BONUS episode, Sophia Park - Dancing with Thomas Merton in the Borderland

Thomas Merton—an eternal seeker, dislocated immigrant, and sojourner—left his mark on an Asian woman who was seeking a spiritual adventure. In many borderlands, the virgin points, Merton's hidden yet honest struggle inspire a deep connection with the immigrant woman in exile. Through a personal narrative of sojourning, an emphasis begins to manifest that her religious life began in Korea and found home in the US, contrasting Merton's journey of finding a home in Asia. Dancing with Thomas Merton led the woman to see her true self, beyond the East and West. Transformation occurs at the borderland, a space of encounter, struggle, writing, and contemplation.

Jung Eun Sophia Park, SNJM, is associate professor at Holy Names University in California. She loves to give retreats, spiritual directions, and workshops in U.S. and other countries. Her academic interests are global justice and spirituality, shamanism, postcolonial feminism, and mysticism. Sophia has authored many books, including A Hermeneutic on Dislocation as Experience: Creating a Hybrid Identity, Constructing a Borderland Community, Conversations at the Well: Emerging Religious Life in the 21st Century Global World, Border-Crossing Spirituality: Transformation in the Borderland, and An Asian Woman's Religious Journey with Thomas Merton: Journey to the East/Journey to the West. She also wrote books in Korean, including Thoughtful Chats: How the Story Changed Women, Time Jor Sorrow, Beauty of the Broken, Seasons that I loved, Joy of Life, and For the Broken Humanities. She also writes articles on ordinary spirituality at the Korean Catholic News and offers women's spirituality lessons through YouTube.