The Pocket Contemplative

In another episode of Dave's "history corner," he looks at the cataclysm that happened when the emperor made Christianity the state's religion in 325. Where Christians had been poor, persecuted and few in number, it now messed with the heads of the old guard to suddenly be favored and joined by millions of far less devout "fellow Christians" who loved the perks of their connection to power. The response of a few bold people to head to the wilderness changed what Christian faith--and its contemplative variant--was to become. It's quite a story. 

Mentioned on this podcast:

Journey to the Heart: Christian Contemplation Through the Centuries, edited by Kim Nataraja

You can sign up for Dave's "Thursday Notes" here

You can learn more about the free, online Faith Part 2 course here. You can register your interest here. 

Contemplative practice has a remarkable connection to our physical health, among its many benefits. Dave Schmelzer will review how it connects with lengthening our telomeres, the caps on our chromosomes which determine whether we age with vigor or disease. He'll touch on advice for stress management and exercise and diet and sleep, all in a context of a mindful world. 

Mentioned on this podcast

The Telomere Effect: A Revolutionary Approach to Living Younger, Healthier, Longer, by Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel

You can sign up to receive Dave's "Thursday notes" here

You can learn more about the free, online Faith Part 2 course here. You can register your interest here. 

"I dunno, that seems kind of out there to me" is a sentiment that has shadowed Christian conversations from the start. Dave Schmelzer takes us on a journey to the second century when early attempts to define orthodoxy made consequential choices about how much our experience might inform our understanding of who God is. He introduces us to key figures like Irenaeus and to a consequential debate that perhaps we haven't heard about: whether the fourth gospel would be John's or Thomas's.

Mentioned on this episode:

Journey to the Heart: Christian Contemplation Through the Centuries, edited by Kim Nataraja

You can sign up for Dave's "Thursday Notes" here

Some resources about The Gospel of Thomas you might enjoy:

Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas, by Elaine Pagels

After relaying some brief advice from Dick Van Dyke about turning 100, Dave Schmelzer chats about some wisdom from the Buddhist therapist Lewis Richmond about what he's learned by working with aging clients. Dave touches on fascinating ideas from Richmond about horizontal versus vertical time and the isolation of a sudden setback and experiencing aging as a fresh start along with much more.

Mentioned on this podcast:

Lewis Richmond's book Aging as a Spiritual Practice: A Contemplative Guide to Growing Older and Wiser

Here's how to learn more about and register interest in the Faith Part 2 course

If you are not receiving Dave's emailed "Thursday Notes" and would like to (or if you have friends who would like to receive them), you can sign up for them here. 

Mark Charbonneau and his friends at The Vine church in Austin, Texas are charting a unique way forward in our cultural and religious divisions. Dave Schmelzer talks with him about what their “third way” looks like and how it might help all of us in the middle of such unprecedented divisions. Does it only apply to a small number of people of good will? Does it offer broader hope? They close with a few words about the life of a pastor at all, much less one in the middle of these sorts of cultural divides. 

Mentioned on this podcast:

The Vine church in Austin, Texas

Join the list to receive weekly "Thursday notes" about how the themes we discuss on The Pocket Contemplative might apply to your larger world.

Some great thinkers like GK Chesterton and Meister Eckhart pitch that right at the heart of God's reality is play and that the more we can tap into this bone-deep playfulness, even in the middle of realities that look quite unpromising and overwhelming, the better we'll thrive.

Mentioned on this podcast

The God Who Plays: A Playful Approach to Theology and Spirituality, by Brian Edgar 

Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, by Stuart Brown M.D.

Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times, by Matthew Fox

The Artist's Way, by Julia Cameron

One of the charms of Christian faith is that so many scriptures encourage us to ask God for things we want. But as we age we realize it must be more complicated than that--and the great contemplatives add complexities as they focus on things like union with God as the main thing or with cautions about things like "disordered attachments". But we still do in fact want things! Dave Schmelzer offers us some things to ponder in these conundrums.

One unexpected outcome of the Christian contemplative life is that, per the Benedictines, we'll discover that the stuff we need to do everyday has the possibility of moving from "that stuff we have to get done" to "co-creating a better world with God." And not just that, but it also then might make our days feel rich and purposeful when they'd been feeling less than that. Christa Connelly helped facilitate a fascinating conversation on the ins and outs of this and she and Dave Schmelzer talk about what it's meant for her and might mean for you. 

Mentioned on this podcast:

Joan Chittister's book The Monastic Heart: 50 Simple Practices for a Contemplative and Fulfilling Life

Dave Schmelzer used to lead a church in which looking to experience power that we're told comes from the Holy Spirit was a big deal. Does that view of the spiritual life translate to a contemplative world? It turns out the answer is not just "yes," but even "oh, you have no idea."

Mentioned on this podcast:

Check out the next session of Faith Part 2 in October. It's a free 8-week online look at some crucial but lesser-taught riches of Christian faith that might help us when our initial faith experience falters a bit. 

Dave Schmelzer and Curtis Gruenler (an English professor and medievalist) have been friends since college and they talk about the ins and outs of how friendships themselves can empower the kind of growth in God that we talk about on The Pocket Contemplative.

Mentioned on this podcast:

If you'd like to register interest in October's (free, eight-week) Faith Part 2 course, let us know here.

Curtis is launching a Substack on friendship (from a medievalist's perspective)

Curtis and Dave allude in passing to:

Spiritual Friendship by the medieval monk Aelred of Rievaulx

Rene Girard and his Shakespeare book Theater of Envy