Contemplative Dimension
Discussion Questions, Chapters 5 & 6
If you are discussing these questions in a group, you may want to refer to the Discussion Ground Rules for guidance.
1. The author describes several factors that make it difficult for modern people to understand, talk about, and perceive “spiritual experience” [see pp. 89–96]. How have these or other factors influenced you?
2. The author describes a variety of experiences that are not ordinarily thought of as “mystical” [see pp. 96–98]. Have you ever experienced or felt something like that? If so, what was it like?
3. The author discusses changes in the way people understand the nature of reality [see pp. 107–15]. Do you think people in our society are more open to spiritual experience than previous generations? What factors do you think account for this?
4. What do you think of Phyllis Tickle’s analogy of the Internet [see p. 108] as a way to understand how prayer might involve an experience of “going somewhere” as well as doing something?
5. What do you think of the author’s recommendation to begin with the “breadth dimension” of prayer, that is, learning to pray at short intervals through the day [see pp. 116–21]?
6. Have you ever experienced a time of stillness and/or solitude that made you wish for more? What was it like, and how did it affect you?
Download a PDF of these Discussion questions here.