Instructions for The Practice

Turning to the Mystics with James Finley

Center for Action and Contemplation

Spirituality, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2020

⏱️ 29 minutes

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Summary

In this episode, Kirsten Oates and James Finley are in dialogue about the form and practice of Turning to the Mystics. In this spirit James Finley begins by outlining the 3 contemplative archetypes that serve as pathways to honor each of our experiences on the mystical journey. He then unpacks his process for each episode; reading a mystical text, reflecting upon that text, and concluding with meditation and prayer. To learn more about Jim, visit jamesfinley.org Turning to the Mystics is a podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation. We'd love to hear your thoughts, comments or feedback. To do so, email us at [email protected] This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you! For the transcript to this podcast, you can find it here. Have a question you'd like Jim or Kirsten to answer on a future episode? Email us: [email protected] Or, send us a voicemail: cac.org/voicemail

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to a podcast by the Center for Action and Contemplation.
0:04.4	To learn more, visit cacac.org.
0:08.9	Greetings, I'm Jim Finley.
0:11.8	And I'm Kirsten Oates. Welcome to turning to the Mystics.
0:17.0	Jim I thought it might be helpful if we spent some time just going through what these practices are going to be like and what you're hoping they'll be like for the people
0:33.8	listening. Yes. You know when I started leading retreats and then I started the
0:40.3	until the prayer group of St. Monica's Church is what I tried to do was to be faithful to the kind of contemplative, like the archetypal infrastructure of contemplative
0:56.1	community, I like to honor it because it's like in a way it's like they're like
1:00.7	transcendental qualities of our being that we're learning to honor.
1:05.0	And so there's, I understood it to be, to have three aspects to this.
1:10.0	The first is to find your practice and practice it. And a practice is any act faithfully
1:20.3	entered into with your whole heart that takes you to the deeper place.
1:24.0	As you learn to practice your practice, which is the daily meditation practice,
1:32.0	eventually little by is the daily meditation practice.
1:34.0	Eventually little by little by little all of life becomes practice.
1:38.0	That is, you get habituated to that meditative mind day by day. The next aspect of this is to find your teaching and follow it. And
1:49.6	the teaching is the teaching that bears witness to the ancient way of the divinity of all
1:54.8	things like to the generosity of God pouring out as our life. And secondly, offers guidance in it, she trustworthy guidance in it.
2:08.0	And so, as we learn to follow the teaching, eventually you come to realize that life is the teacher,
2:16.0	and you're being taught by God through your attuned to the unfolding of your life,
2:22.0	the lives of people around you to the world.
2:26.0	And the third aspect is to find your community and enter it.
	...

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