Living Water

Philip Larkin, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, was an atheist. Australian poet John Foulcher*, who has a deep Christian faith, reflects on how Larkin’s poetry has been a source of nourishment for him, how it has helped him to face his darkest fears, and how, with all good poetry, it lays bare our common humanity.

Into the growing darkness of our world, St Francis of Assisi shines a light of peace, hope and beauty. Anglican priest and third order Franciscan Pirrial Clift reflects on why this joyful revolutionary, who is commemorated on 4 October, has drawn her ‘like a magnet’, and speaks so powerfully to our time of war and ecological crisis.

Poetry can open our hearts and minds and provide a source of living water for our lives, says author Sarah Bachelard. Dr Bachelard*, who is the founder of the Benedictus Contemplative Church in Canberra, Australia, reflects on how poetry can illuminate our understanding and nourish our lives and faith. This reflection is based on a talk on 8 September at The Well, a monthly online meditation and talk on a mystic or poet*.

Diagnosed with dementia in 2019, retired Anglican priest Dr G. Wayne Short* has learned to embrace his condition, with the help of meditation. Meditation, he says, has allowed him to come home to the ground and centre of his being, and know that he is loved.

Writer and author Clare Boyd-Macrae*, who had long suffered from bouts of depression, told her family ‘I just want to get rid of my demons’. Then she heard about an intensive week of silent meditation, and she signed up to go.

The ‘gold-standards’ of power, perfection and privilege, which dominated Greco-Roman society, continue to capture us, writes poet and scholar the Rev’d Dr Mark S. Burrows.* But Christianity, he says, is a radical rejection of this ‘false gospel’, believing that true strength and freedom lie not in naked self-interest, but in the ‘weakness’ of compassion and putting others’ interests before our own.

August 6 is the day we commemorate the Transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:28-36), in which he radiated a dazzling light. August 6 1945 was also the day that America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, which also radiated a dazzling light, but of a very different kind.

Bird watching is akin to praying. Or, more precisely, bird waiting is an act of contemplative prayer. The Welsh poet and Anglican priest R.S. Thomas, who lived by the sea in North Wales, was a passionate bird watcher. His poem ‘Sea-Watching’ (below) explores the relationship between prayer and bird watching while looking out to sea.

When an injury forced her to slow down, Justine Toh* learned that we can only amble our way to wisdom. Anything that grows your soul takes time, she says, which runs counter to our culture of ‘faster is better and efficiency is everything’.

When we attend with the heart, we can hear the voices of the trees, writes Rodney Marsh.  Here he reflects on what the trees taught him while walking in the Jarrah forest of the Darling Range in Western Australia, and how walking with trees can be a prayer and a blessing.

Rodney Marsh believes that animals in general, and birds in particular, are often ‘messengers of hope’. Here he reflects on his encounters with three avian messengers while walking the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia, and how they spoke to him of the Divine.

While bushwalking in Western Australia, Rodney Marsh practised a silence and attention that allowed him to discover the silence and generosity of the natural world, and how nature can heal and restore the soul. This is the first article in a series of three in which he reflects on how walking in nature nurtures spiritual well-being.

God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit he has given us. (Romans 5:5)

This is one of my favourite Scripture verses, and for me is at the heart of my faith, and why we celebrate Easter. Through a simple practice of mantra meditation (see below) we can tap into this stream of love, and verify the truth of this claim through our own experience.

Baptism, if remembered, is a tame occurrence for many, but at its heart it is a wild gift, writes Fr Robert Whalley. Drawing on a poem by W.H. Auden, the following is a reflection by the late Anglican priest that he posted on his blog and social media in January 2022.

The innate nature of children, and therefore of all of us, is closeness to Divine Reality, says author Kim Nataraja*. Through meditation, she says, we can attune to the pure spiritual consciousness we were born with.

In his poem Not A One, Mark Nepo reflects on how ‘being awake’ depends on outgrowing our masks, which Noel Keating says is one of the fruits of meditation. Long-time meditator, educator and author Dr Keating* continues his reflection on how poetry gives rise to rich contemplative insights and helps deepen our appreciation of the mystery of our own spiritual experience. The articles are a slightly edited version of an online talk Dr Keating gave to a group of Christian meditators on 28 August 2023*.

Just as meditation moves our consciousness from the head to the heart, and from Doing to Being, so poetry also leads us to an inner richness that we hunger to experience. Long-time meditator, educator and author Dr Noel Keating* reflects on how poetry gives rise to rich contemplative insights and helps deepen our appreciation of the mystery of our own spiritual experience. Part II of his reflection will appear in two weeks. The articles are a slightly edited version of an online talk Dr Keating gave to a group of Christian meditators on 28 August 2023*.