with Nancy Morrison, MD, Sally Severino, MD , and Richard Rohr
Thursday June 26, 2008
9am – 3pm
Sacred Desire urges us to connect with God and to manifest the “imago Dei” (God-infused essence) within us through loving others, ourselves, and God. In Jesus, God enters the world in human form where we see the epitome of the fulfillment of sacred Desire. He invites us to be so radically free and whole that the power of life—God—can be visible to the world through us. Like Jesus, we are called to enrich the world by living out our God-infused essence and by creating a Christlike physiology in community (the body of Christ) where an unclouded attraction to what is good prevails.
Despite centuries of science and religion being on opposite sides of the debate about the relation of body and spirit, science is now confirming what people of faith have long known. The recent discovery of mirror neurons in our brains has opened the door to seeing human Desire—spelled with a capital “D” to indicate that which urges our minds to respond to God—as incarnate in our bodies.
Embracing Desire globally requires recognizing and respecting the “imago Dei” in every person, and acknowledging that we are intricately connected with each other, with creation, and with God. When we accept this interconnectedness we can—individually and collectively—survive and thrive.
$50 regular rate
$35 concession rate (student, unemployed and fixed income)
Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town
About The Presenters
These academic psychiatrists bring unique qualifications to our worldview, combining professional training and practice (both are listed in the twenty-first century Best Doctors database) with personal experience in psychiatry and spirituality. During psychiatric training, both learned the value of rigorous scientific inquiry. They practiced psychiatry in decades that spanned psychodynamic, behavioral, community, and biological orientations to understanding human nature. Each perspective generated professional findings and personal experience which they integrate with understanding of lives lived as women, as mothers, and as practitioners of Christian contemplative lifestyles.
Nancy K. Morrison, M.D.
Nancy received her M.D. from the University of Colorado and her psychiatric training at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her clinical work focuses on issues of attunement and shame. She has spoken widely on attunement, shame, and psychopathology, particularly in the area of post-traumatic stress disorder. She is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, where she served as Residency Training Director and received a Templeton Foundation grant to incorporate the teaching of spirituality into the standard psychiatric curriculum. She is currently Director of Psychotherapy Training and is active in workshops and seminars where she spreads the words of this book. Dr. Morrison has practiced contemplative prayer for many years.
Sally K. Severino, M.D. 
Sally received her M.D. from Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. She spent seventeen years in academic psychiatry at New York Hospital–Cornell Medical Center before becoming Professor and Executive Vice-Chair, Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, where she is currently Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry. Certified by the American Psychoanalytic Association, she served as the first woman president of the American College of Psychoanalysts. She is nationally and internationally known for her research on emotional changes in women related to the menstrual cycle and her contributions to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Illness. For decades she was an active member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, Committee on Psychiatry and Religion. She is grounded in the Christian contemplative tradition and has served on the Board of Directors for the Contemplative Center of St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Together with Dr. Morrison, she leads retreats and workshops based on their collaborative work.
Photo of trees by Geraint Smith www.geraintsmith.com
About the Conference Hosts
The Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC), located in Albuquerque,New Mexico, was founded in 1987 by Franciscan Father Richard Rohr who saw the need for a training/formation center that would allow spiritually seeking people to balance social action with contemplation, and contemplation with social action. Committed to offering a constructive message of the Gospel that crosses boundaries of religion, ethnicity, social class and gender, the CAC provides numerous programs and resources aimed at offering hope, inspiration and spiritual challenge.
12 Step Outreach is a group of individuals in recovery who offer Centering Prayer, a method taught by Contemplative Outreach, to people in all 12 Step Fellowships as an 11th Step prayer and meditative practice. We help individuals establish meditative practices through small Centering Prayer groups, 11th Step recovery meetings, introductory workshops, retreats, formation programs, and support for the practice.