Thomas Merton in California
The Redwoods Conferences and Letters
Thomas Merton in California
The Redwoods Conferences and Letters
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Paperback / softback
£47.99
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 9798400800313
Number of Pages: 462
Published: 20/01/2024
Width: 15.2 cm
Height: 22.9 cm
2025 Association of Catholic Publishers tied for First Place Award, Spirituality
Previously unpublished material from world-renowned Trappist monk and author, Thomas Merton, featuring the final conference talks given in the United States before his untimely death.
In May and October of 1968, 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 Comprising over twenty-six hours of previously unpublished material, Thomas Merton in California covers a variety of topics including ecology and consciousness, yoga and Hinduism, Native American ritual and rites of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.
The material presented in these talks reveals Merton’s wide-ranging intellectual and spiritual pursuits in the final year of his life, and fills a long-standing lacuna around Merton's visits to Redwoods Monastery, forming a necessary bridge to the Asian journey that was to come. 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.
Contents
Foreword by Kathy DeVico, OCSO ix
Preface by Douglas E. Christie xiii
Introduction: “The Nocturnal Balconies of California”—
Thomas Merton on the Lost Coast by David M. Odorisio 1
Mapping Thomas Merton in California 20
On the Road with Thomas Merton:
The California Itinerary in His Own Words 21
PART I: THE REDWOODS CONFERENCES
MAY 1968 29
1. Modern Consciousness 31
2. Alienation and the Feminine Mystique 55
3. The Feminine Mystique, Millennial Consciousness, and Ecological Conscience 67
4. Psychological Aspects of Religious Life and Karma Yoga 79
5. The Origins of Modern Consciousness 101
6. Mystical Consciousness in Yoga and Life in Solitude 111
7. Hindu Stages of Life and Karma Yoga 139
8. Bhakti Yoga and Inter-Monastic Dialogue 157
9. Introduction to Sufism 177
10. Native American Ritual and Practice 215
11. Sufi Spirituality: Surrender and Mercy 225
12. The Interpretation of Dreams, Sufi Spirituality, and Religious Inclusivity 247
OCTOBER 1968 260
13. Life in Prayer 261
14. Opening Discussion 297
15. Prayer, Freedom, and Doubt 303
16. Discussion: Zen and Non-Violence 321
17. Discussion: Pentecostalism, Poetry, and Prayer 337
18. Prayer and Time 347
19. Closing Discussion: Politics and Prayer 369
PART II: THE LETTERS
20. The Thomas Merton-Myriam Dardenne Correspondence 385
21. Letters to Fellow Monastics, Acquaintances, and Friends 417
APPENDIX
22. Four Days with Merton by Gracie M. Jones 429
Acknowledgments 435
Permissions 437
Index 439
Foreword by Kathy DeVico, OCSO ix
Preface by Douglas E. Christie xiii
Introduction: “The Nocturnal Balconies of California”—
Thomas Merton on the Lost Coast by David M. Odorisio 1
Mapping Thomas Merton in California 20
On the Road with Thomas Merton:
The California Itinerary in His Own Words 21
PART I: THE REDWOODS CONFERENCES
MAY 1968 29
1. Modern Consciousness 31
2. Alienation and the Feminine Mystique 55
3. The Feminine Mystique, Millennial Consciousness, and Ecological Conscience 67
4. Psychological Aspects of Religious Life and Karma Yoga 79
5. The Origins of Modern Consciousness 101
6. Mystical Consciousness in Yoga and Life in Solitude 111
7. Hindu Stages of Life and Karma Yoga 139
8. Bhakti Yoga and Inter-Monastic Dialogue 157
9. Introduction to Sufism 177
10. Native American Ritual and Practice 215
11. Sufi Spirituality: Surrender and Mercy 225
12. The Interpretation of Dreams, Sufi Spirituality, and Religious Inclusivity 247
OCTOBER 1968 260
13. Life in Prayer 261
14. Opening Discussion 297
15. Prayer, Freedom, and Doubt 303
16. Discussion: Zen and Non-Violence 321
17. Discussion: Pentecostalism, Poetry, and Prayer 337
18. Prayer and Time 347
19. Closing Discussion: Politics and Prayer 369
PART II: THE LETTERS
20. The Thomas Merton-Myriam Dardenne Correspondence 385
21. Letters to Fellow Monastics, Acquaintances, and Friends 417
APPENDIX
22. Four Days with Merton by Gracie M. Jones 429
Acknowledgments 435
Permissions 437
Index 439
