Evening Visitor
by Bryan Berghoef “Meow, meow, me-ooow,” came the sad call from outside my window. A farm cat had wandered over the neighboring field and was now circling my backyard office shed. It was a forlorn call, and he was right underneath the window where I was holding a pre-marital counseling session with a young couple. […]
Meditation Club
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef I recently gathered with some friends for a time of silence at what we are calling, “Meditation Club.” There’s no big agenda. No expected outcomes. Simply the chance to come and meet in the quiet. I try to take time to meditate on my own regularly, but I have […]
Seeing Clearly
Today’s post is by Bryan Berghoef All of my life I’ve had great vision, never needed glasses, and always breezed through the letter charts during eye tests. But in recent months I began to realize things were changing. I could no longer read text on the television when seated on the couch. Driving at night […]
Drawing Us Forward
Today’s post is by Mary van Balen We are often afraid of the truth. Rather than experiencing it as a way to experiencing a deeper reality, we see it as something that up ends our world, threatens our sense of security, and even our sense of self. We have found a comfortable place to “fit in,” […]
Walking on Water and Sinking Like a Stone
Today’s post is by Ron Rolheiser Faith isn’t something you ever simply achieve. It’s not something that you ever nail down as a fait accompli. Faith works this way: Some days you walk on water and other days you sink like a stone. Faith invariably gives way to doubt before it again recovers its confidence, […]
The Power of Being Present
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 […]
Lent is a Time to Listen
Today’s post is by Mary van Balen While reading some reflections by Richard Rohr on the presence of Christ in creation from the beginning, I was struck by the phrase “Christ-soaked world.” It brought to mind two Scripture readings from Paul used for the beginning of Lent: one from 2 Corinthians and the other from […]
When We Listen to the Bell
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 […]
Singing the Lord’s Song
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 […]
Making Space, One Book at a Time
Today’s post is by Mary van Balen Sometimes the simplest of chores become prayer. It’s about paying attention and being present to the moment. That’s what wisdom teachers have always said whether they were early Christian monks living in the Egyptian desert or a contemporary Buddhist monk like Thich Nhat Hanh; a Sufi poet like […]