Is There a Contemplative Practices Movement?
The use and integration of these practices in non-religious sectors has continued to grow. Does this represent an actual “Contemplative Movement”? In a traditional social or political movement, people typically have some awareness that they are part of that movement and make strategic (or not-so-strategic) choices in order to advance its cause. In this case, even though there is a spontaneous emergence of contemplative practices and values across diverse fields, it is likely that many of the people and institutions involved wouldn’t identify themselves as part of a larger whole. Sociologist Paul Ray’s theory about “Cultural Creatives” (2000) might be a useful analogy here: While Cultural Creatives are a subculture, they lack one critical ingredient in their lives: awareness of themselves as a whole people. We call them the Cultural Creatives precisely because they are already creating a new culture. If they could see how promising this creativity is for all of us, if they could know ho
