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Sponsored by [Spiritual Direction Colorado] a local group of spiritual directors, Franciscan author Richard Rohr spoke January 16 & 17 at the Arvada Center for the Arts.[He is] a prophetic voice, …author of many books such as Soul Brothers, Everything Belongs, and founder/director of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque. He began by praising what the lay group was doing. Re-positioning spiritual authority by-passes the whole struggle over ordination. Truth is no longer top-down, but experiential. No longer do we need titles, vestments and office for authority. Converging with this realignment is our current rediscovery of the contemplative stance.

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In my life as the parish administrator of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Boulder, I am frequently buried in tasks that overwhelm any sense of the presence of God in my life. (And I know that there might be one or two others of you out there who have a similar experience!) I have been told by a very reliable source that the number one thing that interferes with the experience of God is “busyness.” As a result of that insight, I have been taking my first steps toward sitting still. My first step on this contemplative path led me to an “Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop” and the second, to my first encounter with Father Richard Rohr. I had the wonderful pleasure of attending Father Rohr’s recent spirituality workshop: “The Third Eye—Contemplation as an Alternative Consciousness.” Father Rohr discussed the impact that dualistic, either/or thinking has had on western religious tradition. (A great recent example of this type of thinking is seen in the title of a talk held at the University of Colorado recently—“What’s So Great About God?: Atheism vs. Religion.”)

Father Rohr maintains that we need to find the path beyond dualistic thinking toward a non-dual consciousness in order to fully experience the loving presence of God. He stressed the importance of developing a daily spiritual practice like centering prayer or contemplative walking meditation in order to create a transformational space in which “faith” can be understood and embraced in its original definition: living without knowing. In this transformational space God is experienced as unity where the point of the practice is not to be correct, but connected. It is a space in which paradox is accepted, in which the mystery of the Trinity is embraced, in which one can simply live with dilemma and not seek or demand resolution. It is a space of no judgment and no opinion, a deep place in which one can experience total union with God. Father Rohr speaks and writes passionately about his topic and has inspired me to continue my practice of sitting still. The promise of centering prayer—to be present with the divine indwelling of God—is a powerful promise. And in that quiet, still space one can truly sow love and harvest the fruit of the spirit
Diane Wells, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Boulder

I was also privileged to attend Father Richard Rohr’s presentations at Spiritual Direction Colorado’s 2009 Annual Spirituality Conference on January 16th and 17th. A few things stand out from my experience. Father Rohr encouraged us to be willing to have room for differing views (non-dualistic thinking he calls it) or to be engaged without knowing the answer—to be willing to wait for clarity, to not know. I am at a “not knowing” place in my life (after being one who knew the answers!), so Father Rohr’s ideas spoke to me.

Father Rohr believes that some form of contemplative practice can lead to spiritual deepening and I have experienced that deepening with my centering prayer practice. While I felt good about that, he immediately prodded and poked so that I could see how much spiritual growth was yet before me. As Father Rohr presented his version of the levels of spiritual growth, he teased about the ways that we are attached to superficial things, how we see ourselves as what we do, how we look, what others say about us. He warned that judgment and lack of forgiveness of others keep us from God’s love. I catch myself doing just these things. I am knowing (and embracing?) my dark side, a good thing, according to Rohr. Part of the joy of the conference was the fellowship with the other St. John’s parishioners. It was awesome how my conversations at the breaks fed into Father Rohr’s talks, giving me much to ponder!
Maggie Cox, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Boulder