the sensation of life
Where is God? “Where is God in all this?” I am running a training day for spiritual directors entitled, “Where is God in all this?” It is being hosted by the Gloucestershire Ecumenical Community of Spiritual Directors (ECSD). Here is the blurb: “Where is God in all this?” is a question much-beloved of spiritual directors. … Continue reading A training day in Gloucester for spiritual directors
I was lost – tired, overwhelmed, and angry. A wise woman once said to me that underneath anger is hurt or fear. I felt hurt. And frightened. I s(k)ulk through the night. In the early morning I leave resentment on the other side of the door. I find a way back to myself. I become my … Continue reading Finding depth
Too often prayer is presented as petition.But the word ‘prayer’ is simply religious jargon for relationship with what we call God.In truth there are only three prayers. Prayer is properly not petition, but simply attention to God which is a form of love.Iris Murdoch, On ‘God’ and ‘Good’ in Existentialists And Mystics 1. “Here I … Continue reading The only 3 prayers you need
What does the solitary life mean? It is the same as all monastic life. There is one basic, essential thing in the monastic life and in the Christian life, the thing that we all seek in one way or another, and it is some assurance that it is possible in this kind of life to put … Continue reading Thomas Merton’s life without care
Where is God? “Where is God in all this?” I am running a training day for spiritual directors entitled, “Where is God in all this?” It is being hosted at the London Centre for Spiritual Direction, as part of their Developing Direction programme. Here is the blurb: “Where is God in all this?” is a … Continue reading Training day for spiritual directors
[See Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, inter-mission, & 5] Spiritual direction relocates authority from out there to in here. It’s about an authority that emerges from yielding not to an alien will but an affirming source … [We] are empowered, emancipated, to use the transforming energy we can exercise by acknowledging our dependence upon an unconditional source of affirmation.Rowan Williams: … Continue reading An affirming source (6): Empowered
[See Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, & inter-mission] Our human identity therefore becomes one in which we both acknowledge in prayer this dependence [upon God] and respond to the gift that sets up not only our being but our renewed being in Christ; and in acknowledging that dependence we are empowered to ‘do the work … Continue reading An affirming source (5): Relationship
[See Parts 1, 2, 3, & 4] If people destroy something irreplaceable made by mankind, they are called vandals;if they destroy something irreplaceable make by God they are called developers.Joseph Wood Krutch (quoted in David R Loy, Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis, p. 16) You may be wondering why I am banging on … Continue reading An affirming source: Inter-mission
[See Parts 1, 2, & 3] When God is “an alien will” I may feel the pressure to make amends for the mistakes of the past and to work towards an improved self in the future. When God is an alien will there is a to-do list. I do not advocate that we abrogate responsibility … Continue reading An affirming source (4): Presence
[See Part 1 & Part 2] … yielding … When we are freed from the idea of God as “an alien will” we can fall back into an utterly relaxing Presence that is our “affirming source”. The alien will is jealous and requires attention and conformity to an arbitrary set of standards. The affirming source … Continue reading An affirming source (3): Yielding