method of prayer for thousands of Christians by\nusing everyday language and his own brand of humor. At the same time, he also\nvalidated the practice with modern believers by integrating modern psychology\nand the teachings of the 12-Step Programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the next two\nweeks, guided by the wise mind and open heart of CAC faculty member Cynthia\nBourgeault, the Daily Meditations will focus on Father Thomas Keating\u2019s final\npublication, <em>The Secret\nEmbrace<\/em>, a short\ncollection of poems written and gathered almost entirely in the last few months\nof his life. Thomas was a longtime teacher, colleague, and friend to Cynthia;\nher insights and skill will help us understand the deeply spiritual and deeply\nhuman themes of these poems and the contemplative journey itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace Part One A Poetic Legacy Monday, \u202fOctober 19, 2020 Can the Creator of all lure poetry out of a stone? Or cause a stirring of Divine Love in a human heart? All is possible for the Creator of all, Who loves to manifest the impossible In endless configurations. \u2014Thomas Keating, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19415,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414\/revisions\/19415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>Can the Creator of all lure poetry\nout of a stone?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Or cause a stirring of Divine Love in a human heart?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>All is possible for the Creator of all,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Who loves to manifest the impossible<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>In endless configurations. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2014Thomas Keating, \u201cOut of a\nStone\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Cynthia\nBourgeault was a close friend and colleague of Father Thomas Keating. Over the\npast year, she has devoted much time to studying and praying with the eight\npoems offered in <\/em>The\nSecret Embrace<em>. She calls this\nvolume of poetry written in the last months of his life \u201chis final gift to the\nworld.\u201d Today Cynthia describes why she believes the poems are so important:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First,\nthese poems offer an intimate window into the last stage of Thomas\u2019 own\nspiritual journey, as he emerged fully into what he liked to call \u201cunity\nconsciousness.\u201d Others might call it \u201cnon-dual realization,\u201d \u201cthe unitive\nstate,\u201d or oneness. Basically, it means seeing the world as whole, seamlessly\ninterwoven, dynamic, coherent, radiant, precious, creative, and compassionate;\nknowing yourself as belonging to and suffused in this oneness. This state is well\nknown in all the great spiritual traditions, and he stands on the shoulders of\nJohn of the Cross, Meister Eckhart, Catherine of Genoa, and others. Thomas\u2019\nversion gives us a beautiful glimpse of non-dual realization shimmering through\na contemporary Western lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second,\nand more movingly, he allows us to glimpse the costly road that must be\ntravelled in order to arrive at this state. It does not fall like a ripe fruit\nfrom a tree or open itself like a lotus blossom. It comes at the end of a\nfierce struggle, a journey of deepening self-knowledge brought through\ndeepening dying to self. In Christian teaching, this final passage has\ntraditionally been known as \u201cthe Dark Night of the Spirit,\u201d and it is a\nwilderness journey indeed, overturning not only most of our familiar reference\npoints, but even the structures of consciousness through which they are\nmaintained. \u201cDying to self\u201d proves itself to be something like an onion skin,\npeeled back to reveal still further layers of dying\u2014until finally there is nothing\nleft except the All.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many\nof us on the Centering Prayer path know a fair bit about that first layer of\npeeling back the onion\u2014the dying to false self, perhaps courtesy of Thomas\nhimself. His early and most influential teaching was all about \u201cdismantling the\nfalse self.\u201d But what is the false self? As Thomas voyaged bravely through his\nlast three decades of life, his answer to this riddle shifted steadily toward\nthe non-dual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Third and\nfinally, Thomas draws on the metaphor of journeying into the unknown, which has\npressing relevance for our own world just now. In this season of planetary\nupheaval, Thomas\u2019 courageous spiritual work has deep wisdom to offer us as we\nbegin to wrap our collective hearts around what is required next. However far\nany one of us is destined to travel on this wilderness journey, learning to\nlean into the diminishment, to live with paradox and unknowing, and to\ncelebrate the creativity without dissociating from the pain are all vital\nsurvival skills as we humans collectively feel our way into the new beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace<br> Part One<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A\nChristian Contemplative<\/strong><br>\nSunday, \u202fOctober 18, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I first met Father Thomas Keating (1923\u20132018) in 2002\nwhen he came to Albuquerque to speak at a conference on Centering Prayer [1]\nwith me. I knew of his work and of Contemplative Outreach, the organization he\nhad founded, but our paths had never crossed. As a Trappist monk, Keating had a\nlife more circumscribed than my own as a friar. While Franciscans are called to\nbe \u201cin the world,\u201d the Benedictines, Trappists, and other cloistered orders\nhave vowed to be \u201cnot of it.\u201d Our emphases balanced one another; Thomas was\nmore inclined to \u201ccontemplation\u201d while I gravitate, by temperament, more toward\n\u201caction.\u201d As the name of the Center for Action and Contemplation implies, both\nof our vocations are integral parts of the Christian contemplative tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\nhad the pleasure of going to St. Benedict\u2019s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado for\nretreat a few times, even in the last years of Thomas\u2019 life. Each time I was\nimpressed with his deep spirituality and his commitment to living \u201con the edge\nof the inside\u201d of his own tradition within the Catholic Church. His passion for\nsharing the practice of contemplative prayer with a wider audience of\nChristians was truly admirable. He knew what was his to do and he did it,\ndespite the criticism that he must have received from many of his peers who\nwere more used to their quiet, secluded existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas\nKeating made his religious vows well before Vatican II, a full generation\nbefore I did. I believe he showed great courage in heeding the call of the\nSecond Vatican Council, \u201copening the windows\u201d of the monastery, and offering\nCentering Prayer to the world. Prior to that, contemplative prayer was the\nexclusive \u201cgift\u201d of the monastic orders, and some may have preferred to keep it\nthat way. He made the ancient practice of contemplation an accessible,\nrelevant, and transformative method of prayer for thousands of Christians by\nusing everyday language and his own brand of humor. At the same time, he also\nvalidated the practice with modern believers by integrating modern psychology\nand the teachings of the 12-Step Programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the next two\nweeks, guided by the wise mind and open heart of CAC faculty member Cynthia\nBourgeault, the Daily Meditations will focus on Father Thomas Keating\u2019s final\npublication, <em>The Secret\nEmbrace<\/em>, a short\ncollection of poems written and gathered almost entirely in the last few months\nof his life. Thomas was a longtime teacher, colleague, and friend to Cynthia;\nher insights and skill will help us understand the deeply spiritual and deeply\nhuman themes of these poems and the contemplative journey itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thomas Keating: The Secret Embrace Part One A Poetic Legacy Monday, \u202fOctober 19, 2020 Can the Creator of all lure poetry out of a stone? Or cause a stirring of Divine Love in a human heart? All is possible for the Creator of all, Who loves to manifest the impossible In endless configurations. \u2014Thomas Keating, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19415,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19414\/revisions\/19415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}