Christian mysticism: where did it come from?. what is it?. how do you do it?. and why? This is to introduce people (usually men) from the earliest times of the Christian era who wrote about and/or practised their Christian faith from a contemplative or meditative perspective. I have picked people whom I have read about which seemed, to me, interesting or helpful to anyone interested in the ancient art of Christian meditative contemplation. E.g Maximus the Confessor, Desert Fathers, Evagrius, Denys the Areopagite etc. We can discuss their original writing translated from the Greek in a relaxed way. No specialist knowledge required. We can have a practical - doing meditation - if folks want. Also we could visit an Orthodox monastery to see the icons and to try a 'Jesus Prayer' service.