Thomas Merton in California

David M. Odorisio, PhD, is Associate Core faculty at Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, California. He received his MA in the History of Christian Spirituality from Saint John's University, School of Theology-Seminary, and his PhD in East-West Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies. David is editor of Merton and Hinduism: The Yoga of theHeart and has published in numerous journals in the areas of psychology and religion, and the life and writings of Thomas Merton.

“As one of the . . . participants of the [October] 1968 Redwoods Conferences, I can sum up the atmosphere of those days in one word: electrified—and this in every respect . . . even the most mundane exchange seemed to be charged with high voltage. Thomas Merton in California gives readers the privilege to sense for themselves the formidable creative charge of those encounters as if they were there. What higher praise could there be for this book?”Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, monk, author, co-founder of grateful.org

• ContentsForeword by Kathy DeVico, OCSO   ixPreface by Douglas E. Christie   xiiiIntroduction: “The Nocturnal Balconies of California”—Thomas Merton on the Lost Coast by David M. Odorisio   1Mapping Thomas Merton in California   20On the Road with Thomas Merton:The California Itinerary in His Own Words   21PART I: THE REDWOODS CONFERENCESMAY 1968   291. Modern Consciousness   312. Alienation and the Feminine Mystique   553. The Feminine Mystique, Millennial Consciousness, and Ecological Conscience   674. Psychological Aspects of Religious Life and Karma Yoga   795. The Origins of Modern Consciousness   1016. Mystical Consciousness in Yoga and Life in Solitude   1117. Hindu Stages of Life and Karma Yoga   1398. Bhakti Yoga and Inter-Monastic Dialogue   1579. Introduction to Sufism   17710. Native American Ritual and Practice   21511. Sufi Spirituality: Surrender and Mercy   22512. The Interpretation of Dreams, Sufi Spirituality, and Religious Inclusivity   247 OCTOBER 1968   26013. Life in Prayer   26114. Opening Discussion   29715. Prayer, Freedom, and Doubt   30316. Discussion: Zen and Non-Violence   32117. Discussion: Pentecostalism, Poetry, and Prayer   33718. Prayer and Time   34719. Closing Discussion: Politics and Prayer   369PART II: THE LETTERS20. The Thomas Merton-Myriam Dardenne Correspondence   38521. Letters to Fellow Monastics, Acquaintances, and Friends   417APPENDIX22. Four Days with Merton by Gracie M. Jones   429Acknowledgments   435Permissions    437Index   439