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Radical Presence: Teaching as Contemplative Practice
"Radical Presence" is a book about our lives as well as our work, suggesting that the "secrets" of good teaching are the same as the secrets of good living: seeing one's self without blinking, offering hospitality to the alien other, having compassion for suffering, speaking truth to power, being present and being real. These are secrets hidden in plain sight. But in an age that puts more faith in the powers of technique than in the powers of the human heart, it takes the clear sight and courage of someone like Mary Rose O'Reilley to call "secrets" of this sort to our attention.
"Radical Presence" asks, "What might happen if we frame the central questions of our profession as spiritual issues and deal with them in light of our spiritual traditions?" The basis of O'Reilley's remarks is not religious; it is pedagogical. She does not preach; she shares. Writing of the human condition, O'Reilley places herself first in line, not as an ego or leader but as a friend and guide. Over the course of her journey, she seeks to discover what spaces we can create in the classroom that will allow students the freedom to nourish an inner life.
This is an important book that will have a significant impact on the way educators view teaching and learning. O'Reilley writes, "Some pedagogical practices crush the soul; most of us have suffered their bruising force. Others allow the spirit to come home: to self, to community, and to the revelations of reality. [This book] is my own try at articulating a space in which teacher and student can practice this radical presence."
"Radical Presence" asks, "What might happen if we frame the central questions of our profession as spiritual issues and deal with them in light of our spiritual traditions?" The basis of O'Reilley's remarks is not religious; it is pedagogical. She does not preach; she shares. Writing of the human condition, O'Reilley places herself first in line, not as an ego or leader but as a friend and guide. Over the course of her journey, she seeks to discover what spaces we can create in the classroom that will allow students the freedom to nourish an inner life.
This is an important book that will have a significant impact on the way educators view teaching and learning. O'Reilley writes, "Some pedagogical practices crush the soul; most of us have suffered their bruising force. Others allow the spirit to come home: to self, to community, and to the revelations of reality. [This book] is my own try at articulating a space in which teacher and student can practice this radical presence."
64 pages, Paperback
First published April 9, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
November 13, 2015
This is a tiny book with a lot to think about. I will have to purchase my own copy as it is something I can see going back to. We are forming a faculty-staff contemplative/mindfulness group on campus, and are considering this as the first group read; I think it has potential!
First ideas that jumped out to me:
-On creating space in the classroom
"Writing exercises... can create a spacious moment: at the beginning of class to find a spiritual center, in the middle, to brainstorm; and at the end, to reflect... The final period of quiet is... the most productive, surprising, and moving."
"If we allow enough quiet, a diversity of voices begins to be heard."
-On giving yourself permission to take your own time
"Permit yourself to stare out the window, to stay in bed, to have lunch, to have tea, to walk the dog, to fingerpaint, to listen to the texts you're teaching and face the consequences. Call it research. In the contemplative mode, your life is always on the line. And if we define our classrooms as sacred space, we can expect that everything will be up for grabs."
-On deep listening
"In academic culture most listening is critical listening. We tend to pay attention only long enough to develop a counterargument; we critique the student's or the colleague's ideas; we mentally grade and pigeonhole each other. .. In contrast, if someone truly listens to me, my spirit begins to expand."
"Pay attention. Don't be thinking about a solution, or how you should fix it. Just listen hard and try to be present."
First ideas that jumped out to me:
-On creating space in the classroom
"Writing exercises... can create a spacious moment: at the beginning of class to find a spiritual center, in the middle, to brainstorm; and at the end, to reflect... The final period of quiet is... the most productive, surprising, and moving."
"If we allow enough quiet, a diversity of voices begins to be heard."
-On giving yourself permission to take your own time
"Permit yourself to stare out the window, to stay in bed, to have lunch, to have tea, to walk the dog, to fingerpaint, to listen to the texts you're teaching and face the consequences. Call it research. In the contemplative mode, your life is always on the line. And if we define our classrooms as sacred space, we can expect that everything will be up for grabs."
-On deep listening
"In academic culture most listening is critical listening. We tend to pay attention only long enough to develop a counterargument; we critique the student's or the colleague's ideas; we mentally grade and pigeonhole each other. .. In contrast, if someone truly listens to me, my spirit begins to expand."
"Pay attention. Don't be thinking about a solution, or how you should fix it. Just listen hard and try to be present."
June 4, 2014
I love that I went into this book hoping--perhaps expecting--to unearth "tips, tricks, and techniques" for contemplative pedagogy and that, of course, quite quickly, O'Reilly brought to my attention that being present while teaching only happens through the practice of being present.
This book arrived at just the right moment, as sabbatical--and the space to contemplate that it afforded me--has upended my habitual ways of thinking about teaching and learning. O'Reilly's candid, often amusing descriptions of her own experiences with radical presence made me feel I had company in valuing slow teaching and the practice of silence, even as I mull over how fraught those practices are in university cultures that often value the quick and the loud.
As O'Reilly describes her return from a sabbatical, "The problem was, nothing I had learned on sabbatical had fitted me to sit at a desk. In fact, I had not come back from sabbatical. Somebody had come back, but it was not the person who left. Still, I had hundreds of things to do, inherited from the person I used to be and no longer was." Yes.
This book arrived at just the right moment, as sabbatical--and the space to contemplate that it afforded me--has upended my habitual ways of thinking about teaching and learning. O'Reilly's candid, often amusing descriptions of her own experiences with radical presence made me feel I had company in valuing slow teaching and the practice of silence, even as I mull over how fraught those practices are in university cultures that often value the quick and the loud.
As O'Reilly describes her return from a sabbatical, "The problem was, nothing I had learned on sabbatical had fitted me to sit at a desk. In fact, I had not come back from sabbatical. Somebody had come back, but it was not the person who left. Still, I had hundreds of things to do, inherited from the person I used to be and no longer was." Yes.
November 9, 2022
This book gave me language for things I couldn't have explained previously. Like how we can "listen someone into existence" ... !! By listening deeply and closely, we give someone else the gift of being truly heard and seen, which in turn can allow them to allow a stronger self to emerge or a talent to flourish. Or this absolutely gorgeous paragraph: "In Minnesota, in the spring, I often think of the mayfly, who only lives one day. It had better be the right day. In the long sweep of things, I am a mayfly and so are you."
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You aren't going to find much to nourish you in these 50 pp if you aren't comfortable with spiritual language and contemplative practices. But if you can embrace those things, this will read like balm for the soul. ♥️
.
You aren't going to find much to nourish you in these 50 pp if you aren't comfortable with spiritual language and contemplative practices. But if you can embrace those things, this will read like balm for the soul. ♥️
Want to read
March 13, 2018Forward by Parker Palmer. Both Palmer and O'Reilley are Quakers. O'Reilley was an English professor for about 30 years.
Related essay here.
Related essay here.
March 6, 2019
In a runner for the best book I’ve read this year for sure...
September 12, 2012
Feels very similar to Parker Palmer's The Courage to Teach, but it's much based on Zen Buddhist practice. In the Foreward O'Reilly writes, "The 'secrets' of good teaching are the same as the secrets of good living: seeing one's self without blinking, offering hospitality to the alien other, having compassion for suffering, speaking truth to power, being present and being real."
Her central question is: "I would like to ask what spaces we can create in the classroom that will allow students freedom to nourish an inner life...Teaching...has much in common with the ancient practice of spiritual guidance."
Her central question is: "I would like to ask what spaces we can create in the classroom that will allow students freedom to nourish an inner life...Teaching...has much in common with the ancient practice of spiritual guidance."
October 26, 2010
This was a nice read with some refreshing perspectives. I especially enjoyed the chapter "Listening Like a Cow," and in the mornings as I drive past cow pastures in my community, I reflect on this quiet still approach to listening.
August 16, 2015
Full of wisdom that, one feels, has been hard earned through a lifetime of teaching and questing for what that means. Here is a nugget: "The issues of life are not problems to be solved but mysteries to be entered.." attributed to Thomas Merton.
May 14, 2024
If you read this book, pack it with you when you take a hike or go to the beach and read it surrounded by nature. Close your eyes from time to time and listen to the world around you. It will go on long after we leave it and yet it and other things in our lives that we don't pay attention to enough can bring nourishment if we give them the opportunity to do so.
That, I think, is O'Reilley's message in a nutshell. (Given how small this book is, the nutshell has to be pretty tiny!).
As an educator, I loved her attitude. In the last section on "Nourishing the Prophetic Vision," she is a realist about how likely it is that we can, in every moment, take and give what we should as we seek to take joy from each day while we give of ourselves and our ability to listen and hold space for others. She notes, "I still believe in the prophetic vocation of the teacher, but these days I'm a little more weary, and a diet of honey and locusts falls short of my minimum daily requirement." As she notes, we are exhorted to eat well, exercise, do our increasingly many jobs we are assigned as educators, be there for family and friends, "and, oh, in your spare time, be a visionary . . . ." Ha!
She recounts having gone on a sabbatical to a Quaker community and returning "confused and befuddled as some kind of alien from a neighboring galaxy," who comes home to stare at a photo of a pink nebula in Orion feeling longing "for home like E.T."
As someone working to more regularly meditate while on my sabbatical, and looking ahead to a five-day silent retreat and then, a month later, a self-guided silent retreat at a monastery, I know the Fall teaching/administrative/writing schedule that I'll be on will seem like chaos. To prepare, I am engaging in a self-directed 100 day project to literally chart my course: making priorities (and taking notes on charts I've made as to whether I accomplish them or not) of basics like drinking water and exercising, but also daily reading and meditating, while also being on the lookout for the elusive activity ("wild card") that will bring me joy and will nourish me spiritually.
O'Reilley manages to convince us in remarkably short order that we each need to find a path where we feel less like E.T.--or worse, not recognizing that the world in its rush and distractions is what is alien--and instead keep asking ourselves, "what am I doing; what am I really doing" and find a path to do what brings us nourishment and allows us to nourish others. Tall, but vital, order.
That, I think, is O'Reilley's message in a nutshell. (Given how small this book is, the nutshell has to be pretty tiny!).
As an educator, I loved her attitude. In the last section on "Nourishing the Prophetic Vision," she is a realist about how likely it is that we can, in every moment, take and give what we should as we seek to take joy from each day while we give of ourselves and our ability to listen and hold space for others. She notes, "I still believe in the prophetic vocation of the teacher, but these days I'm a little more weary, and a diet of honey and locusts falls short of my minimum daily requirement." As she notes, we are exhorted to eat well, exercise, do our increasingly many jobs we are assigned as educators, be there for family and friends, "and, oh, in your spare time, be a visionary . . . ." Ha!
She recounts having gone on a sabbatical to a Quaker community and returning "confused and befuddled as some kind of alien from a neighboring galaxy," who comes home to stare at a photo of a pink nebula in Orion feeling longing "for home like E.T."
As someone working to more regularly meditate while on my sabbatical, and looking ahead to a five-day silent retreat and then, a month later, a self-guided silent retreat at a monastery, I know the Fall teaching/administrative/writing schedule that I'll be on will seem like chaos. To prepare, I am engaging in a self-directed 100 day project to literally chart my course: making priorities (and taking notes on charts I've made as to whether I accomplish them or not) of basics like drinking water and exercising, but also daily reading and meditating, while also being on the lookout for the elusive activity ("wild card") that will bring me joy and will nourish me spiritually.
O'Reilley manages to convince us in remarkably short order that we each need to find a path where we feel less like E.T.--or worse, not recognizing that the world in its rush and distractions is what is alien--and instead keep asking ourselves, "what am I doing; what am I really doing" and find a path to do what brings us nourishment and allows us to nourish others. Tall, but vital, order.
August 24, 2025
Mary Rose O'Reilley's marriage of teaching and contemplative wisdom traditions is an interesting juxtaposition. As she points out, teaching is a lot telling students what you think they should know, while meditation and other similar practices are focused on listening rather than talking.
O'Reilley's solution, if that's the right word, is to judiciously mix the two, but her primary takeaway from wisdom traditions as they relate to the classroom is a good one: Don't assume you know what the students need or feel. After all, she says, you only see a sliver of their personality in a classroom setting, especially at the college level where she teaches.
Her complex religious backgrounds -- Catholicism, Quaker, Buddhist -- offer differing insights, which are valuable, but her belief, almost an assumption, that we are all artists and all have some assigned role in our lives is both jarring and unnecessary. It is more than enough for her to remind teachers (and coaches, of which I am one) that their role should combine both spreading and absorbing thoughts and ideas rather than simply focusing on a data dump from the authority figure to those who require that authority figure's knowledge.
And I will apply a few of her ideas to my own teaching situation -- and those who do not believe coaching is teaching will neither be successful in their sport, nor wind up with long careers.
O'Reilley's solution, if that's the right word, is to judiciously mix the two, but her primary takeaway from wisdom traditions as they relate to the classroom is a good one: Don't assume you know what the students need or feel. After all, she says, you only see a sliver of their personality in a classroom setting, especially at the college level where she teaches.
Her complex religious backgrounds -- Catholicism, Quaker, Buddhist -- offer differing insights, which are valuable, but her belief, almost an assumption, that we are all artists and all have some assigned role in our lives is both jarring and unnecessary. It is more than enough for her to remind teachers (and coaches, of which I am one) that their role should combine both spreading and absorbing thoughts and ideas rather than simply focusing on a data dump from the authority figure to those who require that authority figure's knowledge.
And I will apply a few of her ideas to my own teaching situation -- and those who do not believe coaching is teaching will neither be successful in their sport, nor wind up with long careers.
December 8, 2017
I really didn't know what to expect with this very little book. I had decided to pick it up, largely because O'Reilley's name keeps popping up in the contemplative teaching movement materials which I have been reading the last couple of years. I'm glad I finally got around to reading her and wonder why I waited so long.
Describing herself as having a Zen Buddhist mind (or non-mind), a Catholic heart and a Quaker backside, O'Reilley reflects upon her experience as an English prof and the transformation which resulted in her sabbatical in a Buddhist contemplative community. The writing is engaging and displays a deprecating sense of humour which is endearing. O'Reilley is profoundly realistic in herself and in the difficult task of opening ground for growth in teaching and learning. I was so struck by this book that I read it twice, back to back, because I wanted to just savour it.
This is a contemplative book, so it is best read slowly- a chapter at a time- and with time to reflect upon. It is worth the time and the meditation. It is a short book, but a deep one.
Describing herself as having a Zen Buddhist mind (or non-mind), a Catholic heart and a Quaker backside, O'Reilley reflects upon her experience as an English prof and the transformation which resulted in her sabbatical in a Buddhist contemplative community. The writing is engaging and displays a deprecating sense of humour which is endearing. O'Reilley is profoundly realistic in herself and in the difficult task of opening ground for growth in teaching and learning. I was so struck by this book that I read it twice, back to back, because I wanted to just savour it.
This is a contemplative book, so it is best read slowly- a chapter at a time- and with time to reflect upon. It is worth the time and the meditation. It is a short book, but a deep one.
March 13, 2017
This is a very short (thus the low rating) collection of very personal essays about teaching. In each essay the author explores a question at the core of teaching--how to keep the class alive, how to bring the metaphysical into the classroom, how to make one's subject matter meaningful. The book should probably not be read cover to cover, but rather should be pondered and left to percolate.
August 4, 2020
When I first bought this book I though it could be bigger, as with more pages. But it only have 48 pages to read. I like the idea of the silence and some methods that the author put on place in her practice as a teacher.
It is a tiny book, but men I mark a lot of good ideas to think about.
It is a tiny book, but men I mark a lot of good ideas to think about.
July 26, 2017
Sometimes messages come right when we need them. This book is one such message for me.
November 15, 2023
A quiet book.
April 29, 2008
Read this, All Teachers! This 50-pg book will be a longtime companion for my teacher-self; it articulates things I've vaguely felt about teaching but didn't know how to say, and it points me toward a fresh way.
From Pg 46: “I am saying, if you don’t have time to breathe, if you are run off your feet, try spending twice as much time as you usually spend on a task. It may rest you very nicely. I try to light the candle sometimes over my freshman essays (resisting the obvious temptation to set them on fire). It may take me another seven years to establish a religion about his, and by then I’ll be ready to retire. But here is one thing I’ve discovered. I used to spend a lot of energy arguing in absentia with my freshmen and scolding them, which does not promote the tranquil mind. ‘You dummy, I told you to put your name in the upper left-hand corner. I’ll bet you were stoned when you wrote this.’ And so on; if, by contrast, I cultivate an attitude of friendly visiting as I grade freshman essays—you with the red hair, you with the nose ring—it takes longer but it’s twice as restful. And I feel I have done less tearing at the web of life.”
From Pg 46: “I am saying, if you don’t have time to breathe, if you are run off your feet, try spending twice as much time as you usually spend on a task. It may rest you very nicely. I try to light the candle sometimes over my freshman essays (resisting the obvious temptation to set them on fire). It may take me another seven years to establish a religion about his, and by then I’ll be ready to retire. But here is one thing I’ve discovered. I used to spend a lot of energy arguing in absentia with my freshmen and scolding them, which does not promote the tranquil mind. ‘You dummy, I told you to put your name in the upper left-hand corner. I’ll bet you were stoned when you wrote this.’ And so on; if, by contrast, I cultivate an attitude of friendly visiting as I grade freshman essays—you with the red hair, you with the nose ring—it takes longer but it’s twice as restful. And I feel I have done less tearing at the web of life.”
November 28, 2016
This book is a vision of teaching that resonated deeply with me: teaching as a way for me to know myself, for my students to know themselves, and for us to make meaning out of the world together, better. She focuses on holding space, making space for silence and for doubt and for student needs and for teacher needs. I felt inspired to reenter the classroom with a fresh heart.
I immediately started rereading when I finished. This reads like William Alexander Percy or Forster or Rumi; it is to be experienced rather than carefully understood. After 5 or 6 readings, I suspect I will understand more. One day it will have seeped into my blood and my mind, and I will be changed forever by it but have lost the specifics of just where and how. This is a book that will merge with me.
I immediately started rereading when I finished. This reads like William Alexander Percy or Forster or Rumi; it is to be experienced rather than carefully understood. After 5 or 6 readings, I suspect I will understand more. One day it will have seeped into my blood and my mind, and I will be changed forever by it but have lost the specifics of just where and how. This is a book that will merge with me.
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February 24, 2023“To teach is to create space... These are revolutionary words, because most of us think only in terms of filling space.”
•••
I’ve emailed with her a bit and never met her, but Mary Rose O’Reilley’s work and writings have mentored and guided me so much not only as a teacher but as a human being. In this, she offers a perspective that views teaching as a contemplative practice in which silence, depth, and vulnerability are essential to the classroom. She pulls in the work of other scholars, Buddhist and Quaker theology, and her own experiences to weave suggestions for a better, more whole kind of education. If you’re in education, this is only 48 pages and well worth your time!
•••
I’ve emailed with her a bit and never met her, but Mary Rose O’Reilley’s work and writings have mentored and guided me so much not only as a teacher but as a human being. In this, she offers a perspective that views teaching as a contemplative practice in which silence, depth, and vulnerability are essential to the classroom. She pulls in the work of other scholars, Buddhist and Quaker theology, and her own experiences to weave suggestions for a better, more whole kind of education. If you’re in education, this is only 48 pages and well worth your time!
February 14, 2016
I've probably read Radical Presence five or six times by now--it's only 49 pages--and each time, I've gained some kind of utterly necessary realization about my teaching and my life. It always (and generously) offers me an immense reassurance and a crucial reorientation.
June 25, 2011
Short, sweet, and lovely. Great to read someone who is so honest about their teaching.
August 8, 2011
Love this book. I've purchased and given away at least three copies. I quote it all the time. Helps me understand the link between academics and my personal life.
August 21, 2011
A fun book about teaching philosophy!
October 2, 2011
This book is so cooky, but I LOVED it. Reading this made me feel like I do after a morning yoga class, refreshed, and ready to start the day.
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September 12, 2012About to read ...
March 25, 2014
What a gift. A short read that nourishes the reader with every line. I feel different, more observant perhaps, after reading this. A must for all teachers.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews