“Call me optimistic, but it seems that if there is to be a global spiritual renewal, contemplation will and must be at the center. Many people in the Global North are bored and burned with church these days, and often rightfully so. Christianity has caused so many wounds that what bears the name Christ has often little to no resemblance to the person. Yet Christianity cannot stop the Spirit’s movement and so, despite our manifold failures, the spiritual spark in people indefatigably lives on.
“More and more people are honoring the 'more of life' by taking up meditation, picking up mystically themed books, attending spiritual retreats, learning yogic breathing, or spending time alone in nature. Teachers who communicate the contemplative path in an accessible way such as Franciscan Richard Rohr, renegade thinker and former Dominican Matthew Fox, interspiritual writer Mirabai Starr, and others have introduced me and us to the vital spiritual fire of ancient mystical wisdom. New generations of people are discovering the depth of religion, even as they toss out the dross.
“Something more is stirring, though, than simply mining mystical spirituality and translating it for a wider audience. Thousands of people may sit in Centering Prayer every day, but the holy ordinary a subtle and revolutionary change is also under way. Now that contemplation has leapt the monastery gates, it takes its rightful place as an inner, transforming possibility for all humanity instead of the keepsake of a few bold guardians. Like reality, contemplation evolves.”
