Facilitator Eda Lorello led a packed workshop on a journey through the life and work of Thomas Merton. Using Anthony Padovano’s book, Becoming Who We Are, the group explored how Merton’s life experiences influenced his becoming a contemplative, a peace activist, and explorer of eastern spirituality.
“And the deepest level of communication is not communication, but communion. It is wordless. It is beyond words, and it is beyond speech, and it is beyond concept. Not that we discover a new unity. We discover an older unity. My dear brothers, we are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to discover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are.”
— Thomas Merton, from an informal talk delivered at Calcutta, Oct. 1968 “The Asian Journal”
Canio's Cultural Cafe 
Thanks for sharing the post on the Merton Workshop. Although I couldn’t be there to participate, thanks to you at Canio’s for sharing this post. Alas, now I will be revisiting Merton’s “Seven Story Mountain,” and It couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Bravo Cano’s
Joan, I’m sure you’ll find that revisiting Seven Storey Mountain to be a rewarding experience. After the autobiography, you might try New Seeds of Contemplation, a very spiritual volume, and then Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, a later work. With Merton, there’s must to explore. And check out some of his photographs, too! Enjoy!