To clarify something of their historical usage, the following definitions are given.

Interreligious Dialogue: Term used to convey the exchange of ideas, practices, beliefs, and cooperative work for social justice among representatives of the world's religions. Leonard Swidler contends that dialogue takes place on the cognitive, practical, and spiritual levels and encourages the respectful listening and sharing that leads to: unlearning misinformation and learning who we are; appropriating other traditions into our own; and exploring new areas of reality, meaning and truth neither partners in dialogue have been aware of before. [ See additional information at http://astro.temple.edu/~dialogue/Swidler/swidvit.html ]

Ecumenical Dialogue: Ecumenical is an adjective meaning "universal," derived from the Greek word oikoumene, "the inhabited world" or "the whole world." However, in practical usage the term "ecumenical" refers to the dialogue between and among Christian denominations.

Intrareligious Dialogue: Developed by Raimon Panikkar to express that dialogue among traditions and the challenges of understanding a different religious worldview take place not only between traditions, but first and foremost within oneself. [ See additional information at http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2015 ]

Interfaith Dialogue: Term used interchangeably with Interreligious Dialogue, but tends to emphasize the sharing of the specific faith dimensions, inner motivations, spiritual practices, ritual expressions, and personal religious experiences across traditions. It also highlights the search for a common basis of spiritual experience and faith among all people.

Intermonastic Dialogue: Discussion among monastic representatives of various traditions - for example, Christian and Buddhist monks - that is specifically concerned with the dialogue of spiritual experience and spiritual practice. It emphasizes that the journey of dialogue is itself a spiritual path that naturally evolves into a profound discussion of the interior dimensions of the spiritual life and its implications for humankind. [ See Monastic Interreligious Dialogue website http://monasticdialog.com/mid.php?id=14 ]

Interspirituality: A term coined by Wayne Teasdale to express the assimilation of insights, values, and spiritual practices from the various religions and their application to one's own inner life and development. Further, the prefix inter in "interspirituality" expresses the ontological roots that tie the various traditions together and the essential interdependence of the religions.[ See additional information at http://www.spiritualityhealth.com/newsh/items/blank/item_9075.html ]

Intercontemplative: A term Beverly employs that builds on all of the above definitions and is used interchangeably with "interfaith" in our documents. Highlights that the mature depth of the inner life is not confined to those who practice a formal monasticism or mysticism. Rather, monastic/contemplative consciousness and the capacity to dwell in silence is intrinsic to being human, allowing us to think of the monk or the contemplative as a universal archetype present in all people.

Monastery and Monastic: These terms are used in our documents to express an inner dimension of silence and solitude where we come to rest in our divine source. They convey the idea that we contain within us a holy hermitage, a point of openness, and a place of intimacy that belong to the divine and cannot be co-opted or trampled by the world.

Schola Divina, in using these concepts, seeks to convey in every respect the intrinsic and holy unity of life that we strive to discover and experience in our own spiritual lives and practices.

Finally, there is a place beyond every tradition where I think every human being has the potential to meet. It's that place of unity and oneness to which all traditions are pointing that suggests there is something so deep in human nature that it can be awakened and addressed regardless of religion or no religion.   ~ Fr. Thomas Keating, Benedictine abbot

The word, Contemplative, highlights the core of the spiritual life: a return to that divine reality in which the transformation of the whole person finds its source and rest. Contemplation also implies a temporary liberation from daily concerns in order to devote oneself to study and practice. It is a kind of spiritual protest against the materialism and bustle of society in order to live in the world attentive to the presence of the holy.

Learning in a contemplative model implies the operation of a deeper level of consciousness and a greater receptivity of heart. Here, the normal activities of the human personality come to rest, in order to hear what has remained unheard and to see what has been hidden or veiled. The mystics call this kind of knowing "unknowing" insofar as it approaches reality from the spiritual core of the person and not from the mind alone. Far more than a meditative practice or a temporary respite from worldly concerns, contemplation revolutionizes conventional attitudes and roles in order to transform the foundation upon which life is lived and to illuminate the hidden teaching of love inscribed in our souls.

While contemplation and mysticism throughout much of history have been associated with formal religious institutions, they both proceed and exceed religion itself. An interfaith contemplative path passes beyond religious forms into deep states of consciousness that, while remaining part of the enduring wisdom of the world's religious traditions, also is the site of new spiritual traditions and forms of practice. It is the emergence of a new spirituality that expresses the timeless qualities of the monastic, contemplative experience outside of denominational institutions and structures based on an understanding of the profoundly dialogic and interreligious nature of truth.

Through the lens of this global spirituality, we hope to find the mystical point of oneness that unites in ourselves the divisions of the world. Open to the plurality of spiritual paths, this search for a common spirituality is not a reality every fully achieved, a finished theological project, or a final word. Rather it is the struggle to find the openness of heart in which life is embraced and sustained. Its theology emerges out of the desert experience, because it fosters a spirituality of humility receptive to the voice of the divine speaking in the wilderness of our hearts.