Opening Minds, Opening Hearts

Nov 03 2024 20 ep. 40 mins 48

Opening Minds, Opening Hearts Podcast artwork

Are you seeking to deepen your interior life through the practice of Centering Prayer? Do you have a desire to develop a closer connection to the divine as well as those around you?

Opening Minds, Opening Hearts is a podcast for both the curious meditator and long-time practitioner of Centering Prayer. On each episode, hosts Colleen Thomas and Mark Dannenfelser will reflect on the method of Centering Prayer with some friends of Contemplative Outreach who share their personal experiences of encountering God through the prayer, and through their work in the world. Topics discussed will include New Monasticism, the value of silence, the practice of contemplation and the call to social action.

Through this podcast, we hope to provide new perspectives on the future of this prayer in the rapidly changing spiritual and technological landscape. Centering Prayer is a practice and a gift and we are excited to share this blessing with our listeners.

Religion & Spirituality

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Welcome to Season 3 of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts!

Nov 03 2024 11 mins

Welcome back to season three of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts! This season, we're shifting our focus to explore the later teachings of Thomas Keating. Our conversations will feature interspiritual and interreligious insights from guests representing various spiritual traditions. These dialogues will be guided by theological principle #11:“We affirm our solidarity with the contemp

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Bourgeault: A Common Sense of Shared Oneness

Dec 10 2023 50 mins

Welcome back to the final episode of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts for this season! We have enjoyed the thought-provoking conversations we’ve had with our guests this season and today we are excited to speak with Cynthia Bourgealt. Cynthia is a modern-day mystic, Episcopal priest, writer, and internationally known retreat leader. She divides her time between solitude and sailing

Fr. Greg Boyle: Everybody is Unshakably Good. No Exceptions.

Dec 03 2023 48 mins

Centering Prayer is a practice that changes the way we see the world from the inside out and is important for our well-being both physically and mentally. To help us reflect on this important principle, we are excited to welcome Fr. Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and re-entry program in the world. Fr. Greg was born and

Rev Michael Battle: Speaking Out of the Heart of God

Nov 27 2023 47 mins

Today we will discuss the evolving and expanding community of Contemplative Outreach and Centering Prayer. We have a special guest, The Very Reverend Michael Battle, Ph.D. a theologian, professor, author, and speaker. He is the author of 11 books including his most recent title, Desmond Tutu, A Spiritual Biography of South Africa’s Confessor. We explore “ubuntu” the African p

Keith Kristich: A New Generation of Seekers

Nov 19 2023 46 mins

On today’s episode, we will explore the changing needs of Christian contemplatives through a thought-provoking conversation with our guest, Keith Kristich. Keith is a writer, retreat leader, and founder of the online contemplative community, Closer Than Breath. His mission is to help people unlearn rigid religion, reimagine what is divine, and see God everywhere. Keith is a commi

Dr. Rory McEntee: Deepening Relationships with the Spirit and the Community

Nov 12 2023 50 mins

On today’s episode of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts, we hear from Dr. Rory McEntee, a religion scholar and philosopher-theologian working at an intersection of contemplative life, education, social justice, and culture. Today we will discuss the support and difficulties that come with being in community, how empathy comes from our own uniqueness and manifestation of God on Earth,

Heather Ruce: The Wisdom Way of Knowing

Nov 05 2023 46 mins

On today’s episode of Opening Minds, Opening Hearts, we are delighted to welcome Heather Ruce who will help us dive into the deepening practice of Centering Prayer, a Wisdom Spiritual Director who facilitates Wisdom Practices and hosts retreats at schools focused on the Christian Wisdom Tradition. Heather weaves the lineage of teacher, Cynthia Bourgeault, into her work and traini

Gigi Ross: Spiritual Life is All About Relationship

Oct 29 2023 50 mins

On today’s episode, we speak with Gigi Ross, who began practicing Centering Prayer after attending an introductory workshop in 1998. Gigi has been a Spiritual Director since 2000 and worked as an Associate Director at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Foundation. She also served on the leadership team for Contemplative Outreach of Maryland and Washington from 2003 to 2005. She i

Phileena Nikole: Contemplative Tradition and Meditation, A Salve for the Soul

Oct 22 2023 41 mins

On today’s episode, we talk with Phileena Nikole who is well known in contemplative communities and spaces where she works as a Spiritual Director and Centering Prayer Practitioner. Phileena spent her early adult life in social justice work with poor and marginalized communities. This work led her to more than 70 countries where she helped to build community among victims of huma

Mary Dwyer: The Transformational Experience of Centering Prayer

Oct 15 2023 44 mins

On this episode, we welcome Mary Dwyer who has been practicing Centering Prayer for over 30 years. In the early 1990’s she lived in Chrysalis House, a contemplative community experiment blessed by Father Thomas, which became an incubator of practice and programs in the early years of growth for Contemplative Outreach and Centering Prayer. She attended Georgetown University and ma