Caroline Myss introduces Dr. Finley at the February 2007 CMED Institute conference. In this series of free streaming audio you can listen to Dr. Finley reflect on the story of Jesus' encounter with the women at the well. In the reflection he parallels the womens experience with the spiritual understanding of Theresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Meister Eckert and other mystical writers.
Finley speaks of the relationships between spirituality, meditation, and life in the world, based on his personal experiences and the basic spiritual orientation of Thomas Merton. He offers profound ideas through a mixture of principles, practices, images, theories, and examples
A practice-oriented course in Christianity’s unique meditation tradition —"contemplative prayer"—presented by James Finley, author, teacher, and former student of Thomas Merton. Finley has been at the forefront of the Christian meditation movement for over 20 years, and in this guided "retreat", he leads listeners into their own direct experience of the heart of contemplative prayer. Includes a complete guided session on the practice of Christian meditation.
This CD set is excerpted from the full-length audio course Christian Meditation.
The Essential Guide to the Contemplative Teachings of Thomas Merton
8 CDs, 9˝ hours
Thomas Merton – Trappist monk, author, and student of Zen – remains one of the most important and beloved figures in the modern Christian contemplative movement. His writings, which bridge Eastern and Western spiritual thought, continue to inspire us with their real possibilities for immediate and direct experience of the divine. Now James Finley, who for six years lived, prayed, and studied with Brother Louis, as Merton was known at the Abbey of Gethsemani, shares with us the gifts passed on to him by this towering figure on Thomas Merton’s Path to the Palace of Nowhere.
First presented at a series of popular retreats, this program takes a participatory approach to Merton’s most useful teachings, helping us to discover our true self –... to disappear into God, to be submerged into His peace, to be lost in the secret of His face, as Merton said – through daily practices including contemplation, prayer, and faith. In the end we find ourselves in what the Taoist sage Chuang Tzu called, ... the Palace of Nowhere, where all the many things are one.
In 1967, Thomas Merton traveled to Thailand, seeking to further the Buddhist-Christian dialogue that was his passion. It was to be his last journey. This beloved Trappist monk and explorer of the inner life died unexpectedly that trip, but not before writing a final letter to his brothers at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky. In it Merton wrote that he now realized that everything he had been searching for could be found at his own hermitage, within the Christian tradition.
It is in this spirit, with respect for all faiths, that James Finley offers Christian Meditation, an audio retreat on the fundamental practices at the heart of Christianity’s own unique meditation tradition. Topics include:
Beyond the Closed Horizon of the Ego
Since the time of the Desert Fathers in the third century, Finley begins, Christian mystics have practiced meditation as a way of opening to the direct presence of God in daily life. Legendary seekers such as Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Meister Eckhart explored how meditation can lead us "beyond the closed horizon of the ego," to an interior and holy refuge that is always available to us. On Christian Meditation, James Finley offers a gentle introduction to this all-transforming way of life, and the "ever-deepening realization of oneness with Christ" it leads us to.
Enter the Cloud of Unknowing
Beginning with an overview of the Christian contemplative tradition and its historical roots, and complete with step-by-step instructions in how to progress in your own practice, Finley offers a personal retreat experience for you to practice along with, at your own pace. In 12 complete sessions – over 7 hours of basic instruction with the beginner in mind – James Finley guides you along this path of awakening, in order to glimpse the "infinite union that holds the secret of who we really are." This state of awakened conscious-ness, referred to by an anonymous Christian mystic as "the cloud of unknowing, " is held in common by the world’s great wisdom traditions, both Eastern and Western.
Divine Intimacy
Meditation has the power to reveal to us the "surprising nearness" of God, Finley teaches. As you expand your meditation practice, in concert with your faith, you will find that these divine moments come more often, until you are finally awakened to your own deepest self, one with Christ.
