A Short Orientation

The stories, discussions and short essays you will encounter here can at first glance appear bewildering. What does talk about everything from the psychological unconscious to strange energy movements in the body that the Hindus called kundalini have to do with the Christian life of prayer and contemplation? But the wide-ranging debates found here are the result of the Christian mystical tradition trying to wake up and throw off the torpor of a sleep that has lasted more than 300 years. And the most amazing thing about these discussions is that they are taking place in a new context which is not a theoretical theological analysis of the spiritual life, but among people who are concerned with how one would go about living the contemplative life day by day, and who are actually trying to do it. In short, we face the first sustained practical interest in contemplation since the end of the 17^th century, but already this enthusiasm has raised critical questions that need to be addressed lest these new beginnings go astray.

Part I introduces us to three modern attempts to renew the Christian life of prayer.

Part II allows us to meet people today who have had Christian experiences of prayer and contemplation.

Part III explores how the renewal of the Christian contemplative life is interacting with Eastern forms of meditation.

The material here came originally from www.shalomplace.com and www.innerexplorations.com  

Table of Contents

PART I: Renewing the Christian Contemplative Life

Chapter 1: John Main’s Christian Meditation  

Chapter 2: Catholic Charismatics and the Unconscious  

Chapter 3: Centering Prayer  

PART II: Christian Mysticism

Chapter 4: Experiences of Prayer and Contemplation  
   A Visit with a Contemplative  
   A Wayfarer’s Spiritual Journey as a Contemplative in the World  
   A Journeyer  
   Stories of People Today Trying to Live the Christian Contemplative Life  
   A Journey into God 

PART III: Christian Mysticism in Dialogue with the East   

Chapter 5: Kundalini Energy and Christian Spirituality  
   A Story of Kundalini Struggles 
   An Interview with Philip St. Romain  
   Kundalini: The Hindu Perspective  
   The Chakras  
   The Awakening of Kundalini  
   Kundalini and Hindu Theology  
   Personal Reflections on Hindu Anthropology  
   Some Psychological and Philosophical Reflections on Kundalini Energy
   A Jungian View of Kundalini  
   A Philosophical Explanation of Kundalini Energy
   Kundalini as an Integral Form of Enlightenment  
   Shalom Place Discussion Forum on Kundalini Energy and Spiritual Emergencies  

Chapter 6: Christian Enlightenment?  
   The Question of Christian Enlightenment  
   Bernadette Roberts and the Experience of No-Self 
   Christian Enlightenment?  
   Christianity and Enlightenment  
   Conclusion 

Chapter 7: The Loss of the Affective Ego 
   Dark Nights, Depressions and the Loss of the Affective Ego 
   Is it Depression, or is it the Loss of the Affective Ego Leading to Spiritual Gain?  
   A Positive Purpose? 

Chapter 8: Conclusion: Critical Questions  

A Note on Sources