Core Curriculum

The Western Mystical Tradition invites participants to ground themselves solidly in the wide and diverse tradition of Judeo-Christian mystical spirituality. Classics, both traditional and contemporary, are studied and discussed. Writers are selected who describe their experiences of God’s love and how they practice and sustain God’s presence in their lives. Contemplative wisdom provides a rich resource for genuine spirituality that is available to all and calls us toward a just and caring community.

Our Mystics Cultivator, Robert Jonas M.T.S. (Weston School of Theology, Cambridge, MA: Masters in Theological Studies,), Ed.D. (Harvard, Cambridge, MA: psychology and education), is the founder and director of The Empty Bell, a contemplative sanctuary in Northampton, MA, with a special emphasis on the Buddhist-Christian dialogue, and on the arts. Dr. Jonas has lead past Graduate Guild Retreats. An author, musician and retreat leader he is a Christian in the Carmelite tradition and sits on the Board of the Henri Nouwen Society. You can read more about Dr. Jonas and his work on his website www.emptybell.org.

Andrew Harvey, who will present four sessions in the Mystics strand, is an internationally acclaimed poet, novelist, translator, mystical scholar, and spiritual teacher. Harvey has published over 20 books including The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism (Hay House) and Heart Yoga: The Sacred Marriage of Yoga and Mysticism (North Atlantic Books). Harvey was a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford from (1972-1986) and has taught at Oxford University, Cornell University, The California Institute of Integral Studies, and the University of Creation Spirituality, as well as various spiritual centers throughout the United States. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC film documentary The Making of a Modern Mystic. He is the Founder of the Institute for Sacred Activism in Oak Park, IL, where he lives. His website is www.andrewharvey.net.

Jungian Depth Psychology includes a summary of Carl Jung’s essential thought, his theories of individual development, depth psychology’s perspective on the spiritual component of the psyche and the individual’s relationship to the unconscious. Special emphasis is given to the role of archetypal symbols and the psyche’s images in spiritual guidance and transformation.

Our Jungian Cultivator, Harry Fogarty, Ph.D., is a Jungian Analyst in NYC, an analyst and faculty member of the Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts (PAJA) and the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association in NY, a Lecturer in Psychiatry and Religion at Union Theological Seminary, NYC, and a faculty member for the NY C.G. Jung Institute. Dr. Fogarty received his training at the NY-based CG Jung Institute and his Ph.D. in Religion and Psychiatry from Union Theological Seminary.

Teilhard de Chardin’s Vision has emerged as one of the most illuminating guides for the 21st century. He provides a vision that situates the individual spiritual journey within a global and cosmic context. The energy of evolution, which he describes as love, places us in creative relationship with ourselves, other persons, the physical universe and God. Thinkers and movements of evolutionary cosmology influenced by Teilhard are also studied.

Our Teilhard Cultivator, Sr. Kathleen Deignan, CND, PhD, GreenFaith Fellow ‘08, completed North America’s only comprehensive interfaith education and training program to prepare clergy and laity for religious-environmental leadership. A student of Father Thomas Berry during her graduate work in the History of Christian Spirituality and Historical Theology at Fordham University, New York, Dr. Deignan is a Sister of the Congregation of Notre Dame and Professor of Religious Studies at Iona College where she is the founding director of the Iona Spirituality Institute, and The Thomas Berry Forum for Ecological Dialogue. Sister Kathleen is President-Elect of the International Thomas Merton Society, and sits on the boards of the American Teilhard Association and GreenFaith. For more information about Sister Kathleen and her organization Schola Ministries please click http://www.scholaministries.org/.