Enormous Resonances: Discussing Interspiritual Dialogue with Tessa Bielecki and Fr. Dave Denny

By Travis Newbill

Tessa Bielecki and Fr. Dave Denny will be co-leading Wisdom of the Seasons: An Interspiritual Retreat, May 23-25

Tessa Bielecki and Fr. Dave Denny have been working together in the field of interfaith dailogue since the late seventies, beginning with conferences hosted by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche at Naropa University. This coming May they will be leading a weekend retreat at Shambhala Mountain Center titled “Wisdom of the Seasons: An Interspiritual Retreat.”

Recently, we had the good fortune of speaking with the pair of teachers on the topic of interspiritual dialogue as well as the fertile energies of springtime, passion, and the upcoming retreat.

If you’d like to download the audio file, CLICK HERE and find the “Download” button. Otherwise, you can stream the audio below.

To learn more about the upcoming retreat, please CLICK HERE

More about these teachers:

Tessa Bielecki co-founded the Spiritual Life Institute and live there as monk and Mother Abbess for almost 40 years. In 2005, she co-founded The Desert Foundation with Fr. Dave Denny, an informal circle of friends who explore the wisdom of the world’s deserts, focusing on peace and understanding between the three Abrahamic traditions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Tessa was one of the first teachers at Naropa University’s Buddhist-Christian dialogue in the 1980s, an experience that she calls pivotal in her life. Tessa is the the author of several books and CDs on St. Teresa of Avila, and recently recorded Wild at Heart for Sounds True. She teaches at Colorado College, gives lectures and retreats, participates in East-West dialogues, and writes.

Tessa Bielecki and Fr. Dave Denny have worked together for over forty years, first as Carmelite monks in the Spiritual Life Institute where they co-edited Desert Call. At Colorado College, they taught Fire and Light, a history of Christian Mysticism. After leaving monastic life in 2005, they created the Desert Foundation (see www.desertfound.org), published Season of Glad Songs: A Christmas Anthology, and now live in neighboring hermitages in Crestone, Colorado. Tessa is also the author of three books on St. Teresa of Avila and recorded Wild at Heart for Sounds True.