Inner and Outer

Still Waters

a time to enter silence, still the mind and encounter the present moment in quiet

Saturday 1st November

at St. Mary’s Church, Sullington, RH20 4AE 

from 8am, or 9am until 10.

On All Saints day, with insights from Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, our focus will be on the imperative to give our attention to the inner life, as that from which the outer life emerges ... 

Please do come at either 8am or 9am for an hour, or for the whole time. 

You may find it helpful to bring an extra layer of clothing or a blanket; sitting meditation is a little easier when the body is kept warm! 

All are welcome.

Peace be with you

A Service of Silence & Beholding

An unhurried time in which to dwell at the heart of the Eucharist 

Sunday 26th October 8am

St. Mary's Church, Sullington, RH20 4AE

As we gather in silence, we come just as we are, 

to seek the face of God

and to wait upon the Divine presence.

In the stillness and silence, in our attentiveness and our letting go, 

the silence will deepen,

so we also depart quietly, taking whatever has been received in this time into the day. 

Apart from a short introduction, there are no announcements;

the reading and prayers are offered as stepping stones in the quiet, 

taking us deeper into the mystery of the sacrament.

'The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, 

and this Word He always speaks in eternal silence, 

and in silence it must be heard by the soul.'

St. John of the Cross

Peace be with you

The Wisdom of the Body - an ongoing journey

‘Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?’

(1 Corinthians 6:19)

One aspect of my learning and practice that has really benefited from this somewhat crazy, out in the wilderness, contemplative journey, is the value of body awareness as an integral part of my faith and practice.

It seems to me – and I am not alone in saying this - that western Christianity, over the centuries, has sold out on the body – as well as silence and meditation, preferring an intellectual, dogmatic, dualist approach. It’s hardly surprising that, for some, faith has become an intellectual activity, too much in the mind and separated from daily life. Those who seek an integrated spirituality of body, mind and spirit have sometimes gone elsewhere, or given up on the search altogether.

So I want to try to play my part in reclaiming and proclaiming the place of the body as integral to the Jesus path. Christianity is, after all, an embodied faith, first and foremost in the person of Jesus – the Word made flesh … (John 1: 14)

For me that reclamation and proclamation is about walking the walk – it is about being a practitioner, honouring the body as a place of sacred wisdom and Divine presence. And when we honour that practice, which I think begins in stillness and silence, it feels to me that it spills over into our work, speech, relationships, actions and choices.

When we honour the sacred in our body, we honour the sacred in the other.

When we honour our own earth-ness as a place of divine presence, we honour the earth as a place of divine presence.

So may it be.

Peace be with you.

Tessa 

The wisdom of the body

Still Waters 

Saturday, 4^th October, 2014

at St. Mary’s Church, Sullington, RH20 4AE 

from 8am, or 9am until 10. 

This session will focus – very briefly - on ‘body consciousness’ and the practice of focusing through which we can turn our attention to inside the body with ‘gentle eyes’ and learn to listen to the inner Sacred Presence than is greater than ourselves. The practice will lead us into our shared silence.

'Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?'

1 Corinthians 6:19

Peace be with you.