Your Instructors
Marc Thomas Shaw, Executive Director
Marc is an award-winning instructor and author focusing on the contemplative path as a means of inner transformation. He has been a Centering Prayer Practitioner for over a decade and is a presenter-in-training with Contemplative Outreach. He is also the author of the book Dante’s Road: The Journey Home For The Modern Soul, winner of a Nautilus Book Award, based loosely on Dante’s Divine Comedy, drawing on poetry and music for transformational exercises. He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary, a member of Spiritual Directors International, the Ignatian Spirituality Project, a member of the Tau Community of Interfaith Franciscans, and a founding member of Contemplative Light. Read more at www.marcthomasshaw.com.
Clint Sabom, Creative Director
Clint is an award-winning writer. He has published poetry and prose in various publications including The Tulane Review, Paste Magazine and through Dabel Brothers. His paper Bunuel and Surrealism: The Changing Manifestations won best paper at the 2012 Conference of The Americas. He lived in Budapest, Hungary in 2003 as a Gilman Scholar. He speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese. In 2007, he lived for six months in a silent monastery and is certified in Mindfulness, Hypnosis, and Telehealth. He holds bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies and one in Spanish literature. He has traveled extensively through Europe and South America. He has spoken and/or performed at Amnesty International, Health Conferences, High Schools, and art galleries across the US. He has studied and done in his own work in Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Shamanism, NLP, CBT, psychoanalytic models, brainspotting, Integral Theory, body therapy, sound healing, Reiki, and hypnosis.
Course Description
Welcome to a comprehensive introductory through intermediate level course on both practice and perspectives of these timeless teachings from the Christian Mystical and Contemplative traditions! Whether you are a long-time practitioner looking to solidify your understanding and framework for practice or a beginner interested in immersing yourself in this teaching, this course can serve as a rich resource.
This essential course on Christian Spirituality combines a look at practices and perspectives in Contemplative Christianity.
Part I of the course examines in-depth traditional practices of the Christian mystics, including:
- The Examen
- Centering Prayer
- Lectio Divina
- The Jesus Prayer
- Christian Meditation
Part II of the course takes a close look at the tradition of Christian mysticism through both ancient and modern lenses using the practice of The Jesus Prayer as a jumping off point to illuminate the contemplative path in both theory and practice, including:
- The threefold path of Christian Mysticism
- The difference between waking up and growing up
- Integral teaching
- Perspectives from Contemporary Psychology
Our aim as practitioners and teachers is to offer these ancient teachings in relevant and accessible ways to a modern audience, and to integrate these teachings and practices more deeply into our everyday lives.
