James Finley, PhD, is a contemplative teacher, former Trappist monk, psychotherapist, and widely respected author of Merton's Palace of Nowhere, a classic in contemporary Christian mysticism. He studied under Thomas Merton at the Abbey of Gethsemani and later earned his doctorate from Fuller Seminary, where his dissertation explored the intersection of empirical science and mystical experience. For many years he practiced as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma survivors, learning in real time how contemplative awareness and psychological insight can work together in the slow work of restoration and healing.