Exploring Contemplation + Mysticism Through a Queer Lens
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“Cassidy Hall found silence in an Iowa monastery and brought her discoveries to a new documentary” Des Moines Register
“A cricket chirped in the monastery’s library. That and the swish of a turned page, Thomas Merton’s “New Seeds of Contemplation,” was about it for sound. Cassidy Hall stopped on page 81. Merton did not write on the absence of sound on that page but the abyss of solitude in the soul: “You do not… Read more
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Faith and Doubt in the Labyrinth
I am easily led to anxiety in unfamiliar situations. I don’t like to do things with other people, and though I recognize the necessity in community, I’d almost always prefer to go about my day on my own, for comfort’s sake. Like most of us, I like certainty. Like most of us, I realize life… Read more
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A Poetic Hope
“I don’t care to wake up in the morning without hope. Hope is a survival mechanism.” Norman Lear, Producer I’ve been sleeping more than I usually do, and not because I need it. I’m waking up every day to the latest news alerts reminding me of our country’s status and that things can dramatically change… Read more
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Embracing Winter
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” Albert Camus I’ve had a disdain for winter for as long… Read more
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Redwoods, Give Me A Word.
The towering redwoods of northern California have always mystified me. I’m constantly swept away with awe and wonder, as if I’ve rewinded my life back into childhood. With my gaze upward and my mouth wide open, I oooo and ahhhh at the way the light shines through the endless towers, the great elevated heights of… Read more
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The Voice of the Heart
Listening to the voice of my heart has never come easy for me. I’m usually quick to assume a present feeling is final, an agony is forever, or that all of my questions should have answers and answers NOW. Read more
What would it mean to queer contemplation? To disentangle contemplative spirituality from heteronormativity, patriarchy, and Eurocentricity, and instead engage with openness, curiosity, and a little weirdness?
Queering Contemplation: Finding Queerness in the Roots and Future of Contemplative Spirituality
Contemplation
Contemplation as a daily practice of reflection + action.
Mysticism
Mysticism as an accessible encounter of interconnection to self + others + the Divine.
Activism
Social Justice activism as the pursuit of love + liberation for all.
“Many poets are not poets for the same reason that many religious people are not saints: they never succeed in being themselves…”
— Thomas Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation
Dr. Cassidy Hall, DMin, MDiv, MTS, MA 