Wow — We Moved A Long Time Ago :)

Just had a comment on one of my  posts and when I tracked it down it took me here, to the very first place I tried putting the blog for Christian Mystics.

We’ve been gone from here a LONG time and are over at ChristianMystics.com where I hope you’ll visit!

Thanks!

Brian Robertson

Which Bible Do You Use?

I just received a great letter from a visitor by the name of Sally who asked me which translation/version of the Bible I used. Since I’ve always been on a quest for a Bible and have managed to gather far too many, I thought I’d ask visitors to the site and the blog what their preferences were and why.

Feel free to answer in the comments and I look forward to the answers!

Blessings,

Brian

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bible, christian mystic, christian, mystic, which bible, favorite bible

A New Beginning

Starting July 2nd, I am working on restructuring ChristianMystics.com. Specifically, I wanted to get the CM Blog over to WordPress, since I much prefer it to blogger where it was. Other changes are coming, and now through the end of July 4th it might be difficult to navigate the pages for some readers.

This is only temporary, as life said at birth. The goal, frankly, is to make the blog far more active than before and to do that, a few changes have to be made. Thank you for your patience, and in the end I think the site will be much better and far more active and responsive.

Blessings,

Brian Robertson

Bits of News

I’ve been increasingly busy with helping with the blog over at Way Of A Pilgrim, so much so that I haven’t had time to do much in the way of adding to this blog! I hope you’ll go take a look and that you find it of interest and help to you in your journey.

Also, since so many people have written me about something, I wanted to mention what’s going on. As most of you know, I’ve written several books, but a really nice thing has happened. My newest book, which is about being a Christian mystic and the spiritual practices that can be worked into your life right now, today, has just been picked up by an excellent agent in New York and I’m working on it as a top priority. I’ll keep you posted — the manuscript does need a bit of work and, well, needs finishing!

I also want to get back and do more podcasts, should that prove to be a good thing. It depends, I think, on the feedback I get on that feature, but it’s a bit down the list right now.

Blessings,

Brian

Tags: christian mystic, way of a pilgrim, christianity, christian, publishing, agent, manuscript, book

The Only Christian Mystic Joke

Ok, only one I know. There may be more. Books of them, but I’ve never quite come across them!

Here goes. Read and enjoy.

There was once a Christian mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist evangelist die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates.

After a little time had passed St. Peter came out and said to the mystic ‘Jesus will see you now’. On hearing this the old man got up and disappeared into a little room. Five hours later the mystic reappeared with a little smile, saying ‘I knew all along that I was mistaken’.

Then St. Peter signaled to the evangelical pastor who stood up and entered the room. After a day had passed the pastor reappeared with a deep frown and said ‘How could I have been so foolish’.

Finally St. Peter asked the fundamentalist to follow him. The fundamentalist picked up his well-worn bible and walked into the room. A few days passed with no sign of the evangelist, then finally the door swung open and Jesus himself appeared exclaiming ‘How could I have got it all so wrong?’

Tags: christianity, jesus, joke, christian mystic, evangelical, fundamentalist

A Simple Practice For The Spirit

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours;
No hands but yours,
No feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which is to look out
Christ’s compassion to the world;
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about
doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men
now.”
…. Teresa of Avila

Each one of us has both the responsibility and the power to answer life’s problems and needs. Teresa of Avila reminds us not to do this in spiritual isolation, simply taking care of ourselves. If we are struggling to live a life in the Presence of God, then we are strengthened by that effort for the benefit of those with whom we come into contact. Today, watch how many times your hands, eyes and feet are needed, in a hundred small moments, and, how, to the best of your ability, you can use them.

To support you, take a few moments and sit quietly. You might take the time to memorize the quote from Teresa, if you’re so inclined. It’s a good choice for what follows. If that seems to big a chore to start with, there are alternatives. Silently repeat even a bit of St. Francis’ famous prayer, “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.”

Make it your thought and your prayer. Let each word drop into your mind, slowly, and into your heart. If you find yourself distracted, don’t fret, just gently push aside the thought that crept in and go back to the beginning. Spend perhaps ten minutes doing it each day for the next few days.

If you were only able to do a line — do it well and with mindfulness. After you go out into the world, carry that line with you. During your journey in the world today, remember a few more words from St. Francis’ prayer: “Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is doubt, faith.”

Then, with that in your heart — walk, touch and see.

Blessings,

Rev. Brian

Tags: christian mystic, christian mystics, teresa of avila, christian meditation, meditation, prayer

The War Prayer

As a Christian, I think you might find this to be of special interest.

The War Prayer

If you know the work, you already know the power behind it on paper. It is an amazingly strong statement in the production, and I’ll hold off information on the author until you’ve seen it.

Blessings,

Brian Robertson

Tags: war prayer, iraq, christianity, christian, christian mystic, prayer

About Your Theory of Reality …….

While putting together a post on the main site called “A Look At Jesus” made up of writings from Honest to Jesus by Robert W. Funk, I was struck by one particular sentence.

Ever notice how that happens? You’re reading along and suddenly, “Zap!” you get kidnapped by a sentence that most wouldn’t even notice, but, for some reason, in you it seems like a secret door that suddenly drops you down into another, deeper level of thinking.

Trouble is, you go back over it and try to put it into words and it really begins to turn into a smoke ring destroyed by your attempts to grab at it. But, like with a tooth where a filling has fallen out, you can’t help touching the thing!

Funk started off a long sentence with, “There is a profound difference between a new theory of reality and a new reality…” That was the rabbit hole I fell down into. As best I can translate the experience, it is like this:

There are always those who offer up their theories about life, God, an afterlife and more. It’s sometimes called Philosophy, and can be dry and abstract. Some of the theories, however, get elevated up as religion, where they become codified and concretized into teachings, into theories that are to be accepted as fact.

For me, Jesus is singularly different. He didn’t come armed with moral teachings, preaching a religion carefully linked back to the writers of the Old Testament to bolster some kind of an argument. He didn’t offer up a new theory or start a new school to study this or that.

Instead, he came with one simple message that he tried to point at through humor and shocking juxtapositions of word pictures and images. It was a simple message that was, in reality, nothing beyond a simple joyous invitation. It went unheard by the wealthy and the powerful in the arenas of religious and political life. Instead, it was aimed at and received by the poor and the questioning amongst us, the children who were too innocent to be jaded by the past or entertained by abstracts.

The message? Jesus seemed to say something like this: “The way I live and the way I will die, the things I do that you call miracles, none of these things are some new theory of reality. Theories have no place in the Presence of Ultimate Reality. You must do the most difficult thing possible – you must become who you are in the Reality of this moment. You can choose between the religion ABOUT the Reality and the Reality itself, the invitation live right now and right here, for that God’s Presence can be nowhere else.”

Peace,

Rev. Brian Robertson

Tags: jesus, christianity, christian mystic

More New Stuff — Plus An Apology

First the apology. ChristianMystics.com moved seamlessly to a new server with far better performance and options. Trouble is, Blogger.com didn’t get the word until a few minutes ago. Wondered why visitors to the blog were so dismal today? Could it be that someone (ahem. cough) forgot to republish the blog? I — er, I mean the person who is responsible — apologizes.

Other points of housekeeping during this change. Several more things have been added and you can read about them on the front page of the main site. Please take note of them — besides the new Prayer Request option, a Chat Room has been added to see if it flies, plus a new Shrine/Altar for a place to stop in a busy day and fix on an image that will center your battered self for a few moments of a spiritual break.

Anyway, I am sorry about not getting things posted till today on the new site, I just didn’t think of it till now. And I’m so very, very grateful for the help in providing a new hosting server and am especially thankful for those of you who have taken the time to comment or send me an email.

Blessings,

Brian

Tags: christian mystics, ebooks, blog, shrine, altar, prayer request

New Era for ChristianMystics.com?

I’m really happy to say I’m experimenting with podcasts, and have started checking it all out by putting up a “Hello” that I hope will be followed with some lessons, talks, interviews and more!

Stop by and give a listen!

Tags: podcast, christian mystics, christianity, christian, spirituality