An Imaginary Garden of Real Peace

Tony Bartlett has generously invited me to post on this blog from time to time. As some of you know, I have my own blog called "An Imaginary Garden of Real Peace: the Stories and Teachings of a Benedictine Monk." I have been writing this blog for a bit over two months now and have accumulated several posts. Although the blog does publicize and promote my books, I am using it to develop Girard's mimetic theory in dialogue with Benedictine monastic spirituality. My most recent post is A Leaky Basket: Judging Judgmentalism which tells a couple of my favorite stories about the desert monastics of the fourth and fifth centuries that deal with the peril of judgmental attitudes. The post before that is an Advent meditation called Prepare a Way for the Lord. Going further back, there is much more in the way of glimpses of issues in mimetic desire. I have also posted sample chapters from my book "Tools for Peace" that introduce mimetic theory and Benedictine spirituality. I have also posted a sample story from each of the collections I have published. It is my intention to post an update report on my blog roughly every two weeks with links to the newest blog posts and articles and stories. I am posting to my blog at least once a week, sometimes more. If you want to be current with my blog, you can follow on Facebook or Twitter. I will appreciate any help any of you can give for spreading the word of the blog to anyone you know who is interested in mimetic theory or might become interested if given a chance to read about it, as well as to anyone who might be interested in fantasy stories aimed at young readers as well as older ones. With Christmas coming, ask yourself if anyone you know (maybe yourself included) would like "Tools for Peace" as a Christmas present or one or more of the fantasy story collections: Born in the Darkest Time of Year: Stories for the Season of the Christ Child, Creatures We Dream of Knowing, or From Beyond to Here. I hope readers will find these stories enjoyable as well as another helpful exploration into mimetic desire and its social ramifications.