The other day I introduced the claim that imagination is one of the most powerful allies in the spiritual life. Today I'd like to see how this plays out in the Western mystical tradition and some its more casual contemporary manifestations. Despite Christianity's general suspicion of the imagination, both the Scriptures and mystical tradition (to … Continue reading Sanctified Imagination: Part 2 – Mystical Creativity
I have come to believe that imagination — specifically, a holy, sacred, or sanctified imagination — is one of the greatest tools at our disposal to build resilience, faith, and that most elusive of all virtues, hope. This idea has bubbled up again and again this year on the blog: when I contemplated re-enchanting my … Continue reading Sanctified Imagination: Part 1 – Problems and Possibilities
I’ve been feeling particularly creative lately: I’ve been dusting off old writing projects that have been sitting in folders untouched for years, having ideas for things to write in this blog, and thinking of new poster designs and ways of displaying photographs in my apartment. It’s an exciting feeling, a wonderful embarrassment of riches that’s hard … Continue reading Creativity
I recently noticed that one area that has been underrepresented in my explorations of sacred practices has been creativity. And so, in the hopes of beginning to rectify this gap, this week I explored the making of and meditating on mandalas. Background The word ‘mandala’ originates in Sanskrit and refers to a circle representing wholeness, … Continue reading Mandalas
(I’m going to start this post with a warning: This will be a bit more personal than what I have normally been posting here. But, I think something that I stumbled across in the course of the long and convoluted journey I describe below may be interesting or helpful, and I think there really isn’t … Continue reading A Skyline of the Heart
Matthew Root 