Exploring Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton's
New Seeds Of Contemplation - Spring 2015
New Seeds of Contemplation is one of Thomas Merton's most widely read and best-loved books. Christians and non-Christians alike have joined in praising it as a notable successor in the ancient Contemplative tradition of St. John of the Cross, The Cloud of Unknowing, and the medieval mystics. New Seeds of Contemplation seeks to awaken the dormant inner depths of the spirit so long neglected by Western man and to nurture a deeply contemplative and mystical dimension in our lives. For Merton, "Every moment and every event in every man's life on earth plants something in his soul. For just as the wind carries thousands of winged seeds, so each moment brings with it germs of spiritual vitality that come to rest imperceptibly in the minds and wills of men."
Our 3-month Contemplative journey will explore Thomas Merton’s insights on Contemplative Living. The bi-weekly workshop sessions will follow the well-established format used in previous Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton workshops. In our sessions we will crack-open chapters from Thomas Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation and explore questions designed to engage us in the process of self-exploration and personal sharing. We will encourage participants to incorporate insights gained each evening into their lives during the 2 week period between sessions and we’ll have time to share them at the start of each session.
The program is being held on Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 8:30 in the Anam Cara Room at the Spiritual Life Center in West Hartford.
This is the official program brochure.
Registration for this program is available here.
Although we may need to make adjustments based on the pace of the group, the current plan for covering chapters in individual sessions is as follows:
(3/12) Chapter 3 Seeds of Contemplation & Chapter 4 Everything that is,Is Holy
(3/26) Chapter 5 Things in their Identity
(4/9) Chapter 6 Pray for your own Discovery & Chapter 7 Union and Division
(4/23) Chapter 8 Solitude is Not Separation
(5/14) Chapter 9 We are One Man & Chapter 10 A Body of Broken Bones
(5/28) Chapter 11 Learn to be Alone, Chapter 12 The Pure Heart
This workshop was meant is to increase each participants capacity for Contemplative living, that is a way of noticing and responding to everyday experiences by taking a long, loving look at what's real. In this way we become increasingly open to the word of God that each moment of our day pronounces. Each evening session was conducted in a contemplative manner.
Sessions last approximately 90 minutes and will flow according to the following format:
1) Silence and Welcome to group
2) Sharing of lived experiences from last session’s insights
3) Opening Meditation and Introduction by facilitator to the evening’s chapters
4) Questions with Group Contemplative Sharing followed by group Dialogue
5) Final recording of insights and sharing of intentions for the next 2 weeks
6) Silence and Closing Meditation
Our 3-month Contemplative journey will explore Thomas Merton’s insights on Contemplative Living. The bi-weekly workshop sessions will follow the well-established format used in previous Contemplative Living with Thomas Merton workshops. In our sessions we will crack-open chapters from Thomas Merton’s New Seeds of Contemplation and explore questions designed to engage us in the process of self-exploration and personal sharing. We will encourage participants to incorporate insights gained each evening into their lives during the 2 week period between sessions and we’ll have time to share them at the start of each session.
The program is being held on Thursday evenings from 7:00 - 8:30 in the Anam Cara Room at the Spiritual Life Center in West Hartford.
This is the official program brochure.
Registration for this program is available here.
Although we may need to make adjustments based on the pace of the group, the current plan for covering chapters in individual sessions is as follows:
(3/12) Chapter 3 Seeds of Contemplation & Chapter 4 Everything that is,Is Holy
(3/26) Chapter 5 Things in their Identity
(4/9) Chapter 6 Pray for your own Discovery & Chapter 7 Union and Division
(4/23) Chapter 8 Solitude is Not Separation
(5/14) Chapter 9 We are One Man & Chapter 10 A Body of Broken Bones
(5/28) Chapter 11 Learn to be Alone, Chapter 12 The Pure Heart
This workshop was meant is to increase each participants capacity for Contemplative living, that is a way of noticing and responding to everyday experiences by taking a long, loving look at what's real. In this way we become increasingly open to the word of God that each moment of our day pronounces. Each evening session was conducted in a contemplative manner.
Sessions last approximately 90 minutes and will flow according to the following format:
1) Silence and Welcome to group
2) Sharing of lived experiences from last session’s insights
3) Opening Meditation and Introduction by facilitator to the evening’s chapters
4) Questions with Group Contemplative Sharing followed by group Dialogue
5) Final recording of insights and sharing of intentions for the next 2 weeks
6) Silence and Closing Meditation
Session Reflections
The Reflections from each week will continue to be captured and are shared on the Bridges To Contemplative Living Blog page
Contemplative Sharing
Contemplative sharing is the means by which participants openly share their reflections during our sessions. It is not outcome-oriented and is not about fully understanding what one reads or hears from others. The focus is on listening to another rather than formulating a response. Simply hearing and listening to another's point of view can inform and enlighten our own perspective in a way that debating or analyzing cannot. We are enlightened by opening ourselves to the deeper values and issues of another expressing thoughts freely and openly.
The following are the basic principles underlying Contemplative sharing:
The following are the basic principles underlying Contemplative sharing:
- Keep comments rooted in your own "lived experience" and refrain from remarks that are overly abstract, philosophical or theoretical
- Focus on how things touch you. Use I statements like "I believe..." or "I am confused by that response ...". Frame remarks with phrases such as "My assumption is ..." or "My experience has been..."
- Reflect before speaking and be concise. Make one point or relate one experience then stop to allow others to do the same.
- Go beneath the surface of your initial thoughts asking yourself what is drawing you to the particular part of the reading or what makes you feel this way?
- Contemplation starts with deep listening and accepting, so listen first and accept what is being shared as another's reality before thinking about how you might respond or comment.
- Expect periods of silence during the period of sharing and resist the urge to speak just because there is silence.
- Avoid cross-talking by focusing on listening to another and giving them the time to fully express themselves.
- Observe how participants' ideas, reflections common concerns, assumptions and attitudes come together to form a collective group mind.
Facilitators
Mike Smoolca – Growing up Roman Catholic, Mike has always had a strong personal faith which has been deepened through his life experiences. In College he began to study the writings of Zen Buddhism and opened up a life-long interest in contemplative spirituality and comparative religions. His recent early-retirement from a career in Information Technology is allowing him to focus on deepening his own Christian faith while also being inspired by how other faith traditions deepen his ways of knowing God. He participates in and facilitates several Contemplative groups and programs while furthering his study and experience of Contemplative practices. He is currently participating in a Spiritual Direction Formation Program at Fairfield University and very active in his own Parish, St Mary in Simsbury, CT.
Paul Uccello - comes from a Christian background having been raised in a Roman Catholic environment. His initial interests in the integration of Christian and Eastern religious thought in the 1970s led him to the teachings of Meher Baba, a spiritual master from India, who instilled a deep sense of the core unity of all the major religions. Although Paul’s career has been in aerospace business management, he has also pursued studies at the Hartford Seminary in interfaith studies and dialogue where he earned a Master’s degree in Religious Studies. He has recently graduated from a multi-faith graduate level chaplaincy program at The Hartford Seminary.
Both Paul and Mike have co-facilitated Bridges to Contemplative Living Study Groups at the Spiritual Life Center in the past two years.
Paul Uccello - comes from a Christian background having been raised in a Roman Catholic environment. His initial interests in the integration of Christian and Eastern religious thought in the 1970s led him to the teachings of Meher Baba, a spiritual master from India, who instilled a deep sense of the core unity of all the major religions. Although Paul’s career has been in aerospace business management, he has also pursued studies at the Hartford Seminary in interfaith studies and dialogue where he earned a Master’s degree in Religious Studies. He has recently graduated from a multi-faith graduate level chaplaincy program at The Hartford Seminary.
Both Paul and Mike have co-facilitated Bridges to Contemplative Living Study Groups at the Spiritual Life Center in the past two years.