the sensation of life
It all started with an email. Of course, it had been going on before that. Annette and I had been reading Gabor Maté, particularly When the Body Says No: The Cost of Hidden Stress. On 29th October 2021, an email dropped into my inbox: Psychedelics and Compassionate Inquiry with Dr Gabor Maté. [The original details … Continue reading Coming Out
In case you haven’t guessed, I am a big fan of Ignatian Spirituality. And with that couplet is the genesis of a problem. By using the phrase ‘Ignatian Spirituality’, I am already creating something that I’m not sure has much substance. I’m a fan of God and Jesus. I’m a fan of prayer. I’m a … Continue reading Ignatian Scaffolding
Every year everything I have ever learned in my lifetime leads back to this: the fires and the black river of loss whose other side is salvation, whose meaning none of us will ever know. Mary Oliver: In Blackwater Woods I was listening to Radio 3 over breakfast on Wednesday. Bryn Terfel was interviewed and … Continue reading Lass auch Dir die Brust bewegen, Liebchen, höre mich!
By their fruits ye shall know them. Matthew 7.16 A person is walking along the street and a thought comes to her: “I ought to phone my Auntie Julie. I know it is boring, and I never know what to say, but she must be lonely stuck in her flat with no visitors.” Another person … Continue reading It’s only your imagination
a review and an invitation Since lockdown, I have been hosting prayer together using Zoom on Mondays for silent prayer and Wednesdays for prayer that I lead in what I hope is an open, meditative, and contemplative atmosphere. My aim is to help people become present to God who is always Present. Breakup In September … Continue reading Praying together
What do you long for? What are your deepest wishes? Spirituality is how you live out your deepest longing, day by day, year by year, in and through all the ups and downs of life. Prayer begins with desire … Continue reading
This time of plague is a desolation for many: loss of work, loss of income, loss of health, loss of life; traumatic, dangerous front-line work; and decimated support services. Those of us not so endangered still suffer desolation. There is overwhelming uncertainty: where will we be next year, or next week!? How are we to live now? What is God’s call now? … Continue reading
There ain't no good thing ever dies I'm gonna take it with me when I go Tom Waits: Take It With Me I have often talked about 'repetition', as Ignatius of Loyola calls it, in these writings, e.g. "Where to start?", "The Kingdom of Heaven", and "Repetition". He invites us to revisit significant moments, "noting … Continue reading Audio Prayer: Revisiting a God moment
We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What … Continue reading Annunciation