Father Richard Rohr is the author of Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (2011), as well as Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer (2003), The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See (2009), Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self (2013), and Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer; A New Edition of A Lever and a Place to Stand (2014).

Fr. Rohr is in the tradition of Father Thomas Keating:

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (www.cac.org) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard's teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy--practices of contemplation and lived kenosis (self-emptying), expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.

Fr. Richard is author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, Adam's Return, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self.

CAC is home to the Rohr Institute where Fr. Richard is Academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Drawing upon Christianity's place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Rohr Institute is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all beings.

His books are profound even for non-Christians.

Father Richard Rohr - "Falling Upward"

Uploaded on Oct 21, 2011


Contemporary theologian and best selling author Richard Rohr spoke at Texas Lutheran University on Sunday, Sept. 25th in Jackson Auditorium. Rohr spoke from the content of his latest book, "Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life."

About the book: As we begin to embark on a further journey, one that involves challenges, mistakes, loss of control, broadening horizons, and necessary suffering, we find that 'falling down' is actually the way that we move upward. Fr. Richard offers this new paradigm for understanding one of the most profound of life's mysteries: how the heartbreaks, disappointments, and first loves of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys that the second half of life has in store for us. You can find more information about Richard Rohr on his website www.fallingupwardbook.com.

Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation - The Loss of Any Alternative Consciousness

A little wisdom for your Saturday morning.

Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation: The Loss of Any Alternative Consciousness
 

Saturday, December 21, 2013
Winter Solstice (Northern Hemisphere)

Seven Themes of an Alternative Orthodoxy
Seventh Theme: Reality is paradoxical and complementary. Non-dual thinking is the highest level of consciousness. Divine union, not private perfection, is the goal of all religion (Goal).

The Loss of Any Alternative Consciousness (Meditation 43 of 52) 
 
Hugh of St. Victor (1078-1141) and Richard of St. Victor (1123-1173) wrote that humanity was given three sets of eyes, each building on the previous one. The first set of eyes were the eyes of the flesh (thought or sight), the second set of eyes were the eyes of reason (meditation or reflection), and the third set of eyes were the eyes of true understanding (contemplation). They represent the last era of broad or formal teaching of the contemplative mind in the West, although St. Bonaventure (1221-1274) and Francisco de Osuna (1492-1542) are some rare examples who carry it into the following centuries. But for the most part, the formal teaching of the contemplative mind, even in the monasteries, winds down by the beginning of the fourteenth century. No wonder we so badly needed some reformations by the sixteenth century.

I cannot emphasize strongly enough that the loss of the contemplative mind is at the basis of much of the shortsightedness and religious crises of the Western world. Lacking such wisdom, it is very difficult for churches, governments, and leaders to move beyond ego, the desire for control, and public posturing. Everything divides into oppositions such as liberal versus conservative, with vested interests pulling against one another. Truth is no longer possible at this level of conversation. Even theology becomes more a quest for power than a search for God and Mystery.

Adapted from The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See, pp. 28-29

The Daily Meditations for 2013 are now available
in Fr. Richard’s new book Yes, And . . .

~ Image: The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (detail), c. 1601-1602, by Caravaggio