Episode 19: Quality of Prayer
One Heart One Mind
There is prayer, and then there is prayer. When you pray, do you ever get the sense that you’re not really praying? That nothing much is happening? Through the teachings of John Climacus, a 7th century spiritual teacher, and through personal story, Thomas speaks to the importance of attention in our prayer life. Ultimately, our quality of attention and quality of prayer turn out to be one and the same offering. Upcoming, in-person offerings with Thomas:
info_outline
Episode 18: The Source of Life
One Heart One Mind
What would it be like if, at will, we could “silence the mind and be aware at the core of our being.” Sufi Master, Kabir Helminski writes that from these depths we receive “help from the Source of Life.” As we learn to join ourselves with this Source—some would call it God—we find that it contains all the qualities of Spirit in potential, waiting to express through our unique vessel. Upcoming, in-person offerings with Thomas:
info_outline
Episode 17: Die Before You Die
One Heart One Mind
Jesus tells us that “unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone.” Rumi, the Sufi poet, echoes this wisdom, declaring that, “Except for dying…no other skill impresses God.” What does this mean? How do we “die before we die?” Prepare to enter the mystery in this episode and discover what “plentiful harvest” awaits on the other side of life. Upcoming, in-person offerings with Thomas:
info_outline
Episode 16: All Things New
One Heart One Mind
Father Richard Rohr shared at a recent gathering that his spiritual practice nowadays is to, “ look at something till I love it. It doesn’t take very long.” What could this mean? What would that be like? Thomas shares a related scripture in this episode and invites you to see with the eyes of love, and to marvel how all things are made new. Upcoming, in-person offerings with Thomas:
info_outline
Episode 15: Thy Will Be Done
One Heart One Mind
At the heart of contemplation is an attitude of total surrender to the Divine. This is easier said than done, of course. In our minds, we may sincerely believe that we wish to do God’s will in all things. But the moment the bitter cup is served, we often find ourselves protesting and howling at life’s unfairness. Christ’s prayer in Gethsemane is an archetype of perfect “willingness”: the willingness to experience exactly what life gives us to experience in each moment, trusting that it is for our good. And it’s not only Christianity where the virtue of “willingness” figures...
info_outline
Episode 14: Quiet Confidence
One Heart One Mind
Today’s episode offers a longer, deeper meditation to help you integrate the themes and skills from the past 7 episodes. Practice fasting not just from food and drink, but from thought and feeling. Consent to God’s Presence and action within. Cling to nothing. Risk getting lost— forget even who you think you are. And trust that you hold in hand the only key you need to unlock the Divine Force in your life.
info_outline
Episode 13: Lock and Key
One Heart One Mind
In a sense, contemplative prayer is none other than the practice of deepening one’s faith in God. But faith manifests in many guises. Perhaps a less obvious quality of faith is confidence. What does it mean to sit with a “restful confidence,” fully trusting that God is bringing about a mighty work in you? Listen to this episode as Thomas draws from the inspired thinking of Sri Aurobindo as well as a favorite scripture of his from back home. May you live prayerfully, always with a “perfect brightness of hope.”
info_outline
Episode 12: The Father’s Father
One Heart One Mind
It feels assuring to know the answers to the most important questions in life. It takes more humility to admit we might not know where we’re going, and at a deeper level, who we even are. Thomas reflects in this episode on the vulnerability of not knowing and shares a poem from Thomas Merton that shows this special kind of faith in action. And now that Thomas is all done with graduate studies, he’ll be dedicating more time to his teaching practice and the broader community. Learn more about two of his upcoming offerings:
info_outline
Episode 11: The Unknowable God
One Heart One Mind
It’s common in Christian life to focus on the aspects of God that we can know and understand—we say God is merciful, patient, loving like a parent…It is less common for most of us to attend to the aspect of God that is too subtle to perceive, too deep to fathom. In this school, to say anything of God is to say too much. This is classically known as the via negativa, leading to the unknowable God. And yet walking this path of unknowing, we come to know things, we come to a new intimacy with God that we couldn’t have previously imagined.
info_outline
Episode 10: Do Not Cling to Me
One Heart One Mind
Happy Easter, friends. In this special episode, Thomas explores Jesus’s words to marry when she recognizes Him risen from the tomb: “Do not cling to me.” From a contemplative perspective, what could this mean? What happens when we stop clinging to our wrong ideas, our limiting beliefs? With open mind and open heart, we can come to know the Living Presence that is already in our midst. Christ is risen, indeed! Enjoy this Easter meditation.
info_outlineWhat would it be like if, at will, we could “silence the mind and be aware at the core of our being.” Sufi Master, Kabir Helminski writes that from these depths we receive “help from the Source of Life.” As we learn to join ourselves with this Source—some would call it God—we find that it contains all the qualities of Spirit in potential, waiting to express through our unique vessel.
Upcoming, in-person offerings with Thomas:
7-day meditation retreat (September 30th - October 7th)
9-month deep dive in the contemplative life (still accepting applications)