Cameron Bellm

Cameron Bellm earned her PhD in Russian Literature from UC Berkeley, but traded the academic for the contemplative life, informed by Ignatian spirituality. She combines her love of language with a deeply-rooted spirituality to compose prayers, poems, essays, and devotionals linking our modern lives with our ancient faith. Cameron is especially devoted to writing at the intersections of creativity, spirituality, mysticism and activism. Her first book, The Sacrament of Paying Attention: Meditations on Living, will be published by Eerdmans in 2027.

About this talk:

Attention is a buzzword these days, and for good reason, as we all worry about the erosion of our ability to truly focus on any activity, or even the person in front of us. There have been many good and necessary suggestions for restoring our attention, but what do we do with it once we’ve reclaimed it? This is where artists, mystics, and poets can offer us deep and meaningful answers. The wisdom of the artistic and mystic traditions can lead us to an understanding and practice of attention that is not just an engagement of our senses, but in fact a doorway to the divine, a sacrament in its own right. Drawing from the work of such luminaries as Mary Oliver, Vladimir Nabokov, Simone Weil, and Etty Hillesum, Cameron charts us a map into the sacred territory of our own attention.