the sensation of life
This year I have started out trying to live all my waking moments in conscious listening to the inner voice, asking without ceasing, “What, Father, do you desire said? What, Father, do you desire done this minute?” It is clear that this is what Jesus was doing all day every day. But it is not … Continue reading What shall we do?
A couple of years ago I wrote this blessing. It garnered significantly more interest than anything else I have written here. Strictly speaking, I didn't write it. It was given to me early one Monday morning, not long after Easter, and I wrote it down. The week before I had been away for a week’s … Continue reading Appledore
Whenever I walk in a London street, I'm ever so careful to watch my feet; And I keep in the squares, And the masses of bears, Who wait at the corners all ready to eat The sillies who tread on the lines of the street, Go back to they lairs, And I say to them, … Continue reading From resentment to recollection
4. Prayer on retreat, July 2014 [Read parts I, II & III] Here I am again, looking for something exciting on the iPhone, doing everything I can to avoid prayer. It is addiction: anything to stop me coming home to myself, and the work of coming home to You. What am I doing? I am … Continue reading Evanescence (IV)
When engaging in contemplative prayer à la Keating or Main, or when meditating, the direction given is to eschew thoughts. Thinking happens. You cannot avoid, stop or squash it. Notice thoughts as they arise and let them go. It's ok, it's normal, it's what the mind does, it is easy to get hooked, but don't … Continue reading Desk-clearing
What's the one thing? After 24 years of coaching individuals and groups from nearly every walk of life, I can say with confidence that the people who do really well over time are often not the smartest, or most well-read. They can be introvert or extrovert; seemingly self-assured or apparently neurotic and insecure. What they … Continue reading How to find your inner wisdom
I am entranced by Tuesday night's documentary, Make Pots or Die, about the potter and author Edmund de Waal, in the BBC1 arts series, imagine, presented by Alan Yentob. In a voiceover in the final minutes, Edmund de Waal gives a testament of his life. How objects get handled, used and handed on is not … Continue reading What is your question?
Anxiety, holding Magnifying Glass. Studio Shot This is the ninth instalment of 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety, an ongoing experiment in meeting yourself with kindness. Identifying fallacious reasoning … it is the way of the evil spirit to bite, sadden and put obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, that one may not go on … … Continue reading 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety:
9. Identifying fallacious reasoning
Anxiety, holding Magnifying Glass. Studio Shot This is the fifth instalment of 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety, an ongoing experiment in being kind. Talking A problem shared is a problem halved. Statistics indicate that the majority of people are extravert. Extraverts may not know what they think until they speak. So, whilst talking may … Continue reading 11 Ways of Dealing with Anxiety:
5. Talking
When the chips are down, I don't believe in Heaven or Hell as some vision of Life After Death. Let me be clear though: I do believe in Life After Death. I shall live on in the worms and grass and bacteria, and the birds who eat the seeds from the plants and trees I … Continue reading Heaven, Hell and Life After Death