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Tag: being alive

What’s eating away at you?

I think that … that you work on the thing that's eating away at you. And I think that the performers that we feel are wrestling with something significant are the performers that hold … they hold our attention. Why couldn't people take their eyes of Brando? Something was always eating at him. I don't … Continue reading What’s eating away at you? →

Julian Maddock Being alive, Body, God, Present Leave a comment 30 December 201614 December 2019

The naked night

The night is terrifying. In the dark and the solitude, in the chasm between the lighted bustle of the days, everything drops away and disappears in the depths. No identity left, given, assumed, or invented. No work. No significance. No ambition. No façade. Only being is left: this small, naked, freshly-minted mite of the Universe. … Continue reading The naked night →

Julian Maddock Being alive 1 Comment 18 September 201614 December 2019

To live or to recount

I've been thinking a lot about these words this week: This is what I have been thinking: for the most commonplace event to become an adventure, you must – and this is all that is necessary – start recounting it. This is what fools people: a man is always a teller of tales, he lives … Continue reading To live or to recount →

Julian Maddock Pause for Thought Leave a comment 17 August 201624 December 2019

To you

Christ and St Mena

Dear One, I want you to enjoy your life. I want you to enjoy being alive. Life is full of beautiful and interesting things, and people, and places. There's far more here than you can ever possibly experience. Follow your curiosity. Let it be your guide. Do not worry about making mistakes.Do not worry about … Continue reading To you →

Julian Maddock Prayer 9 Comments 11 April 20168 July 2021

Emptiness

12 December 2015 I want to write about emptiness, loneliness, meaningless, and the apprehension of death. This is what I feel at the moment. But what to say? How to write about these feelings? I might say that there are days when I struggle with these feelings. There are days when I wonder what my … Continue reading Emptiness →

Julian Maddock Being alive, Body, Present 6 Comments 8 February 201614 December 2019

The Miracle of Being Nothing

Desert, Newberry Springs, CA (photo by Julian Maddock)

We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want.Tao Te Ching, Ch.11 (tr Stephen Mitchell) Newberry Springs, CA This is difficult to remember and to practise. When I sit still, even for a few minutes, listening to the sounds coming in through the window, feeling the air, … Continue reading The Miracle of Being Nothing →

Julian Maddock God Leave a comment 1 July 201314 December 2019

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Praying Together

Since the first lockdown, I have been leading online prayer every week. I invite you to these prayer times on Zoom at 8.30 am every Monday and Wednesday. For more information, read “Praying together”.
Julian

Julian Maddock

Julian in hoodie with blue DM's

I offer spiritual direction, training, and supervision. I am also a writer. I am based in Upper Teesdale, Co. Durham and (occasionally) West London.

Through kindly attention to the sensations of this body you can connect into a process of ever-deepening immersion into the reality of God at the heart of life.

I write here primarily about:
  • God, and how to foster your relationship with God;
  • prayer, and how to pray; and
  • how attending to this body is prayer and a way to be present in the Presence.

Read more…

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A beginner’s guide

These links will give you a flavour of, and a way in to, what this body is all about:

  • Where to start?
  • Sitting
  • Starting at the bottom
  • Feeling into this body
  • Starting at the bottom (part 2)
  • Relax!
  • What is the senation of prayer? 10 steps to knowing God
  • The miracle of being nothing

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