“Dr. B was passionate about expanding our understanding of the Christian contemplative tradition, reminding us that contemplation isn’t the sole domain of those who can retreat to quiet places. She understood, from her own life and from the traditions she carried forward, that contemplative practices must also arise in the midst of struggle, in the heart of communities pressed against the weight of history and oppression. She helped us see that the Christian contemplative tradition, too often framed through a narrow, Eurocentric lens, was far richer and more diverse than we had realized. It’s a tradition that belongs to all …
Author: Swanson
Amy Leach on Becoming Salt of the Universe
“I was recently giving a sermon and found myself spontaneously quoting from Amy Leach’s singular and surprising new book. I expect many readers will find their own lives troubled (in the Biblical sense) and enlightened by her fresh perceptions. She has lived into a hard-earned and entirely credible wisdom, the best evidence for which is her irrepressible sense of humor. One feels companioned by this book, and sorry when it ends.” — Christian Wiman, author of Zero at the Bone Amy Leach grew up in Texas, lives in Montana, and earned her MFA from the Nonfiction Writing Program at the University …
Ben Katt on Getting Quiet, Midlife, and the Power of Ritual (also, we chat about David Hasselhoff)
“A fantastically written, powerfully wise offering from Ben Katt…a gift to our world of pain and promise.” — Krista Tippett Ben Katt has worked with On Being, as an ordained minister, an advanced meditation teacher, and author. His first book, The Way Home: Discovering the Hero’s Journey to Wholeness at Midlife is a guidebook and memoir about the inner journey that calls us further in the midst of life’s busyness. Ben is the founder of the WITHIN Prison Meditation Project, serves as a hospice chaplain, and writes regularly about identity, purpose, creativity, and belonging in his weekly STILL newsletter. In our …