While making my porridge I practise gratitude – gratitude for the porridge, for being able to cook, for this body that can move and make, for being alive, being safe, and having food. I think about the importance of practising gratitude as a way to make explicit and grounded what is only implicit and theoretical. … Continue reading There is another world
Category: Prayer
Prayer in a time of grief
My father died on Easter Sunday 2010. Six months later my long-term relationship hit the buffers. I found myself in a car-crash of intense sadness and anxiety with few airbags to cushion to blows. The doctor wrote me a few sick notes. I took time off work. I went back to work. I found I … Continue reading Prayer in a time of grief
Demarcation
A dear friend says, "Prayer is hard work." I tend to agree. Prayer might be simple, but it is not easy. Yet her assertion gives me pause. Prayer is a relationship and it is not all down to you. God plays the leading part: God prays in you. Your part involves: desire: for God;disposition: being … Continue reading Demarcation
Four steps to God
I live separated from myself, from this body, too much. I can locate this body and my centre fairly easily, though taking up full residence is a process that takes time and a commitment to presence. Remember: to come home to yourself is to come home to God. Coming back home is a four-fold process. … Continue reading Four steps to God
No need
Yesterday, I was asked what is meant by justification by faith. This is how I see it, though I am aware this differs from much, if not all, of what is written about this contentious subject. 'Justification' is a synonym for 'having worth'. 'Faith' is a synonym for 'trust'. Justification by faith – the assertion … Continue reading No need
Yes, but…
…though truth and love can never really differ, when they seem to, the subaltern should be truth. Auden, The Common Life In all the spiritual exercises that follow we bring the intellect into action in order to think and the will [heart] in order to stir the deeper affections. We should therefore note that the … Continue reading Yes, but…
Desire and this body
In meditative or contemplative practices, the advice on dealing with so-called 'distractions' is to come back either to your breath, or to a word, phrase or mantra. I want to write about attention to this body in contrast to, or in concert with, the breath or a word. I have just prayed. When I noticed … Continue reading Desire and this body
Oh no you don’t!
You say you are lazy, but you're not. You go to work. You get lots done. You check you emails, update your FaceBook page and your Twitter account. You surf the Net looking up things of interest to you. You spend hours researching and cooking nice meals. If you want to do it, you do … Continue reading Oh no you don’t!
What is the sensation of prayer? 10 steps to knowing God
How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self? Grant, Lord, that I may know myself, that I may know thee.Augustine There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of the self and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God.Calvin, Institutes of … Continue reading What is the sensation of prayer? 10 steps to knowing God
Evanescence (IV)
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)