Carl McColman

12/15/2025

In Honolulu, I preached today at the Cathedral of Saint Andrew, and ran into none other than Kathleen Norris! So here’s a picture of Fran and me and Kathleen – gotta love her T-shirt!

12/14/2025

The Fear of Silence (Click to read on Substack)

How Can We Move From Existential Angst to Contemplative Awe?

12/13/2025

Register now for the Centering Prayer Summit, January 24-25, 2026! To sign up, click here:
▸ https://lttr.ai/AmF9h

12/13/2025

Politics, Mysticism, and Writing (Click to read on Substack)

A reader criticizes my writing for being "Left Wing." Here are some thoughts in reply.

12/13/2025

Absolutely heartbroken to learn of the passing of my dear friend Lerita Coleman Brown (here we are, at the funeral of a friend in 2018). You may know Lerita from her wonderful books, including “When the Heart Speaks, Listen” and “What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Journey with Howard Thurman.” But I knew her from a meditation circle that we both participated in for many years, as well as the many times we taught or spoke together, both in Atlanta and beyond. You can hear Lerita on the “Encountering Silence” podcast that I co-hosted for several years with Cassidy Hall and Kevin Johnson. Lerita received a heart transplant when she was in her forties, so that medical miracle literally almost doubled her life (and made our friendship possible). I”m gutted, friends. Please pray for her beloved, Columbus (also an amazing, radiant soul) and if you haven’t read her books, do so — they are food for the spirit.

12/12/2025

How Advent is Like Hawaiian Wisdom (Click to read on Substack)

Step Toward the Light Until Heaven Shines Forth

12/11/2025

“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me… to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners” (Click to read on Substack)

Modern prisons were created on the model of medieval monasteries. What can we learn from this?

12/10/2025

What is Spirituality? (Click to read on Substack)

The answer is an invitation, not a definition.

12/09/2025

Is Mysticism Nihilistic? (Click to read on Substack)

Or... can nihilism be mystical?

12/08/2025

Is the Dream Over? (Click to read on Substack)

Perhaps when one dream dies, another one simply arises.

12/07/2025

Happy Birthday, Evelyn Underhill (Click to read on Substack)

Some thoughts on the 150th birthday of a great English mystical writer

12/07/2025

Today is my birthday, and I think I will remember it for a while.