Carl
Carl McColman
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Speak only when your words are an improvement on silence (Quaker proverb).
Male
48 years old
STONE MOUNTAIN, Georgia
United States
Last Login: 6/29/2009
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Mood:
contemplative
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Carl's Interests
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| General | Christian and world mysticism, theology, contemplative (centering) prayer, lectio divina, the Daily Office, Benedictine & Cistercian spirituality, neo-monasticism, the writings of the great mystics, the doctrine of deification (theosis), Celtic spirituality, Celtic Christianity, interfaith dialogue, the emergent church, radical orthodoxy, integral theory, integral life practice, vegetarianism/veganism, book collecting, web design, writing. | | Music | Ralph Vaughan Williams, Mass in G Minor; Renaissance, Ashes Are Burning; Sydney Carter, Lovely in the Dances; Kate Bush, Hounds of Love; Peter Gabriel, III (Melting Face); Rebecca St. James, Worshop God; Grateful Dead, Live/Dead; Sarah McLachlan, Solace; Yes, Tales from Topographic Oceans; pretty much anything by the Tallis Scholars or Anonymous 4. | | Movies | Into Great Silence
The Secret of Roan Inish
Harold and Maude
King of Hearts
Waking Ned Devine
Harvey
Star Wars, Harry Potter, LOTR... | | Television | Ballykissangel, Waiting for God, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Coupling (the BBC version), Mr. Bean (yes I know I'm silly, but it does make me laugh), Chef, Red Dwarf, Vicar of Dibley, Last of the Summer Wine... can you tell that I only bother to turn the TV on when PBS has its BBC night? | | Books | - Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism: The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness
- Gerald May, Will and Spirit
- Patricia Monaghan, The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog
- Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything
- Maggie Ross, Pillars of Flame
- Kenneth Leech, The Eye of the Storm
- Frederick Bauerschmidt, Why the Mystics Matter Now
- John MacQuarrie, Two Worlds Are Ours: An Introduction to Christian Mysticism
- Olivier Clément, The Roots of Christian Mysticism
- Bernard McGinn, The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism
- Benedicta Ward, ed., The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks
- Philo of Alexandria, The Contemplative Life, Giants, and Selections
- Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks and Other Works
- Origen, An Exhortation to Martyrdom, Prayer and Selected Works
- Plotinus, The Essential Plotinus: Representative Treatises from the Enneads
- Porphyry,Concerning the Life of Philosophy & the Ascent to the Gods
- Ephrem the Syrian, Hymns
- Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Moses
- Evagrius Ponticus, The Praktikos & Chapters on Prayer
- Pseudo-Macarius, The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter
- Augustine, Selected Writings
- John Cassian, Conferences
- Proclus, The Elements of Theology
- Pseudo-Dionysius, The Complete Works
- Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict
- Gregory the Great, Be Friends of God
- John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent
- Maximus Confessor, Selected Writings
- Rabi'A, Doorkeeper of the Heart
- John Scotus Eriugena, The Voice of the Eagle
- Symeon the New Theologian,The Discourses
- Al Ghazzali, Mishkat Al-Anwar (the Niche for Lights)
- William of Saint Thierry, The Way to Divine Union
- Bernard of Clairvaux, Selected Works
- Aelred of Rievaulx, Spiritual Friendship
- Hildegard of Bingen, Selected Writings
- Richard of St. Victor, The Book of the Patriarchs; The Mystical Ark; Etc.
- Elisabeth of Schönau, The Complete Works
- 'Attar, The Conference of the Birds
- Ibn Al'Arabi, The Bezels of Wisdom
- Francis and Clare, The Complete Works
- Jalal Al-Din Rumi, The Essential Rumi
- Albert the Great, On Union with God
- Mechthild of Magdeburg, Flowing Light of the Godhead
- Bonaventure, The Soul's Journey Into God; The Tree of Life; Etc.
- Hadewijch,The Complete Works
- Fakhruddin Iraqi, Divine Flashes
- Jacopone da Todi, The Lauds
- Ramon Lull, Romancing God: Contemplating the Beloved
- Angela of Foligno, Complete Works
- Marguerite Porete, The Mirror of Simple Souls
- Nizam Ad-Din Awliya, Morals for the Heart
- Gertrude of Helfta, The Herald of Divine Love
- Meister Eckhart, Selected Writings
- Anonymous, Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment
- Margaret Ebner, Major Works
- Richard Rolle, The Fire of Love and the Mending of Life
- Gregory Palamas, The Triads
- Johannes Tauler, Sermons
- Henry Suso, The Exemplar, with Two German Sermons
- John Ruusbroec, The Spiritual Espousals and Other Works
- Birgitta of Sweden, Life and Selected Writings
- Anonymous, Theologia Germanica
- Rulman Merswin, Mystical Writings
- Hafiz, New Nightingale, New Rose
- Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue
- Ibn'Abbad of Ronda, Letters on the Sufi Path
- Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing
- Walter Hilton, The Scale of Perfection
- Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love
- Jean Gerson, Early Works
- Margery Kempe, The Book of Margery Kempe
- Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ
- Nicholas of Cusa, Selected Spiritual Writings
- Dennis the Carthusian, Spiritual Writings
- Nil Sorsky, The Complete Writings
- Catherine of Genoa, Purgation and Purgatory; the Spiritual Dialogue
- Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises
- Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle
- Luis de Leon, The Names of Christ
- John of the Cross, Selected Writings
- Hayim Vital, Book of Visions
- Maria Maddelena de' Pazzi, Selected Revelations
- Johann Arndt, True Christianity
- Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life
- Isaiah Horowitz, The Generations of Adam
- Jacob Boehme, The Way to Christ
- John Donne, Selections from Divine Poems, Sermons, etc.
- Pierre de Bérulle, Selected Writings
- Jane de Chantal, Letters of Spiritual Direction
- George Herbert, The Country Parson; the Temple
- Augustine Baker, Holy Wisdom
- Marie of the Incarnation, Selected Writings
- Angelus Silesius, The Cherubinic Wanderer
- Brother Lawrence, Practice of the Presence of God
- Thomas Traherne, Centuries
- George Fox, The Journal of George Fox
- Abraham Miguel Cardozo, Selected Writings
- Madame Guyon, Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ
- Jean Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence
- William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life; the Spirit of Love
- Alphonsus de Liguori, Selected Writings
- Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel
- Nahman of Bratslav, The Tales
- Yizhak Isaac Safrin, Book of Secrets
- Coventry Patmore, The Rod, The Root and the Flower
- Elijah Benamozegh, Israel and Humanity
- Anonymous, The Pilgrim's Tale (The Way of a Pilgrim)
- Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul
- Abraham Isaac Kook, The Lights of Penitence, and Other Works
- Rufus Jones, Essential Writings
- Hazrat Inayat Khan, The Inner Life
- Evelyn Underhill, The Letters
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Hymn of the Universe
- Simone Weil, Waiting for God
- Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings
- Adrienne Von Speyr, Light and Images: Elements of Contemplation
- Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
- Karl Rahner, Spiritual Writings
- Hans Urs Von Balthasar, Love Alone is Credible
- Matta El-Maskeen, The Communion of Love
- George A. Maloney, The Breath of the Mystic
| | Heroes | Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill, Plotinus, Julian of Norwich, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart, Simone Weil, Ken Wilber, Maggie Ross, and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Also: Rosa Parks, Mother Jones, Shane Claiborne, Mother Teresa, and Desmond Tutu. |
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Carl's Details
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| Status: | Married | | Here for: | Networking, Friends | | Hometown: | Stone Mountain, GA | | Religion: | Catholic | | Zodiac Sign: | Sagittarius | | Education: | Grad / professional school | | Occupation: | Writer |
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Carl's Schools
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George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Graduated: 1984
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Master's Degree
Major: English/Professional Writing and Editing
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1982 to 1984 |
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA
Graduated: 1982
Student status: Alumni
Degree: Bachelor's Degree
Major: English
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1979 to 1982 |
Kecoughtan High
Hampton, VA
Graduated: 1979
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
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1976 to 1979 |
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Carl is writing a book about Christian mysticism and contemplation (to be published in 2010).
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Carl's Blurbs |
About me:
 “As we sang, and eventually shared the bread and wine of Holy Communion, it seemed to me as if the entire room began to glow. Not a physical glowing, as if someone had turned on additional lights, but a radiance, a presence — words fail to describe. Slowly, but suddenly and obviously, things were different. Only words associated with light seem to capture the experience. Luminous, resplendent, glowing. It’s as if everything — the walls of the room, the various people within it, the bread and the wine being passed from hand to hand—shimmered with a light that I could still perceive even when I closed my eyes. Call it energy, perhaps. It wasn’t just as if there were a nonphysical light, it felt as if a new kind of love or joy had become manifest for the first time ever. I felt loved like I never had before.”
— The Aspiring Mystic
The quotation above recounts an experience I had when I was sixteen years old, in 1977. It launched a lifetime love for contemplative spirituality and silent prayer. Over the years that followed I discovered the writings of classical mystics like Julian of Norwich, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Thomas Merton, and others; I also encountered living expressions of the mystical path in a variety of settings: monasteries, independent organizations like the Shalem Institute, and the teachings of living contemplatives like Cynthia Bourgeault and Thomas Keating. Even though I’ve always felt called to explore the wisdom teachings of other faith traditions (like Buddhism and Neopaganism) and although my relationship with the institutional church has at times been stormy and difficult, I keep coming back to the living waters of the western contemplative path.
It’s a living tradition. Here in the third millennium we are given the grace to enter the silence, to pray the ancient liturgies, to slow down our frenzied lives and taste the sweetness of the eternal presence. Even though after 30 years I still consider myself a rank beginner, it is my honor and privilege to study and practice the wisdom of the great mystics.
If you’ve read this far, I hope you’re traveling this path alongside me. And if not, I invite you to come. This isn’t about religious fanaticism, or rigid moralism, or otherworldly denial of the beauty and pain of this present life. Rather, contemplative spirituality invites us to open our hearts to divine love and grace, so that we might in turn become living embodiments of that same love, thereby allowing us to live a more full and abundant life, starting here and now.
A little bit more about me: I am the author of 10 books dealing with a variety of spiritual topics, including mysticism of course, but also Celtic spirituality and earth-based wisdom. Most of my books concern Neopaganism, a path I explored for about seven years but ultimately decided wasn't for me, since I craved the contemplative riches of sacramental Christianity. While I don’t think religious identity is nearly as important as the condition of one’s heart, here’s the list of labels I’ve worn, for those who want to know: I was raised Lutheran and after a short but intense period of involvement with the charismatic renewal, I became a wanderer as an adult — exploring the Episcopal Church as well as Neopaganism and other forms of non-Christian spirituality, before being received in the Catholic Church. Professionally, I’ve always worked with books and recorded media, both at the retail and wholesale levels; I spent four years as a full-time freelance author, when most of my books were written. Currently I am a secular employee of the business division of a monastery, where I do marketing and website management. I’ve always lived in the American south and love it here, even if my political and social values are rather out of step with the region as a whole. I am blessed with a wonderful family — my wife shares my devotion to contemplative spirituality, for which I am ceaselessly grateful; our shared life is kept very interesting by our profoundly physically handicapped daughter (as well as four cats, three of whom love to sit with us during our time of centering prayer). Last but not least: I am a vegan, and believe strongly that care of the body (healthy diet, adequate sleep, exercise) is a vital part of any spiritual practice. We don't have to be Olympic athletes, but it is important that we take care of ourselves.
You can visit my blog at The Website of Unknowing.
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(Layout adapted from a wondeful one created by Mike Industries.)
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Who I'd like to meet:
Marcus Borg, Kate Bush, Michael Casey, Shane Claiborne, Annie Dillard, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, Thomas Keating, André Louf, Andrew Louth, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Bernard McGinn, Brian McLaren, Sara Miles, Raimon Panikkar, Peter Rollins, Maggie Ross, Jens Soering, Sheila Upjohn, Timothy (Kallistos) Ware and Ken Wilber.
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