We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us. MARCEL PROUST
Resources part 1 I have definitely paused before beginning this exploration of solitude because of all the difficulties raised by lockdown. Some of us locked in with more contact than we can sustain without nurturing 'alone time'; some of us locked in without the company we need to energise us; some of us experiencing real … Continue reading Solitude: loneliness and aloneness
Photo by Dušan Smetana on Unsplash The Resources A lectio on lockdown The lockdown here in New Zealand has forced most of us - except essential workers - to move to a different rhythm and at a different pace from our usual (whatever that may have been). We have been limited to a bubble of relationships and pushed … Continue reading Silence and the art of discerning
This is one of my favourite poems.... Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about.Ideas, language, even the phrase each otherdoesn't make any sense.Rumi Photo by Jed Villejo on Unsplash A Guided Meditation You'll need about … Continue reading Since we are stuck at home, why not take a walk on the inside?
Withdrawal For those who are still part of the working world, the structures of workday and weekend, of alarm clocks and meeting schedules, of performance reviews and annual whatnots give the impression that we are very busy and possibly also quite important. The fast pace of life, the expectations and restrictions, the challenges and successes … Continue reading Making space and changing pace
So, there is a holy play post simmering on the back burner and it may slip in at some point when I have a quiet week (!), but for now we are launching into term one of 2020. Over the summer I finally got around to reading The Grace in Aging by Kathleen Dowling Singh, … Continue reading New year, new post, new look at the same old path…
Holy play! In the meantime.... a resting poem to lead you into play. Come and let yourself rest.Rest, and as you let this be,you awaken to grace - to the ease of it.See how she slips into these open armswith the deft touch of a lover who knows you body and soul. Who knew to … Continue reading Coming soon…
Come, quietly now,pausing as you go.Put hurry aside - it will not help you.The purpose of the journey is to be here.The soft animal of your body will lead you;the wildness of your soul, timid but true,will guide you;and with clear night vision the eye of the heart will discern what you already knowbeyond knowing … Continue reading A Pilgrim’s Poem
So I don't suppose it's surprising that I've been thinking a lot about rest recently, having just spent over a week on a tropical island where I had full permission (from myself) to take a time out from the patchwork uncertainty of my life and enjoy each day as it came without much of a … Continue reading Holy rest
The Resources I've been reflecting on the way our words are so powerful to harm and to heal. Made in the image of God we, too, have the power to form worlds with our words, whether they are the words we speak to ourselves only in our minds, or those we speak out loud to … Continue reading Word into Silence
I don't remember where I read it, but that's how a monk described his daily experience of faith as he was living in a monastic community. We fall over...and we get back up again. I like the idea that people who are living their lives dedicated to prayer and the disciplines of community also find … Continue reading Falling over and getting up again
