James Finley (born May 30, 1943) is an American author,

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

and former

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monk at the Abbey of Gethsemane, under the

spiritual direction Spiritual direction is the practice of being with people as they attempt to deepen their relationship with the divine, or to learn and grow in their personal spirituality. The person seeking direction shares stories of their encounters of the div ...

Thomas Merton Thomas Merton (January 31, 1915December 10, 1968), religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, writer, theologian, Christian mysticism, mystic, poet, social activist and scholar of comparative religion. He was a monk in the Trapp ...

. Finley is the author of several popular books on spirituality and

Christian mysticism Christian mysticism is the tradition of mystical practices and mystical theology within Christianity which "concerns the preparation f the personfor, the consciousness of, and the effect of ..a direct and transformative presence of God" ...

including ''Merton's Palace of Nowhere,'' ''The Contemplative Heart'', and ''Christian Meditation: Experiencing the Presence of God''. Along with founder

Richard Rohr Richard Rohr, (born 1943) is an American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970, founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati ...

, he is a core faculty member at the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In addition to hosting online and in-person retreats, Finley is the host of the podcast, ''Turning to the Mystics'', which explores the teachings of medieval Catholic mystics such as

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart (), Master Eckhart or Eckehart, claimed original name Johannes Eckhart,

Julian of Norwich Julian of Norwich ( – after 1416), also known as Juliana of Norwich, the Lady Julian, Dame Julian or Mother Julian, was an English anchoress of the Middle Ages. Her writings, now known as ''Revelations of Divine Love'', are the earli ...

Teresa of Avila Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or reap", or from θέ ...

, and

John of the Cross St. John of the Cross (; ; né Juan de Yepes y Álvarez; 24 June 1542 – 14 December 1591) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest, mystic, and Carmelite friar of ''Converso'' ancestry. He is a major figure of the Counter-Reformation in Spain, ...

Life

Finley was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

on May 30, 1943. He experienced childhood trauma since his father was an alcoholic, often violent towards him and his mother. In the midst of this chaos, Finley was impressed by his mother's

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith and immersed himself in it. At age 14, he discovered a book by

called ''The Sign of Jonas,'' and felt called to the monastic life. Finley entered the

order at the Abbey of Gethsemane "the day after graduation" from high school in 1961. His monastic name was Br. Mary Einbar, and Merton became his novice director in 1962. In addition to Christian mysticism, Finley learned from Merton about the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, and

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

mystical traditions. He remained at the monastery until January 1967, when he left abruptly after being sexually abused by one of the monks. After leaving the monastery, Finley pursued bachelor's and master's degrees in English education and taught at a number of Catholic schools in the Cleveland, Ohio area. During this time, he wrote ''Merton's Palace of Nowhere'' and was first invited to lead retreats on Thomas Merton and contemplative spirituality. At one of these retreats, he was persuaded to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology at

Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...

. He integrated his psychological knowledge into his spiritual teaching and writing, and worked as a therapist in private practice with his wife for thirty years. He worked as a therapist Monday-Wednesday, wrote Thursday-Friday, and gave a retreat somewhere in the United States or Canada about once a month. Today, Finley is a core faculty member at the Living School at the Center for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico along with

Brian McLaren Brian D. McLaren (born 1956) is an American author, speaker, activist, public theologian and was a leading figure in the emerging church movement. McLaren is often associated with postmodern Christianity. Education and career Raised in Rockville ...

, Cynthia Bourgeault and Dr. Barbara Holmes. He continues to write, lead retreats, teach online courses and hosts a podcast called ''Turning to the Mystics''. His memoir, ''The Healing Path'' was published in 2022.

Published works

Books

*''Merton's Palace of Nowhere'', foreword by

Henri Nouwen Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996) was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian. His interests were rooted primarily in psychology, pastoral ministry, spirituality, social justice and commun ...

(1978, new edition 2018, Ave Maria Press), *''The Awakening Call: Fostering Intimacy With God'' (1984, Ave Maria Press), *''The Contemplative Heart'' (2000, Sorin Books), *''Christian Meditation: Experiencing the Presence of God'' (2003, HarperCollins; new editions 2005, 2009), *''The Healing Path: A Memoir and Invitation'' (2022, Orbis Books),

Audio programs

*''Meditation for Christians: Entering the Mind of Christ'' (2003, SoundsTrue), *''Thomas Merton’s Path to the Palace of Nowhere'' (2004, SoundsTrue) *''Jesus and Buddha: Paths to Awakening'', with

(2008, Center for Action and Contemplation) *''Transforming Trauma: A Seven Step Process for Spiritual Healing'', with Caroline Myss (2009, SoundsTrue) *''Meister Eckhart's Living Wisdom: Indestructible Joy and the Path of Letting Go'' (2014, SoundsTrue)

References

External links

James Finley
at the Center for Action and Contemplation
Turning to the Mystics Podcast
at the Center for Action and Contemplation
Books by James Finley
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Finley, James 1943 births Living people American spiritual writers 20th-century Christian mystics 21st-century Christian mystics American religious writers American people of Irish descent People from Ohio Buddhist and Christian interfaith dialogue Christian and Hindu interfaith dialogue