A State of Mind

Natural Christian Mysticism with Stephen Hatch

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Contemplative Christian and intrepid explorer of wilderness Stephen Hatch joins us for this deep conversation into his life and work. Stephen taught Centering Prayer and Christian mysticism at Naropa University and is a life long student of contemplative Christianity and the natural world.

Learn more about Stephen at: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.hatch.902

Partial List of Topics in Chronological Order:

  • 0:00 Introduction
  • 1:26 Julian shares about working with depression and insights from a weekend attending a Tony Robbins virtual seminar
  • 6:16 Conversation with Stephen Hatch begins
    • His upbringing with Christianity
    • how his parents were fundamentalist and Stephen was attracted to the Quakers at a young age
    • Dads side Armenia, Mom's side Quaker
    • Carl Jung's writings that people from the West  should not study yoga
    • What Stephen got from fundamentalist upbringing
    • What is contemplative Christianity?
    • Spirituality through the vehicle of Nature
    • Wilderness mysticism
    • Inter-spiritual
      • 3 Different ways to do this
      • Stephen is mostly the first way
      • The contemplative path
      • Meeting the great contemplative Christian teacher Thomas Keating
      • What is Spiritual Direction?
      • To be a Christian - to listen to the presence of the divine in whoever you are with.
      • The Book of Psalms: "We are all Gods, sons and daughters of the most High"
      • Process Theology: there is an aspect of God that is learning and growing
      • There was a time in the 1980s where he didn't want to use the word 'God'
      • Ways to understand Jesus Christ and Christ Consciousness
      • Thomas Keating was Christ in a sense for Stephen Hatch
      • Book of Psalms
      • Mary Magdalene as the chief apostle
      • The Dead Sea scrolls
      • Jesus as the light and Mary as the warmth
      • The Gospel of Mary Magdalene
      • Gnosis - Knowledge
      • No such thing as static perfection
      • To be perfect is to be on the journey continuously
      • Constant Growth
      • The oppression of the idea of 'perfection'
      • Everyone has their flaws and because of this we need each other!
      • What is 'the body of Christ'
      • A true Patriarch is a person who has wisdom and they take the responsibility and are an honorable person, just as a true Matriarch is.
      • It is all Relational.
      • Mytho-poetic Men's Movement
      • Ken Wilber's influence on Stephen
      • Solitude as such an important part of the spiritual path to discover your inner source
      • Stephen's reflections on the scandal with Shambhala Buddhism: it's because humans are involved.
      • 'The same measure you judge by, you will be judged by.'
      • Stephen thinks that it is dangerous to have a teacher as your prime source to God or Spirit.
      • Stephen's tradition comes from the Radical Reformation
      • How institutions are inherently flawed
      • Book recommendation: 'The New Monasticism'

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        A State of MindBy Julian Royce