Ambiguity and Mystery: Excerpt from recent book, Be Still and Listen 01-15-2019
The spiritual journey, as I have experienced it, has not been about comfort. It’s been about the birth of wonderment. My journey has been about letting go of everything I’ve known for an exquisite Unknown— for a delicious Mystery that keeps me baffled and babbling. Some people are order generic viagra continue reading over here […]
Personal Stories: Excerpt from Amos’ recent book, Be Still and Listen 01-03-2019
Happy 2019!!… This is an invitation to experience yourself buying levitra in canada check content as a flowing river of YES energy pouring through you. viagra free sample If you have erectile issue, contact your doctor and get the medicine prescribed! Erectile dysfunction has emerged up as one of the most commonly used among many […]
Praise for Amos Smith’ new book, Be Still and Listen
“Amos Smith’s unique voice is rooted in his long-term centering prayer practice and his international background. Be Still and Listen is a trumpet call to the inner treasures of contemporary Christian mysticism.” Before looking at any female enhancer alternative, let’s try to see what makes levitra best price a woman’s sexual desire decline. Do not […]
Excerpt from Phileena Heuertz Foreword of my new book, “Be Still and Listen” 11-09-2018
Amos writes, “People trust God as long as they’re in control. Then, as soon as they lose control, they lose faith. This kind of faith bullies God to conform to our plans. God becomes the ultimate spotter.” This kind of faith doesn’t require trust. And this kind of faith won’t lead a person into primordial […]
Excerpt from Phileena Heuertz Foreword of my new book, Be Still and Listen 10-25-2018
As Amos points out in the subsequent pages, establishing presence of mind, heart, and body in God is like being anchored in our center of gravity. Our center of gravity is the awareness that in God we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28), and nothing can separate us from the love of […]
Excerpt from Phileena Heuertz Foreword of my new book, Be Still and Listen 10-19-2018
When a client meets with me for spiritual direction, we usually begin with a prayer I learned from a beloved teacher who Amos and I share, Richard Rohr. The prayer is based on Psalm 46:10. By repeating the following five consecutively diminishing sentences, the client and I are assisted in coming into Presence of Being. […]
Persistent Centering Prayer (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen) 10-08-2018
All relationships grow when given time. Give centering prayer as much time as you possibly can. Our relationship to the deepest aspects of ourselves (see Gen. 1:27)—our relationship with God, will take time. God’s love language is “quality time.” If we speak that language we will grow in intimacy with the One whom we instinctively […]
Entering More Fully Into Reality (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen) 09-28-2018
When we have habituated our minds to rest in God, finding God in the center of our being, undistracted and quiet, then we are able to listen like never before. We are able to see. We are able to find creative solutions to what might have previously baffled and confused us. I hope you will […]
Swim The River (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen) 09-21-2018
Contemplation is not something we “achieve.” We fall into contemplation like falling into a river. Yet, to fall into the river is not enough. We need to learn to swim the river. We need to learn to stabilize the practice of centering prayer. This requires discipline. Any art form worth doing well, such as playing […]
The One Thing Necessary 09-14-2018
One of the great contemplative books of the last generation is Merton’s Palace of Nowhere, by author James Finley. (A fortieth anniversary edition has just been published.) Finley writes, “Prayer never touches us as long as it remains on the surface of our lives, as long as it is nothing but one more of the […]
A Little Background on Centering Prayer (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen) 09-06-2018
Centering prayer, a term first coined by Thomas Merton, is a method of silent prayer with deep historic roots. Centering prayer is preserved in Western Contemplative tradition, most notably in The Cloud of Unknowing and in the teachings of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. Centering prayer was made contemporary in recent decades […]
Contemplative Activism (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen) 08-27-2018
Thomas, a disciple of Jesus and the apostle to India, taught that there are three vocations. There’s the active life, the contemplative life, and a mixture of the two. Thomas taught that the most exquisite path is the mixture. The contemplative life, focused primarily on liturgy and prayer, is suited to some, but is not […]
Renounce the Laundry and Meditate (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen) 08-18-2018
I’m amazed how many times I’ve seen Mary and Martha referenced by the Desert Fathers and Mothers and by The Philokalia writers. Jesus’s words, “Mary has chosen what is better,” affirms a contemplative approach to living (Luke 10:38-42). For the Desert Elders the Mary and Martha story affirms the decision to renounce all and enter the desert. […]
Centering Prayer – Finding Home (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen)
A Quaker elder once told me, “There’s one thing that’s required of us: to do absolutely nothing and to do it very well.” When we do absolutely nothing in solitude—when, after years of practice, all thoughts are but a distant planet—then another dimension of life opens. It is a holistic dimension in the bosom of […]
Contemplation in the Spirit of Mary (Excerpt from my new book, Be Still and Listen)
Contemplation can be defined as progressively quieting the mind. Contemplatives can be counted on to listen because their minds aren’t full. Their minds aren’t preoccupied. They are not distracted by broken records that play in the background. It’s hard to describe someone who’s at home with prayer. There’s a quality about such people, a quiet […]
Perspective and Tenacity (Excerpt from Chapter 6 of my new book, Be Still and Listen) 07-14-2018
One Veterans Day I listened to a World War II veteran on the radio talk about adversity. He went without food for a week or ten days at a time and was often so hungry he wished that he could rummage through a restaurant dumpster. On a march to a concentration camp half the soldiers […]
Downwardly Mobile Service (Excerpt from Chapter 10 of my new book, Be Still and Listen)
For many Christians, the foot washing stands out as one of the most significant events in Jesus’ life. Jesus was known for teaching by example. So, we can’t miss the significance. Jesus does this downwardly mobile service before his final day. Thereby, he establishes the service model. Any who follow Jesus will follow in similar […]
The Mountain Top (Excerpt from Chapter 9 of my new book, Be Still and Listen)
In 2013, I flew from Phoenix to Oakland, California with my family for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. As I flew I noticed a huge storm was brewing below. There were dark clouds, thunder, turbulence. Yet, the plane soared far above the clouds where it was absolutely clear. Where I sat, it was totally calm. […]
MY NEW BOOK “BE STILL AND LISTEN” JUST RELEASED ON JUNE 12TH! 06-15-2018
Do you often feel drained of energy, depleted? Do you wish that you had more energy, more hours in the day? Do you feel disconnected from your source? Do you yearn for a faith and spirituality that’s based on experience? Do you feel a lack of inspiration and guidance? Does the world feel like a […]
Solitude & Solidarity: Excerpt from Be Still & Listen (Book Release on June 12th) 06-03-2018
Solitude and solidarity are two sides of the same coin. How can we seek genuine solidarity with another complicated soul unless we have first found comfort in our own skin? How can we know solidarity with another unless we’ve first peeled back the layers of our own souls and their qualitative strata of motivations? First […]