Michael Morrell

if all of it didn't keep me from becoming awake —

Then in one vast thousandfold thought
I could think you up where thinking ends.

I could possess you,
even for the brevity of a smile,
to offer you
to all that lives,
in gladness.

— Rainier Maria Rilke, 'Book of Hours'

As it happens, the wall between us is very thin.
Why couldn’t a cry from one of us break it down?

It would crumble easily,
It would barely make a sound.

If only for once it were still.
If the "not quite right" & "why this"
could be muted, and the neighbor's laughter
and the static my senses make—

If at times, through the long night,
I trouble you with my urgent knocking — this is why:
I hear you breathe so seldom.

I know you’re all alone in that room.
If you should be thirsty, there’s no one to get you a glass of water.

I wait listening, always. Just give me a sign!
I’m right here.

I agree with Stephen: I’m not saying this *did* happen, but the fact that it *could* happen is chilling. We should contact our state Attorney Generals and demand a thorough audit of our current electronic voting systems. open.substack.com/pub/thiswill...

Get Your Bonus Chapter from Mike’s book with Richard Rohr – ‘The Divine Dance’! I’ve had the amazing privilege of collaborating with Fr. Richard Rohr on a book that turns our usual perceptions of God (and each other) upside-down: The Divine Dance: The Trinity and …

Awesome, Gus! I give away a bonus chapter of 'The Divine Dance' here, btw: mikemorrell.org/bonuschapter/

Gerrymandering undermines the power of marginalized communities by manipulating district boundaries to weaken their collective voice. For Black, Latino, Indigenous, immigrant, low-income, and other disenfranchised groups, this often means remaining unheard in the places where decisions are made.

When we survive the Trump era, we can’t go back to the status quo. We need to build a future where our society and econo 15 Big, Bold Ideas for a Better Future

When we survive the Trump era, we can’t go back to the status quo. We need to build a future where our society and economy are fairer for everyone.

Here are 15 ways to do just that. https://youtu.be/osDCl0cPHB4?feature=shared

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#FaithWithoutWorks #EvangelicalAbsurdity #RepentAndRefresh #McChurch #SaviorBranding #HolinessHack #SpiritualBypass
#EmbodiedFaith #WakeUpAndRemember #SelfRemembering #SpiritualSobriety
#DeconstructionAndBeyond

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#SpiritualSatire #AuthenticDiscipleship #InnerWork #Gurdjieff #SpiritualPractice
#SpiritualGrowth #ChristianSatire #FourthWay #SpiritualStorytelling
#ChristianMemes #FaithMemes #SacredSarcasm #HolyHumor #DivineComedy #RadicalJesus #JesusUnfiltered #MysticChristian #WhatWouldJesusReallyDo

“Inner Morality is your aim. Your aim is to be Christian. But for that you must be able to do –and you cannot. When you are able to do, you will become Christian.”

— G.I.Gurdjieff, ‘Views from the Real World’

In the meantime, by all means drink up! 🤪

Blood, Faith, and Justice: A True Story from Nueva Suyapa | Ross Halperin The following is an excerpt from Bear Witness by Ross Halperin. It’s a featured Speakeasy selection, and there are still limited review copies available for qualified reviewers. Ross is available f…

In his version, Jesus goes on to declare, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice.”

The idea for the Secret Group began taking form.

— Ross Halperin, from 'Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land'

Read more here:

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaims, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of dikaiosune.” Wolterstorff argued that, in that case, “justice” was the superior translation, because people generally don’t get persecuted for being righteous, or broadly moral.

The Greek words dikaios and dikaiosune, which appear hundreds of times in the NT, are typically translated to “righteous” and “righteousness.” When the scripture was penned, however, those words could also mean “just” and “justice;" that’s...how they are translated in Aristotle’s and Plato’s works.

This makes it seem as though Jesus prioritized sweet concepts like righteousness and love over justice and retribution. But a theologian Kurt studied with at Calvin, Nicholas Wolterstorff, felt that that interpretation was flawed.

In most English translations of the Bible, the word “justice” appears frequently in the Old Testament, which was originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, but infrequently in the New Testament, which was originally written in Greek.

Where Kurt was going with all this was that justice, not in the vague sense of the word, but as in, the administration of the law, was the “unserved niche in the global-how-do-we-help-the-poor agenda.”

In other words, giving a Honduran farmer seeds or a lesson about crop yields wasn’t going to make a difference if a bunch of thugs subsequently extorted him, drove him off his land, or emptied a clip into his chest.

Kurt now believed neither “fish” nor “fishing”—aid nor development—helped the poor as much as advertised, b/c most impoverished people in the world lived in semilawless places where bullies could get away with stealing their “fish,” snapping their “poles,” and fencing off the “lakes” for themselves.

He liked to riff on the proverb that had become a platitude in the development world: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

Cover of Ross Halperin book, 'Bear Witness: The Pursuit of Justice in a Violent Land.'

Kurt had an ability to rapidly transform his negative emotions into focused reasoning, and a natural place for doing that was his classroom, where he could typically be found perched on the edge of his desk, a plastic tea mug in hand and a map of the world behind him.

Stations of the Heart – A Contemplative Journey in Art A contemplative card deck and art collection to help you slow down, connect with Spirit, and find peace in a noisy world.

The Kickstarter runs until August 13th, and I'm backing it not just as a friend, but as someone who believes we need more beauty, more stillness, more tools for the inner work that makes outer justice possible.

Check it out, share it, and maybe join me in supporting art with a sacred purpose. 🙏🏼 📿

As someone who's spent years exploring how ancient contemplative practices can nourish us in these strange contemporary times, I recognize the care and wisdom woven into this project. Rex has created something that honors both the mystics of old and the spiritual hungers of today.

These cards can travel with you — to your morning beverage ritual, your lunch break, your bedside table — creating little monasteries of the heart wherever you are.

This feels especially timely. In our age of daily atrocities and digital overwhelm, we desperately need practices that help us slow down and remember what Thomas Merton called "the secret beauty of [our] hearts."

...transforming simple sketches into profound visual prayers. Each of the twelve images represents a spiritual principle — Presence, Unity, Surrender — to create accessible wisdom for those of us navigating the beautiful mess of incarnated spirituality.

These aren't merely iconic cards; they're invitations into the ancient practice of 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘢 (divine seeing), where we let sacred images become doorways into presence, surrender, and deeper communion with the Mystery.

What moves me most is how Rex has collaborated with papercut artist Annie Howe

Friends, I want to introduce you to something that's stirring my heart.

My friend Rex Foster has created something I wish I'd had during my own journey from religious fundamentalism to a more wide-awake spiritual praxis — a gorgeous set of contemplative tools called "Stations of the Heart."

A world devoid of poetry, myth, spirit, touch, healing, and the training of consciousness?

Doesn’t feel very “real” to me.

Praying with Resurrection’s Fire: A Mary Magdalene Novena Does the idea of talking to your ancestors (spiritual or temporal) wig you out a little? It sure scared me! Growing up a Protestant Christian in the buckle of the (U.S. Southern) Bible Belt from a …

In what feels like another lifetime but was in fact less than a year ago, I curated a Mary Magdalene Novena, a nine-day prayer cycle drawn from ancient sources while being inspired by fresh insights and scholarship. Perhaps it's time to enter this prayer afresh? mikemorrell.org/2024/08/pray...

On this Feast Day of Mary Magdalene
May you let go — even now — in kenotic Love,
Uniting with the Madeleine Heart:
in anointing embrace, healing touch, and surrendered seeing.

Poem: Marie Howe, 'The Teacher,' from 'Magdalene: Poems.'
Art: Lewis Williams OFS