The Exploring Way is the introductory step for anyone who is interested in our teaching and practice. You are welcome to join any of our public programs and pray and study with us through our public offerings and liturgies. This is a great way to experiment with the prayer practices we teach in order to see what speaks to your sense of spirituality and how you experience God in your life.
There are two options for engaging in the Exploring Way: self-guided, and guided. If you are considering joining our new monastic community as a Companion Member or Vowed Member, we suggest applying for the Guided Exploring Way.
Visit our public events page and select from our upcoming courses, workshops, and retreats. We suggest beginning with the self-guided course on the Incarnation Method of Prayer, which is our foundational practice.
This path invites you to commit to a sequence of events in the context of community. Join a group of fellow explorers as you engage in the Center for Spiritual Imagination’s core offerings.
Exploring Way Circle
Exploring New Monasticism
Exploring the Incarnation Method of Prayer
Exploring Lectio Divina
Exploring Socially Engaged Mysticism
See when these components are offered at the events listed below.
We invite you to apply to the Exploring Way. The application is open to all who are interested in exploring the possibility of joining the Center for Spiritual Imagination as a member of the Exploring Community.
"I was not fully sure what to expect coming into the process of candidacy. Most especially since this would be done virtually and with people from all over the country, none of which I had met. I had some reservations but all things were eased once the process began. The facilitators were able to create a beautiful space for all of us where I felt seen even among a large group. The sessions we shared were refreshing and invigorating to my spirit. The readings that we did felt super relevant to current times and I have gone back to reread what was assigned to us to let it sit with me longer. I appreciated the time in this Candidacy process because it helped me to be secure in the decision to continue in the process and apply to postulancy. Even if I would have decided to not move forward, the tools that the Candidacy process gifted me are ones that I use daily. This process helped me to see that there are many others who are seeking these rhythms of contemplation and want to go deeper in community to fortify our faith."
Online
Begins Thursday, September 18, 2025
Thursday nights, third Thursday of the month
Find stillness and discover new meanings with ‘Meditation is a Must’, a musical meditation practice that uniquely blends contemplative practices with the profound lyricism of Hip Hop.
Online
Self-guided
Explore the foundational prayer method of our community that welcomes our whole being into relationship with God. Each session, we will focus on a different aspect of this method of prayer.
Online
Self-guided
Monasticism has always been a response to the deep human longing for God. From the desert fathers and mothers of Egypt and Palestine to the monasteries of Europe, it has shaped lives of prayer, simplicity, and service for centuries. But this course isn’t about the monasticism of the past—it’s about new expressions of monasticism emerging today, rooted in the same longing but responding to the unique challenges and possibilities of our time.