Archive for Article by Shalem Staff

Today’s post is from the writings of the late Gerald May …Nature’s teaching is also a healing. And though we must indeed be taught, it is the healing that we need most. We have been fractured. We have been broken off from the nature of the world, broken away from the nature of one another, broken […]

Article by Rose Mary Dougherty (April 2019 eNews) Several weeks ago, I was staying in one of my favorite places—Bon Secours Spiritual Center. It had been a long day, and I was sleeping soundly. At 3:40 am, I awoke with a start to the sound of someone hammering at my door. I could hear a […]

Pulling in to the monastery, the snow was piled high on the abbey grounds. The walkways were cleared, as the monks had fastidiously kept the paths open for themselves and any guests who would take advantage of their hospitality. I arrived on a chilly day that began less than 10 degrees Fahrenheit—one of several guests seeking a quiet retreat. It had been a long snowy season, and this cold morning was perhaps one last, serious squeeze from old man winter.

Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef “Hello? Are you there, Dad?” I am awakened from my thoughts by my youngest child poking me, as I had apparently gone somewhere else while playing a game with her. This is a less common experience than it used to be, but still happens from time to time. We […]

Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef My first introduction to a meditation bell or singing bowl was at my first Shalem staff meeting some years ago. I clearly remember hearing it ring out—the warm vibrations had an immediate calming influence. It seemed the obvious and natural way to lead us into silence, even though it […]

Today’s post is by Tilden Edwards “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion….There our captors asked us to sing one of the songs of Zion. How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137) Like those Israelites forced into exile in Babylon, I […]

Article by Lerita Coleman Brown (February 2019 eNews) My religious and spiritual life is an amazing journey. I began my prayer life kneeling at the foot of my bed pleading to a white man in the sky and moved to the foot of a mountain where I felt the Presence there. In between I learned that […]

Article by Leah Rampy (January 2019 eNews) A crisp winter’s eve. The longest night in the season of deepest darkness. The incessant drizzle that had dogged us for days deigns to pause as a small group of us put on our coats and leave the building’s shelter for the blazing fire. Our first year together […]

Today’s post is by Carole Crumley Happy are the people whose strength is in you! Whose hearts are set on the pilgrims’ way. –Psalm 84 Pilgrimage is one of the spiritual practices that is common to many of the great faith traditions. Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and many others find their common ground in […]

Article by Margaret Benefiel (December 2018 eNews) In conversations with our “contemplative cousins,” both in follow-up discussions since the August 2017 Snowmass gathering where 20 young contemplatives gathered and in other settings, the question often arises, “What method of prayer does Shalem teach? Contemplative Outreach teaches Centering Prayer, World Community for Christian Meditation teaches the […]