By Melanie P. Moore, et al.
Each month, we publish a listing of upcoming contemplative and spiritual opportunities recommended by folks here at The Abbey. Many of us have floundered around in the past looking for community and deep engagement with other pilgrims on the spiritual path. Here we share a curated list of what we are finding, in hopes you might find some of it helpful on your journey. We’ve included a Comments section with each listing detailing what we as participants have liked. If you know of something coming up in April or May and would like to have it listed here, please email the information as shown below to editor@theabbey.us by March 18 to be included in the post at the beginning of March. Please note that all times are listed in Central Time.
March
Embody the Sacred Feminine with Nina Rao and Mirabai Starr (from Wildheart)
Dates and Times: Sunday, March 1, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: Sliding scale $45 – $65
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 3 hours
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes
Description: She appears across cultures and traditions, in nature and in the unseen, in the mystics of old and the lived experience of your own body. She is vast, and the only true doorway to her is your own direct experience: the way she meets you uniquely.
Join kirtan leader Nina Rao and interspiritual guide Mirabai Starr for a rich, experiential journey into the Sacred Feminine. Through devotional singing, mystical teachings, storytelling, and contemplative practice, we will explore the many forms of the Divine Feminine as she appears in chant, in story, in nature, and within our own lives.
This gathering invites you not only to learn about the Sacred Feminine, but to embody her.
Comments: We like this topic and we always enjoy programs (and books) from Mirabai Starr. She is an inter-spiritual leader with a vast amount of experience from an unconventional upbringing in a spiritual community to becoming a translator of mystic texts, we find her to be a compelling voice for the sacred feminine.
Twice-monthly Contemplative Gathering (from Metanoia)
Dates and Times: Sunday, March 1, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Once per month
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: In person at the Seminary of the Southwest Chapel, 501 E. 32nd St., Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Metanoia Journey is simplifying its in-person contemplative gathering. We have decided as a community to offer Centering Prayer, followed by Lectio Divina on a sacred text.
We feel that this speaks more to who we are as a contemplative community, founded on silent prayer/meditation, and listening to the Divine to speak to us through sacred texts.
This will also invite more participation from those that attend. We will still conclude our time together by going out locally for lunch to further a deepening personal connection with those in our community.
Comments: This is an opportunity to connect with other contemplative practitioners in person in Austin. While these are primarily Christian contemplative services, all are welcome.
Wondrous Encounters: Virtual Sit Meditations for Lent (from the Center for Action and Contemplation)
Dates and Times: Fridays during Lent, 1 p.m.
Registration: Subscribe on Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/@cac_abq
Cost: Free
Frequency: Weekly
Duration: 6 weeks
Format: YouTube
Recording Available: Yes
Description: Join us on YouTube to explore Fr. Richard Rohr’s devotional, Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent. Each meditation — led by the CAC team — invites participants deeper into Divine love. Tune in on YouTube each Friday during Lent at 1 p.m. Central Time, or watch the video replay on your own schedule.
Comments: The CAC is a reliable source for instruction and practice. This Lent offering is a good opportunity to drop in as you can or plan to attend every Friday during Lent.
Understanding Karma to Create a Desirable Future (from Spirituality & Practice)
Dates and Times: In progress through March 20; on-demand, no specific times
Registration: Open
Cost: $75
Frequency: Emails received every Monday, Wednesday, Friday through March 20
Duration: 4 weeks
Format: Online with 3-times weekly emails
Recording Available: Yes
Description: Karma is part of our everyday vocabulary. It shows up in everything from news reports to TV commercials to Taylor Swift songs. Everyone knows it has to do with reaping what we sow. But beyond the simple “What goes around comes around” is a nuanced and subtle concept of universal cause and effect that is often misconstrued and misused. Properly understood, karma is a profoundly practical frame of reference; properly applied, it can transform our lives for the better.
In this new e-course, prolific author and spiritual teacher Philip Goldberg will help us gain clarity about the laws of karma. Based on his extensive research, we’ll learn what karma is and, crucially, what it’s not. We’ll briefly explore the origin and development of the concept in ancient India and its transmission to the West. Most important, we’ll examine how we can ameliorate the impact of negative karma when it arises and modify our behavior in the present to generate more favorable karma going forward. Along the way,we’ll touch on ethical codes, reincarnation, dharma, and the karmic implications of work, relationships, and our roles as citizens.
You will receive 12 emails on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with the course content: an essay by Philip Goldberg on a key theme about karma plus a practice suggestion. In the course’s online Practice Circle you can ask questions, share your responses and your experiences with the practices. We will also have a one-hour Q&A with Philip on Zoom on March 19 at 5:00 pm PT/8:00 pm ET. The Zoom will be recorded and available for replay.
Comments: It’s hard to know what Karma actually is these days because the word has become almost overused, and likely misunderstood, in our current society. While we’re not familiar with this instructor, our experience with Spirituality & Practice is that the programs are high quality and have a “user-friendly” format that is always accessible to review.
Gospel of Thomas Lectio Divina, Winter Series (from Wisdom Waypoints)
Dates and Times: In progress through April 2026; Different groups meet at a variety of times on Mondays and Tuesdays
Registration: Open
Cost: Typically $10 per session
Frequency: Monthly
Duration: 1 hour
Format: Online
Recording Available: No
Description: This winter, Wisdom Waypoints is pleased to showcase a new series of Gospel of Thomas Lectio Divina gatherings hosted by seasoned Wisdom students within our network.
Why Lectio Divina? Lectio Divina is a foundational practice in one’s embodied, contemplative toolkit. Engaging this method offers a portal to a Wisdom way of reading, listening, and absorbing sacred text. Emphasis is placed on slowing down, listening with the heart, and allowing new meanings to wash over and inside us.
Why Gospel of Thomas? Diverging from the canonical gospels, the emphasis in Thomas is on conscious presence, awakening, and an imperative around transformation of consciousness. These short, koan-like texts are just familiar enough to be reassuring, yet just different enough to wake one up. Repeatedly, readers find that the way to break these texts open is not through scholarly commentary but to inquire: How does this resonate in my own life? What does this touch off for me? And specifically asking, where does this text land in me in sensation — in my heart, in my gut, perhaps a tingling in my hands?
The Gospel of Thomas Lectio Divina gatherings will vary slightly by facilitator but, in general, each session will begin with a preparatory exercise, such as a brief time of Centering Prayer or an embodied practice, before moving into the ritual of praying the text together.
We invite you to peruse the sessions available and reach out directly to the facilitators for questions and to RSVP.
Comments: We’ve participated in one of these groups before and found it to be an engaging small group where discussions range from personal to theological reflections on the text of this Gospel. The leaders are gentle and well-informed facilitators. We find the Lectio Divina practice only increases the depth of the experience. Choose the time/day session that works for your schedule and time zone. These sessions have global participants.
Jesus in Galilee with Dr. John Dominic Crossan (from Homebrewed Christianity)
Dates and Times: Lenten Study, Ash Wednesday – Easter; Asynchronous class
Registration: Open
Cost: Pay what you can
Frequency: Self-paced with weekly livestream
Duration: 5 weeks
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes
Description: For over five decades, Dr. John Dominic Crossan has been one of the world’s foremost scholars of the historical Jesus—rigorously reconstructing the life, teachings, and world of a first-century Jewish peasant who proclaimed God’s Rule in Roman-occupied Galilee. His work has shaped an entire generation of scholarship and transformed how millions understand the figure at the center of Christian faith.
This Lenten class begins where all of Dom’s work begins: with history. What was actually happening in Galilee in the 20s CE? What did Herod Antipas’ transformation of the “Sea of Galilee” into the commercial “Sea of Tiberias” mean for peasant fishing communities? Why did Jesus emerge from John’s baptism movement proclaiming God’s Rule through parables—and what made that medium so perfectly suited to that message?
Only by understanding what Jesus’ parables meant then can we wrestle with what they might demand of us now.
Comments: For individuals as well as church groups who want to participate together. The program has begun and is ongoing; you may join at any time. Since it’s an asynchronous class, dates aren’t as important except for the weekly livestream.” At The Abbey, we are watching this series and discussing as a group each week during Lent.
34th Annual United in Prayer Day (from Contemplative Outreach)
Dates and Times: Friday, March 6, 7 p.m. through Saturday, March 7, 3 p.m.
Registration: Not necessary; Zoom link will be posted a few days before the vigil
Cost: Free
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 18 hours
Format: Online
Recording Available: No
Description: A free, globally-hosted 18-hour prayer vigil accessible via Zoom. In the global unity of silence as God’s first language, we hold vigil for suffering humanity and all creation, and we honor Thomas Keating’s birthday (March 7), and the growing presence of Christ among us.
Join in silence and community at any time, as many times as you are able. Each hour will include at least 20 minutes of Centering Prayer and an offering from the hosting group. Some will prayer several or more consecutive hours to create an in-home retreat.
As we participate in this community prayer, let us remember and hold in our hearts all the members of the worldwide Centering Prayer community who do not have access to Zoom/ internet technology, including those who live in remote areas and those who are incarcerated.
Comments: We’ve found this to be a meaningful way to observe and honor Father Thomas Keating’s birthday. The experience of being online and in prayer with people from all over the world, part a global web, is unlike most other programs we have participated in.
Surrendered Living and Dying (from Aspen Chapel)
Dates and Times: Saturday, March 7, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: $80
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 6 hours
Format: Livestreamed and in-person at Aspen Chapel, Aspen, CO
Recording Available: ??
Description: A workshop on finding joy in all things with Bill Redfield and Heather Vesey. YouTube description here.
About Bill Redfield:
“Wisdom is one of the primary means by which real human transformation takes place.”
Bill’s interest and expertise lies in the intersection between spirituality and psychology. Over the years he has worked as both an Episcopal Priest and psychotherapist, specializing in group development, dynamics and leadership.
His work now is a synthesis of many different streams. He works with both groups and individuals. His specialty is ‘Wisdom Mentoring’.
This is a process he has developed based upon an amalgamation of Spiritual Direction, Coaching and Psychotherapy.
Heather Vesey:
Heather Vesey is Director of Contemplative Studies at the Aspen Chapel.Raised in a missionary doctor’s home in India, Heather has never known a time where her spiritual life has not been paramount.She has studied under Cynthia Bourgeault, James Finley and Richard Rohr at the Center for Action and Contemplation’s Living School, and has since developed her own practice alongside Bill Redfield in their online Wisdom work, and with her husband Nicholas who is the Spiritual Leader of the Aspen Chapel.
Comments: We’ve watched several programs from Aspen Chapel and they are always good. We don’t know these presenters, but the organization is one we trust. At The Abbey, we’ve been reading Larry Rosenberg’s Living in the Light of Death and this Aspen Chapel program is another aspect of this topic we found interesting.
United in Prayer Day: We Are God’s Work of Art (from Heart of Texas Contemplative Outreach)
Dates and Times: Saturday, March 7, 8 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Registration: Info coming soon
Cost: Pre-registration is requested and donations gratefully appreciated
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 4 hours
Format: In-person at Seminary of the Southwest, Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: How would our lives unfold if we were to embrace the passage from Ephesians which declares, ‘We are God’s work of art’? And what does this mean exactly? Each one of us are God’s offspring, manifestations of the Great Creator, longing to express God’s Love through expression.
The ‘creative’ within us is ever present, yet we often ‘fall asleep’ to Presence due to conditioning and life’s circumstances. By utilizing a few simple embodiment practices with intention and attention, Lisa Brown will guide us in reawakening within ourselves the gifts of God’s beauty and creativity that flow throughout our everyday lives and from within our own being.
Lisa Brown, who will be guiding us through the day, is a practitioner of Centering Prayer, a member of the Church of Conscious Harmony and a graduate of the Seminary of the Southwest. She is a lover of all paint mediums, music, and seeker of Truth.
Comments: This looks like a wonderful opportunity to participate in person here in Austin. We’re always interested in exploring embodiment practices. The Seminary of the Southwest is a lovely setting for this event.
Poetry for the Present Series (from Eremos)
Dates and Times: Tuesdays, March 10, June 9, September 8, Dec. 8; 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: $30 per session or $100 for all 4 sessions
Frequency: Quarterly
Duration: 2 hours
Format: Online
Recording Available: No
Description: As Eremos explores 30 Years of Light as our programming theme in 2026 in honor of our 30th anniversary, so too will our quarterly poetry sessions welcome in the light, even as each facilitator acknowledges what is present in the world and our lives in the moment.
Each session will include experiencing a selection of poems curated by the facilitator, time for personal reflection, and an invitation to write and share in small groups (breakout sessions via Zoom). No prior experience reading or writing poetry is necessary. Sharing your thoughts and writing is always by invitation.
Comments: This is a wonderful opportunity for poets and aspiring poets alike. Eremos does a great job with programs like this–they are accessible and enriching for all levels. The facilitators are Cathy Capers, Julie Bowman, and Beverly Voss.
Contemplative Foundations 101 with Fr. Carl Arico (from The Church of Conscious Harmony)
Dates and Times: Tuesday, March 10, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Hybrid, livestreamed (here), and in-person at The Church of Conscious Harmony, Austin, TX
Recording Available: No
Description: Please join for a special evening in the with Fr. Carl Arico, longtime teacher and practitioner of Centering Prayer and friend of Fr. Thomas Keating, who will share some insights on the spiritual journey rooted in the teachings of the Christian Contemplative Tradition.
Comments: Fr. Carl worked closely with Fr. Keating. He has a great combination of depth and humor that we have enjoyed in previous programs. He is able to respond to questions in a way that is accessible to all. He may not be traveling much longer and this is a great chance to see him in person, or via the livestream.
How Do We Find Hope in Hard Times? A Contemplative Response to Uncertainty, Loss, and Change (from the Center for Action and Contemplation)
Dates and Times: Friday, March 13, noon – 1:30 p.m.
Registration: Open until Thursday, March 12
Cost: $95, $30, $10, $5
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes, for one year
Description: Featuring Carmen Acevedo Butcher, Cole Arthur Riley, and Jon Batiste, this live 90-minute online gathering, will guide attendees through teachings and practices for finding hope amid personal loss, social unrest, and collective uncertainty. Whether you join live or watch the replay, you’ll uncover a contemplative approach to daily living that helps you tap into the deep well of God’s grace that sustains us all.
Comments: We have heard all of these speakers before and can’t wait for this program. All CAC programs are high-quality and this one seems especially so with such luminaries leading the conversation.
Twice-monthly Contemplative Gathering (from Metanoia)
Dates and Times: Sunday, March 15, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Once per month
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: In person at the Seminary of the Southwest Chapel, 501 E. 32nd St., Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Metanoia Journey is simplifying its in-person contemplative gathering. We have decided as a community to offer Centering Prayer, followed by Lectio Divina on a sacred text.
We feel that this speaks more to who we are as a contemplative community, founded on silent prayer/meditation, and listening to the Divine to speak to us through sacred texts.
This will also invite more participation from those that attend. We will still conclude our time together by going out locally for lunch to further a deepening personal connection with those in our community.
Comments: This is an opportunity to connect with other contemplative practitioners in person in Austin. While these are primarily Christian contemplative services, all are welcome.
Trauma, Transformation, and Christ-wholeness with Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining (from the Center for Christogenesis
Dates and Times: Tuesday, March 17, 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: $30
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes
Description: Join the Rev. Dr. Hillary Raining for a webinar that explores the intersection of faith, tradition, and intergenerational trauma, with special emphasis on the Indigenous connection to evolutionary spirituality. We will examine how trauma is passed down through generations, not just through stories and behaviors but also through a deeper, embodied memory known by Indigenous cultures as blood memory, highlighting the unique contributions of Indigenous wisdom to the process of spiritual evolution and healing. The webinar will also integrate perspectives from the classic mystical Christian tradition—specifically the stages of purgation, illumination, and union—as a spiritual framework for healing.
Drawing from Raining’s academic research, her personal experience as a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa, and classic Christian teachings, participants will gain an understanding of how trauma impacts individuals, families, and communities across time, and how healing practices rooted in cultural memory, tradition, and spirituality—especially Indigenous teachings—can foster resilience and transformation. The webinar will engage with discussion and encourage participants to consider both personal and collective pathways to healing.
Comments: Intergenerational trauma is a topic relatively new to us and this presentation looks like it will weave multiple themes together. Programs from the Center for Christogenesis have always been worthwhile in our experience. This program description sounds very hopeful for exploring intergenerational trauma.
The Astonishing Light Within: Shamanic Perspectives and Practices to Strengthen and Honor the Light Within Yourself and All Creation With Gerry Starnes (from Eremos)
Dates and Times: Thursday, March 26, 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: $45
Frequency: One-time event
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: Zoom
Recording Available: Yes
Description: Whether you call it the divine spark or the light within, more people are opening to the awareness of the light within to access for healing, compassion, and connection with others. Shamanism takes this understanding another step further and invites us to acknowledge, connect to, and learn from the light emanating from the entire web of life.
From light found within the humble houseplant to the wisdom accessible from ancient trees and wildlife, the earth abounds with supportive ways to strengthen and access your light. Join us for 90 minutes, as Gerry Starnes shares shamanic wisdom and offers practices to bring more light into your life this year.
Comments: We are very interested in shamanic perspectives and practices. Eremos provides meaningful programs and this is one we look forward to.
Holy Week Commuter Retreat (from The Church of Conscious Harmony)
Dates and Times: Monday and Tuesday, March 30 and 31, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Wednesday, April 1, 9 a.m. – noon
Registration: Open
Cost: Monday and Tuesday $30/day; Wednesday $15 (all prices include lunch)
Frequency: Daily
Duration: 3 days
Format: In-person at The Church of Conscious Harmony, Austin TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Please join us March 30-April 1 for a Lenten Commuter Retreat led by Jill Frank. We invite all and particularly encourage our online community to come to Austin to participate in this multi-day, on-campus retreat experience, preceding our other Holy Week offerings. The retreat will be from 9:00am-4:00pm Monday & Tuesday, and from 9:00-noon on Wednesday. As an option on all three days, you can include Centering Prayer in Theosis Chapel from 7 a.m. – 7:35 a.m. and breakfast at 8:30 a.m. It is our wish that everyone is able to participate in the early morning Centering Prayer and breakfast on all three days along with the standard schedule. Each day there is an optional breakfast at 8:30 a.m.
Comments: We like that you can sign up for the entire retreat or for individual sessions. This is a nice chance to get a taste of a short, in-person retreat. The grounds a the Church of Conscious Harmony are a lovely setting for a retreat. We anticipate this would be a silent retreat throughout the day, with sits, lectio divina, and walks. The schedule will be full but participation is optional, with time for solitude and some group sharing. We have done programs online with Jill Frank and find her to be a great leader.
April
Twice-monthly Contemplative Gathering (from Metanoia)
Dates and Times: Sunday, April 5, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Once per month
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: In person at the Seminary of the Southwest Chapel, 501 E. 32nd St., Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Metanoia Journey is simplifying its in-person contemplative gathering. We have decided as a community to offer Centering Prayer, followed by Lectio Divina on a sacred text.
We feel that this speaks more to who we are as a contemplative community, founded on silent prayer/meditation, and listening to the Divine to speak to us through sacred texts.
This will also invite more participation from those that attend. We will still conclude our time together by going out locally for lunch to further a deepening personal connection with those in our community.
Comments: This is an opportunity to connect with other contemplative practitioners in person in Austin. While these are primarily Christian contemplative services, all are welcome.
Twice-monthly Contemplative Gathering (from Metanoia)
Dates and Times: Sunday, April 19, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Once per month
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: In person at the Seminary of the Southwest Chapel, 501 E. 32nd St., Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Metanoia Journey is simplifying its in-person contemplative gathering. We have decided as a community to offer Centering Prayer, followed by Lectio Divina on a sacred text.
We feel that this speaks more to who we are as a contemplative community, founded on silent prayer/meditation, and listening to the Divine to speak to us through sacred texts.
This will also invite more participation from those that attend. We will still conclude our time together by going out locally for lunch to further a deepening personal connection with those in our community.
Comments: This is an opportunity to connect with other contemplative practitioners in person in Austin. While these are primarily Christian contemplative services, all are welcome.
May
Twice-monthly Contemplative Gathering (from Metanoia)
Dates and Times: Sunday, May 3, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Once per month
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: In person at the Seminary of the Southwest Chapel, 501 E. 32nd St., Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Metanoia Journey is simplifying its in-person contemplative gathering. We have decided as a community to offer Centering Prayer, followed by Lectio Divina on a sacred text.
We feel that this speaks more to who we are as a contemplative community, founded on silent prayer/meditation, and listening to the Divine to speak to us through sacred texts.
This will also invite more participation from those that attend. We will still conclude our time together by going out locally for lunch to further a deepening personal connection with those in our community.
Comments: This is an opportunity to connect with other contemplative practitioners in person in Austin. While these are primarily Christian contemplative services, all are welcome.
Twice-monthly Contemplative Gathering (from Metanoia)
Dates and Times: Sunday, May 17, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Once per month
Duration: 1.5 hours
Format: In person at the Seminary of the Southwest Chapel, 501 E. 32nd St., Austin, TX
Recording Available: N/A
Description: Metanoia Journey is simplifying its in-person contemplative gathering. We have decided as a community to offer Centering Prayer, followed by Lectio Divina on a sacred text.
We feel that this speaks more to who we are as a contemplative community, founded on silent prayer/meditation, and listening to the Divine to speak to us through sacred texts.
This will also invite more participation from those that attend. We will still conclude our time together by going out locally for lunch to further a deepening personal connection with those in our community.
Comments: This is an opportunity to connect with other contemplative practitioners in person in Austin. While these are primarily Christian contemplative services, all are welcome.
Ongoing
You’re Not the Only One (from Eremos)
Dates and Times: Weekly on Mondays, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: Free
Frequency: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour
Format: Zoom
Recording Available: No
Description: Join us weekly (or as often as you desire) to share how you’re feeling right now about life, what’s unfolding in the world, or whatever you need to speak into the circle.
No fixing, no ranting, no trying to make it better.
Just listening attentively to each other in support and always closing our time together with what gives us hope or what we’re grateful for.
Comments: We’ve met this leader (as a participant) in past programs and have found her to be very thoughtful in her sharing. This looks like an enriching ongoing group.
Meditation Resources for those New to Meditation (from Tara Brach)
Dates and Times: Self-directed, flexible
Registration: N/A – this is a collection of resources
Cost: Free
Frequency: Self-directed
Duration: Varies
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes
Description: You are embarking on a journey that can deeply transform and enrich your life. The most important thing to remember is to approach practice with a friendly, curious, non-judgmental attitude.
There’s no one style of meditation that is “best” or fits all people. We’ve offered you some basic practices below that you can explore to see which serve you well. You might end up with two or three that you use regularly as you establish a practice. Over the weeks and months you’ll internalize the instructions and probably practice more and more regularly without the guided meditation. But at times, you’ll find they will help in gathering your attention.
Resources for those new to meditation or if you’d like a refresher:
Beginner’s Meditation Kit – a introductory mini-course
Mindfulness Daily – a free 40-day online course to help to establish a mindfulness meditation practice
How to Meditate FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How to Meditate (PDF)
Comments: This is a wonderful introduction to (or refresher for) establishing a meditation practice. A well-known and respected meditation teacher, Tara Brach’s teachings blend Western psychology and Eastern spiritual practices, mindful attention to our inner life, and a full, compassionate engagement with our world. The result is a distinctive voice in Western Buddhism, one that offers a wise and caring approach to freeing ourselves and society from suffering. To learn more about her training, background, and leadership, click here.
Contemplative Chant
Dates and Times: Wednesdays at 4 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: Free
Frequency: Ongoing
Duration: 30 minutes
Format: Online
Recording Available: No
Description: 30 minutes of contemplative chant from Wisdom Waypoints, with chants led by Susan Latimer and Elizabeth Combs. Chanting is a wonderful practice for bringing both the Moving Center (body, breath, tone) and the Emotional Center (open heart) online. It is a spiritual practice that opens our hearts, nourishes our nervous systems, prepares us for prayer and meditation as a bridge into stillness, and connects us to our innate joy, courage, steadfastness, peace, beauty, truth and goodness. In times of great uncertainty and change, we find chant to be one of the things that most grounds us. These sessions draw chants from Wisdom Schools, various spiritual and religious traditions, sacred texts, old hymns and poetry. Because of the limitations of synching sound on Zoom, all participants are muted except for the one leading. This allows everyone to chant along in their own space. (Great if you are shy about sharing your voice! Fun if you like to try harmonies!)
Comments: Some of us join this contemplative chant weekly and enjoy it very much. We find it a wonderful contemplative practice. Wisdom Waypoints is the wisdom community started by Cynthia Bourgeault, one of our favorite wisdom teachers. Note that this is a small and warm group of regular participants. Therefore, it can be more difficult to participate anonymously.
The Abbey Tuesday Morning Meditation
Dates and Times: Tuesdays at 8 a.m. (Meditation at 8 a.m., optional discussion at 8:30 a.m.)
Registration: Open
Cost: Free
Frequency: Weekly
Duration: Ongoing
Format: Zoom
Recording Available: No
Description: A 20-minute sit, followed by a brief reading and discussion.
Comments: Of course we love this meditation group! It’s The Abbey, our own contemplative community. We are currently reading Living in the Light of Death by Larry Rosenberg.
The Abbey Spiritual Discussion Group
Dates and Times: Tuesdays, 5 p.m.
Registration: Not required
Cost: Free
Frequency: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour
Format: Zoom
Recording Available: No
Description: This group reads books to deepen our spiritual lives and to build community among participants. Newcomers are welcome to join the group anytime. Register on The Abbey website and we will send you a Zoom link.
Comments: The group is currently reading Miracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus, by Elaine Pagels. We enjoy this group and the lively discussion both in small-group breakout rooms and with the whole group.
Word of the Week (from Contemplative Outreach)
Dates and Times: Emails sent on Sundays, meets each Tuesday at 8 a.m. and Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Registration: Sign up for weekly emails here.
Cost: Free annual subscription (with recommended donation of $95/yr)
Frequency: Weekly, per above
Duration: One hour
Format: Zoom – link is sent weekly in the email on Sunday
Recording Available: No
Description: A beautiful email is sent on Sundays with the reading of Lectio Divina that will be done. There is a sit and then the Lectio Divina.
Comments: We like this because it’s a chance to revisit the reading for the week—and they always include beautiful artwork (it’s Lectio and Visio Divina!). We like the sense of community. It’s a pretty stable group and there’s a chance to share. We also like the balance of it—they are very mindful of the time, it’s just an hour. There’s a rhythm of it that we like. We read the emails each week and appreciate having the email in advance to sit with it a little before the group reading. There are also opportunities to interact online with the group during the week. We will note that it can be difficult to find the link for the Zoom in the weekly email; it is also spelled out here—the third bullet has link to the zoom with poorly brown highlighted “Click on this link,” but it also provides the zoom code and passcode in the email.
Wisdom Waypoints Daily Centering Prayer/Meditation
Dates and Times: Monday – Friday 9:30 a.m.; Monday/Wednesday/Sunday 6 p.m.; Saturday 10:30 a.m.
Registration: No registration required, join via website
Cost: Free
Frequency: Daily, per above
Duration: 30 minutes
Format: Zoom
Recording Available: No
Description: A collective wisdom pause for “Silence and Stillness.” Wisdom members lead each sit with a brief reading, chant, and meditation/stillness.
Comments: We like this because it is a way to maintain our personal practice alongside others with the degree of anonymity (or not) with which we are each comfortable. Wisdom Waypoints is a part of Cynthia Bourgeault’s network of teaching and practice resources.
The Welcoming Prayer – Videos (from Contemplative Outreach)
Dates and Times: Always available
Registration: N/A
Cost: Free
Frequency: N/A
Duration: Varies, from 5 minutes to 1 hour, most are about 30 minutes
Format: YouTube
Recording Available: Yes
Description: A collection of videos on the Welcoming Prayer (34 videos). There was a series of 8 videos which are part of a larger curriculum for a self-guided online course on this practice, “Embracing Living: The Welcoming Prayer,” which is offered by Contemplative Outreach in conjunction with Spirituality & Practice).
Comments: We regularly enjoy offerings from Contemplative Outreach and are always eager to learn more about The Welcoming Prayer. Some of the 34 videos linked here are from early in the Pandemic (when we were all trying to figure out how to be in community when we couldn’t meet in person), and some videos are more recent.
Mindful Mondays (from the Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing)
Dates and Times: Monday afternoons, Noon – 1 p.m.
Registration: Open
Cost: Free
Frequency: Weekly
Duration: 1 hour
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes, for 1 week after each session
Description: Join the Earl. E Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing for an informal hour of gentle movement and guided meditation. Our experienced facilitators will guide you through a series of mindful movement and meditations that will leave you feeling rejuvenated. No prior experience or special clothing is necessary.
We rotate through various modalities of gentle, mindful movement. Please check the Mindful Monday’s registration webpage to learn the specific mindful movement planned for each week’s session. Prior to each session, as best you can, you may wish to secure a space that will accommodate mindful movement and where you won’t be easily interrupted for the duration of the hour-long session
Comments: This is a new offering to us. We saw a forest meditation video produced by this group, found their website, and thought this would be interesting to explore.
The Tears of Things: Integrating the Prophetic Path (from The Center for Action and Contemplation)
Dates and Times: Self-paced
Registration: Open
Cost: $100 (or $80 or $60, based on financial circumstances)
Frequency: Self-paced with 9 prophetic themes)
Duration: Varies
Format: Online
Recording Available: Yes
Description: A self-guided online course based on Richard Rohr’s new book, “The Tears of Things.” Explore the wisdom of prophets from ancient times to modern day, and discover how we can transform our anger into compassion in our modern “age of outrage.”
“The Tears of Things: Integrating the Prophetic Path” will lead you on a journey from righteous anger at injustice, through grief for the world’s suffering, and—for those committed to the path—finally to grace-filled love for everyone and everything.
Students will explore themes from “The Tears of Things,” like radical grace, collective evil, and the alchemy of tears. Discover deeper meaning in the Hebrew prophets and find inspiration from today’s truth-tellers like Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, Etty Hillesum, Howard Thurman, Joanna Macy, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Oscar Romero.
This self-guided course offers a flexible online learning experience to explore prophetic themes from the sacred space of your home. You can enroll anytime and access all course materials through CAC Connect, our new online learning platform. Engage with the material in a space that’s safe for questions and deepen your understanding alongside fellow seekers.
Comments: We’ve previously enjoyed many offerings from the CAC and Richard Rohr. This offering is an online, self-paced program based on his new book, but we are not sure if he is speaking in it. There doesn’t appear to be a live portion of this course and we are not sure if there is online interaction (though they usually do offer that).