The Thomas Merton Contemplative Initiative invites you to engage in A Vow of Conversation on things that matter with Sufi scholar Dr. Rachana Umashankar and Merton scholar Dr. Kathleen Deignan, CND, and students of Sufism at Iona College. Merton understood the essence of the world's great spiritual traditions and explains them in ways all spiritual seekers can understand. Sufism especially captured his religious imagination and mystical spirit. His engagement with Sufi masters and poets electrified his own spirituality; in Sufism he discovered a universal treasure to be shared by all. Merton's explorations opened a path to the wisdom and practice of this profound tradition. Today you are invited to engage Merton and Rumi and other Sufi masters to practice Merton's "Vow of Conversation" on things that matter for the vitality of the human spirit and the healing of the community of livingkind.