Introduction
ONE
Standing at the Gate of the Heart: On the Practice of
Contemplation
TWO
Our Collection of Videos
THREE
The Open Porches of the Mind: On Silence and Noise
FOUR
A Sunlit Absence: The Light of Awareness
FIVE
Sifted by Boredom
SIX
Creative Disintegration: Depression, Panic, and Awareness
SEVEN
Sharp Trials in the Intellect
EIGHT
"It Don't Work for Me": Prayer of Petition and other Practical
Problems
Notes
Martin Laird, O.S.A is Associate Professor of Theology at Villanova University. He has extensive training in contemplative disciplines and gives retreats throughout the United States and Great Britain. The author of Gregory of Nyssa and the Grasp of Faith and Into the Silent Land (both by OUP), he lives in Villanova, PA.
"...useful to anyone on the contemplative path, this book deals
profoundly yet simply with matters treated only superficially, if
at all, in many other guides to contemplation."
--Library Journal
"A Sunlit Absence, by Martin Laird, a professor of theology at
Villanova University and a priest in the Order of St. Augustine, is
filled with sympathy, grace and encouragement... Laird's writing is
refreshingly concise, occasionally amusing and vividly memorable.
Both beginning and longtime contemplatives will discover treasures
in this little gem of a book."
--Todd Friesen, Christian Century
"Books that talk about 'contemplation' often seem to have been
written on Jupiter. This one is a sterling exception." --John
Wilson, Christianity Today
PRAISE FOR INTO THE SILENT LAND:
"This book is different. There are plenty of books on contemplation
that feel rather tired--either wordy and labored or unhelpfully
smooth and idealistic. But this is sharp, deep, with no cliches, no
psychobabble and no short cuts. Its honesty is bracing, its vision
utterly clear; it is a rare treasure."--Rowan Williams, The
Archbishop of Canterbury
"Often they say 'you learn how to swim by swimming' but a good
coach or swimming manual is essential. Equally, we could say 'you
learn how to be contemplative by contemplating' and a good guide or
mentor is necessary. Into the Silent Land is just that. I tried it
and it works. Try it."--Archbishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize
"Into the Silent Land is a beautiful and deeply consoling book, a
reminder that prayer is both real and fundamentally simple. Not
since Thomas Merton's Contemplative Prayer have I encountered a
guide to contemplation this wise and compelling."--Douglas
Burton-Christie, author of The Word in the Desert: Scripture and
the Quest for Holiness in Early Christian Monasticism
"Laird's book defines how to sink back in God's ground physically
with breathing, mentally with 'prayer words,' and spiritually with
interior surrender. Through anecdote, Scripture, and classic
wisdom, Laird illuminates a Christian path into the silent land. An
able guide, he makes the trip more than worth the journey."
--Christianity Today
"Books that talk about "contemplation" often seem to have been
written on Jupiter. This one is a sterling exception."--Martin
Laird
"Laird's writing is refreshingly concise, occasionally amusing and
vividly memorable."--Todd Friesen, Christian Century
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