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contemplative THERAPEUTICS
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with
Brendan Ellis Williams
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‘Openness is the key. Spaciousness is the landscape. Luminosity is the essence.’
Brendan Ellis Williams
Our Founder & Director
This is a great place to add a tagline.
The founder, principal teacher, and director of Contemplative Therapeutics™ is The Rev. Brendan Ellis Williams, CMR (Ngakpa Pälden Dorje). He is a writer, chaplain, scholar of religion, yogī, priest, healer, and professional spiritual director. He frequently offers teaching, retreat leadership, and spiritual direction both within and outside the context of CT, offers lectures and workshops in person and online, and publishes writing in the domains of religious studies, poetry, and cultural analysis. Known for his nuanced, direct, and practical teaching style, Brendan (generally known by students as 'Father Brendan' or 'Ngakpa-la') has a long, robust background both in lived spiritual practice and academic religious studies. In addition to being deeply rooted in the animism of his ancestral Gaelic inheritance, he is also a long-time theurgic and contemplative practitioner, and a former monastic. He is presently ordained as a Vajrayāna yogī (ngakpa) in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, and as a priest in the Episcopal Church. More information about him can be found on his personal website here.
Ancient Lifeways and Sacred Practices
for Wholeness and Transformation
Contemplative Therapeutics™ (CT) is a comprehensive system of holistic spiritual development rooted in the ancient, esoteric Western philosophical and spiritual inheritance sometimes referred to as ‘The Golden Thread’, in Indo-Tibetan tantric traditions, and in modern psychological development (especially Jungian and Existentialist frameworks). It offers a complete path of spiritual development, the ultimate aim of which is total illumination or ‘deification’ (théōsis) of the human person.
Contemplative Therapeutics™ is made to be accessible to seekers at any level of knowledge and development, with any kind of religious or spiritual affiliation—or none. It is particularly geared toward seekers who are serious about personal transformation, and about integrating genuine spiritual insight and wisdom into their everyday lives for the benefit of all.
The system of Contemplative Therapeutics™ is designed to meet each person where they presently are in their growth process, whether they happen to be brand new to meditation and the spiritual life, or advanced in contemplative techniques and philosophical inquiry. CT applies an array of potent spiritual, psychological, and physical modalities—including ancient Graeco-Egyptian philosophy, theology, and theurgic practice; Existentialist psychology, personal development, ritual therapy, alchemy, and somatics; sacred movement, yogic breathwork (prānāyāma), and tantric practice (sādhanā)—all in a way that is open and accessible to anyone with a sincere interest in learning more about themselves and the world in which they live.
This system of sacred praxis in pursuit of wholeness, wisdom, and contemplative illumination was created by The Rev. Brendan Ellis Williams, CMR (Ngakpa Pälden Dorje), crafted and distilled from many years of intensive spiritual practice and immersive religious scholarship, as well as professional training and long experience in spiritual direction, holistic health, counseling, and the arts. Brendan's passion is distilling the fruits of his thirty-plus years of study, spiritual practice, and insight on the contemplative path—along with the interpretive keys to unlocking the essence of some of the ancient world’s most profound and effective spiritual technologies—and making these things accessible to as many sincere seekers in the contemporary world as possible, with the assumption that now more than ever these tools are desperately needed in our world. The system of Contemplative Therapeutics™ addresses the whole human person—body (sōma); mind, or, 'soul' (psykhē); and spirit (pneuma)—through progressively deepening and integrated stages of experiential learning.
Ways to Begin in Contemplative Therapeutics
TM
Connect with Brendan for private spiritual direction and receive expert one-on-one guidance and support in contemplative practice, practical mysticism, and living an integrated, transformative spiritual life.
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Attend workshops, ongoing classes, and retreats offered by Brendan, both online and in person.
Community
Explore ways to connect with the community of practitioners and students in and around Contemplative Therapeutics™.
There are a number of ways to connect with the work and communal life of Contemplative Therapeutics™, according to where one feels drawn, what feels most supportive in one's journey, and what would fit practically into the broader framework of one's daily life. There is no expectation that one will necessarily partake of all these possibilities. Often folks find that one or two modes of support and engagement work very well for them and give them all the spiritual and intellectual challenge and nourishment they need—perhaps for a whole lifetime—and never feel called to move into any other arena, which is perfectly good in itself. CT is designed to be as open to as many sincere seekers as possible, for the good of the world at large and the blessing and benefit of all sentient beings, and therefore all are free and encouraged to participate in whatever ways, and at whatever levels, feel best for them and most conducive to their growth in a given season.