Methods of Contemplation

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This is a visualization meditation on the spiritual quality of joy led by Kevin Johnson. Being willing to rest, to stop seeking is a simple process but it is not necessarily easy. And our culture and the popular mindset can often misguide us. How to simply learn to trust and be open to a deepening silence? How to stay f...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This is a meditation on our internal stories, brought to you by Kevin Johnson. Being willing to rest, to stop seeking is a simple process but it is not necessarily easy. And our culture and the popular mindset can often misguide us. How to simply learn to trust and be open to a deepening silence? How to stay focused whe...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This is an introduction to a series of meditations led by Kevin Johnson. Being willing to rest, to stop seeking is a simple process but it is not necessarily easy. And our culture and the popular mindset can often misguide us. How to simply learn to trust and be open to a deepening silence? How to stay focused when one'...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This is the second of a two part conversation with Kevin Johnson. Kevin is a co-host for the Encountering Silence Podcast, and he studied Comparative Theology at Boston College with a specific focus on Buddhist-Christian interactions. He is an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT while writing h...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. These short segments, are going to consist of a conversation, followed by our guest leading us through their preferred method of prayer, meditation, or other form of  practice. Today we talk with Kevin Johnson. Kevin is a co-host for the Encountering Silence Podcast, and he studied Comparative Theology at Boston Co...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is the tenth episode of our third season: Vision. This passage is from the Gospel of Luke, chapter twenty-two. Imaginative prayer, also known as Ignatian Contemplation is the name given to prayer which helps us enter more fully into the passage of Scripture we are reading, by using our ability to form pictures or inner impressions in our minds. We live in a rati...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. Today we’re talking with Thomas Jay Oord. Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is a best-selling and award-winning author, having written or edited more than twenty-five books. A twelve-time Faculty Award-winning professor, Oord teaches at institutions around the...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is the ninth episode of our third season: Vision. Today we'll explore ignatian contemplation on a passage from scripture, the Gospel of John, chapter six. Imaginative prayer, also known as Ignatian Contemplation is the name given to prayer which helps us enter more fully into the passage of Scripture we are reading, by using our ability to form pictures or inner...

This episode is a guided visualization by Cassidy Hall. She leads us through a meditation based around the idea of descending down a staircase into our innermost being and exploring the interior landscape through symbolic images. Most of the work we do as human beings is abstract and external, so much so that we often are estranged from our own self, and therefore everything else. This meditation...

Cassidy Hall is an author, filmmaker, podcaster , student, and trained counselor. She works as a Teaching Assistant at Christian Theological Seminary where she is studying for her MDiv and MTS degrees. She also serves as Student Pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ where she has begun the ordination process. Since 2017, Cassidy has served as the secretary of the International Tho...

This is the eighth episode of our third season: Vision. In our last season, we explored the concept of a meditation anchor, and the simplest of these, the breath. An anchor is something, anything really, that we set as the primary focal point for our rational mind. Doing this helps us to build concentration, and gives us a bridge, or a stable place upon which to stand, above the shifting state of...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is our third season: Vision. Today we'll explore ignatian contemplation on a passage from scripture, the Gospel of John, chapter five. Imaginative prayer, also known as Ignatian Contemplation is the name given to prayer which helps us enter more fully into the passage of Scripture we are reading, by using our ability to form pictures or inner impressions in our...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. Today Keith Kristich leads us through a Self-Emptying meditation which also focuses on the three intelligence centers of the head, heart, and body. Keith is a centering prayer group facilitator, Enneagram expert, and life coach. A graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington D.C., Keith is well...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. Today we talk with Keith Kristich. Keith is a centering prayer group facilitator, Enneagram expert, and life coach. A graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation in Washington D.C., Keith is well versed in contemplative spiritual paths, as well as with non-religious community groups.  Find Keith here:...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is the sixth episode of our third season: Vision. In our last season, we explored the concept of a meditation anchor, and the simplest of these, the breath. An anchor is something, anything really, that we set as the primary focal point for our rational mind. Doing this helps us to build concentration, and gives us a bridge, or a stable place upon which to stand...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. Today we’re talking with Mary Jane Miller. Mary Jane Miller has painted icons for more than twenty five years. Her hope as a female iconographer is to create images where people might come closer to God. Painting modern catholic icons, and designing new byzantine style images, Mary Jane pushes the edge of tradition with...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is the fifth episode of our third season: Vision. Today we'll explore ignatian contemplation on a passage from scripture, the Gospel of John, chapter four. Imaginative prayer, also known as Ignatian Contemplation is the name given to prayer which helps us enter more fully into the passage of Scripture we are reading, by using our ability to form pictures or inne...

Carl is a contemplative writer, speaker, teacher, soul friend, and storyteller. He is a co-host for the podcast Encountering Silence, of which I am a dedicated listener. He is also the author of numerous books, including The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Answering the Contemplative Call, An Invitation to Celtic Wisdom and Unteachable Lessons. Today Carl McColman of the Encountering Silence podc...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This episode is part of our Being-With series, a subtle nod to the philosopher Martin Heidegger and his term referencing the Mitsein aspect of being. That the very nature of humanity is to be in relationship to others. We are inauthentic when we fail to recognize how much and in what ways how we think of ourselves and h...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is the fourth episode of our third season: Vision. In our last season, we explored the concept of a meditation anchor, and the simplest of these, the breath. An anchor is something, anything really, that we set as the primary focal point for our rational mind. Doing this helps us to build concentration, and gives us a bridge, or a stable place upon which to stan...

Fran is Pastor of Worship and Liturgy at Peace of Christ Church in Round Rock, TX. She's also a liturgist, musician, songwriter and mom. Fran crafts beautiful litanies to be used in a congregational setting on any topic you can imagine, including ones she commissions. Today she leads us through a powerful and historical method of prayer used by a long line of saints in the Christian tradition, cal...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This episode is part of our Being-With series, a subtle nod to the philosopher Martin Heidegger and his term referencing the Mitsein aspect of being. That the very nature of humanity is to be in relationship to others. We are inauthentic when we fail to recognize how much and in what ways how we think of ourselves and h...

Hello, and welcome to Methods. This is the third episode of our third season: Vision. Today we'll explore ignatian contemplation on a passage from scripture, Exodus chapter three. Imaginative prayer, also known as Ignatian Contemplation is the name given to prayer which helps us enter more fully into the passage of Scripture we are reading, by using our ability to form pictures or inner impression...

Acharya is a respected teacher of Vedic and yogic philosophy, meditation and kirtan, and a practitioner of the transcendental science of Bhakti Yoga, the process by which a person can come to know and love the Supreme Person. Acharya Das has taught yoga wisdom to appreciative audiences for over 40 years. He has an uncommonly deep understanding of yoga philosophy and practice and conveys that messa...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This episode is part of our Being-With series, a subtle nod to the philosopher Martin Heidegger and his term referencing the Mitsein aspect of being. That the very nature of humanity is to be in relationship to others. We are inauthentic when we fail to recognize how much and in what ways how we think of ourselves and h...