In May and October of 1968, Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton offered two extended conferences at Our Lady of the Redwoods Abbey, a Cistercian women’s community in Northern California. Comprising over twenty-six hours of previously unpublished material, Thomas Merton in California covers a variety of topics including ecology and consciousness, yoga and Hinduism, Native American ritual and rites of passage, Sufi spirituality, and inter-religious dialogue, along with extended discussions on prayer and the contemplative life. Practical and applicable, as well as searching and inspired, Thomas Merton in California is essential for Merton readers and scholars, and all those interested in deepening their spiritual lives.
"Merton in California gives readers the privilege to sense for themselves the formidable creative charge of those encounters as if they were there. What higher praise could there be for this book?”
~ Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, monk, author, co-founder of grateful.org
2025 Association of Catholic Publishers Award tied for First Place, Spirituality
2025 Thomas Merton Award from the International Thomas Merton Society
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A New Gnosis: Comic Books, Comparative Mythology, and Depth Psychology
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Mysticism & the Margins: From the Hip-Hop Underground to the Psychedelic Reformation
Praise for Merton & Hinduism:
"This will be the standard source book for future studies on Merton and Hinduism.... a beauty and bounty not to be missed." ~ Ron Dart, The Merton Journal
VOCATUS
For the past twenty-five years I have been engaged with questions of meaning, purpose, and practice, particularly within the framework of contemplative spirituality, inter-religious dialogue, and the intersection of psychology and religion. I am particularly interested in the desert monastic traditions of early Christianity, the twelfth century flourishing of Cistercian mystical theology, and the twentieth century revival of monastic spirituality in America, especially as witnessed in the life and writings of Trappist monk-author-poet Thomas Merton (1915-1968). My present research explores Merton's late-life writings (1966-68) through the lens of consciousness studies as an approach to interpreting his inter-religious engagement.
I presently serve as Associate Professor and Chair of the Psychology, Religion, and Consciousness MA/PhD program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, California, where I teach the following courses:​​
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Psychology, Religion, and Consciousness in Context
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Contemplative Spirituality
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Comparative Mysticism
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I additionally serve on the Board of Directors for the International Thomas Merton Society and as Co-Chair of the Mysticism Unit for the American Academy of Religion.
"Come Holy Spirit: Help Us Forget Who We Are" (min. 36:00)
A Sermon delivered at Christ Episcopal Church, Eureka, CA
May 19, 2024