The Contemplative Way: The Tradition of Thomas Merton
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 7:30 PM
St. John’s on the Lake
4760 Pine Tree
Miami Beach 33140
FREE
www.ArtsatStJohns.com

Speaker: Dr. James Finley, Thomas Merton Scholar and Meditation Retreat Leader

Finley, a retreat leader on meditation and scholar on James Merton, will talk about meditation as a path to spiritual awakening. He will look at ways to live a more contemplative way of life, as a spiritually awake, compassionate human being.

At the age of 18, Finley became a monk at the cloistered Trappist monastery of the Abbey of Gethsemani where the world-renowned monk and author Thomas Merton was his spiritual director. Merton, a catholic monk, studied Eastern meditation techniques and is credited with reviving an interest in Christian meditation. After six years, Finley left the monastery and went on to earn degrees from the University of Akron, Saint John College and the Fuller Theological Seminary.

Finley now leads retreats and workshops throughout the United States and Canada. He speaks to people from all religious traditions who seek a way to have a more peaceful mind and heart. Finley is also a clinical psychologist in private practice. His books include Merton’s Palace of Nowhere, The Contemplative Hearts and Christian Meditation: Experiencing the Presence of God.

Co-sponsored by the Florida International University Program in the Study of Spirituality and Florida Atlantic University’s Peace Studies Program.