Outgrowing the masks that hide the True Self

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*.

Finding the words for the inner riches of our lives

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*.

Taking the side of peace in a world of violence

Following the Rwandan genocide, a planned campaign of mass murder in 1994, World Vision sent John Steward and his wife Sandi there in 1997 to manage its reconciliation and peace-building program. Here John reflects on what he learned about peace-building, and the lessons that can be learned in the Middle East, particularly as we celebrate the coming of the ‘Prince of Peace’.

Hearing the cry of the Earth

In meditation we discover our essential unity with one another, and also the Earth, says author Jim Green*. And in this act of contemplation, or communing, our consciousness is transformed, and we both hear the cry of the Earth and are at one with it. In the following edited extract from his online course, Contemplating Earth, Jim reflects on the crisis now facing humanity and the planet as COP28 meets in Dubai, and the urgency of a contemplative response.

Sleepers awake! Humanity, and the planet, need you!

Christians must wake up to the insanity of an economic system based on compulsive consumerism and rampant inequality, argues Sarah Bachelard. Theologian, author and long-time meditator, Dr Bachelard* says that in our era of deepening ecological and social crisis, Christians are called to action as well as prayer, to a transformation of lifestyle as well as of consciousness.

Crying out in lament for our troubled world

It is all too easy to fall into despair at the state of our world. Global warming, war, greed and inequality all pose a serious threat to the future of humanity and the future of the planet.

The following two responses, written in the style of Psalms of Lament, of which there are many examples in the Bible, cry out to God in sorrow, grief and anger, while also clinging to the hope that the God of Love, infinite source of a love that is stronger than death, will not desert us in this hour of need.

The wild young man who became a mystic and prophet

Thomas Merton – monk, writer, poet, prophet – was a wild young man who ‘came home’ to God, devoting his monastic years to seeking the face of God and being a courageous witness to God’s love. Robert Whalley reflects on one of the greatest Christian mystics of the 20th Century, whose centenary was celebrated in 2015, when this article first appeared*. Contributing Editor of Living Water, Roland Ashby, writes: I am re-publishing the article on Living Water as a tribute both to Thomas Merton, and to its author, Robert Whalley. Robert, who died earlier this month following a long illness, was an American who settled in Victoria, Australia. He spent most of his ministry in teaching and tertiary chaplaincy, and was ordained an Anglican priest in 2010. He had a profound love for Merton and was founder and director of the Merton Centre in Australia. As a gifted teacher and retreat leader he introduced many to Merton, and communicated an infectious affection and enthusiasm for Merton which sprang from a deep and intimate knowledge of Merton’s writing. Indeed, such was his love for, and knowledge of Merton, that he made me and others feel that we had met and known Merton himself. This is a precious gift for which I, and many others, will be eternally grateful.

Seeing the world bathed in the sunlight of God

Long-time meditator and retired chaplain Adele Mapperson recently received a profound and life-changing insight into the sacredness of the human person, and how God is alive in the very fibre of our being. Adele is also coordinator of the Victorian Chapter of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) in Australia. This is a slightly edited version of a talk she gave on 17 June 2023.

Discovering the joy of the True Self

Retired teacher Gilly Withers has suffered pain and loss, but through Christian meditation she has found strength, love and deep joy. A long-time member of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), 10 years ago she became one of its oblates, who strive to live according to the guidelines set out in the Rule of St Benedict, written 1500 years ago. Here she reflects on her journey towards discovering her True Self, and the fruits of a life centred in meditation and monastic wisdom.

The man who saved Europe from the Dark Ages

Born in the 5th century, Saint Benedict has had a profound impact on Western civilisation. His philosophy, outlined in his Rule of Life, is suffused with practical wisdom for daily living, and rests on a deep and meditative engagement with Scripture. As John Stewart* reflects, in the wake of Saint Benedict’s feast day on 11 July, the Rule has a powerful application which is just as relevant in the 21st century.

Re-wilding the soul

Loving attention to nature can teach us much about God, and ourselves, reflects Benedictine monk Br. John Mayhead. A keen birdwatcher and gardener, with an ‘obsession’ for natural history, Br. John has been a monk at the Monastery of Christ Our Saviour, Turvey, in Bedfordshire, England, since 1991.

Growing towards ‘the light’ and finding the ‘something more’

Songwriter and visual artist John Coleman reflects on how he has found inspiration, as well as the inner freedom, joy and knowledge of his ‘better self’, through an ancient form of meditation called Lectio Divina*, by practising silent prayer, and by sharing life in community with people with and without learning disabilities. He lives by the sea in southeast Tasmania.

Meeting hate with love

The primary lesson to learn in life is to love. This was one of the many profound insights that Eileen Caddy (1917-2006) received in her daily meditations. Through an inner voice, she believed that God was guiding her in her co-founding of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland in the 1960s, a community whose vision is to  “radically transform the world”  through teaching and embodying the core principles of deep inner listening, co-creation with nature, and work as love in action.

Faith and prayer as ‘phosphorescence’

Australian feminist, author and journalist Julia Baird says it is not easy to maintain faith, especially for women and members of the LGBTQI community. But her faith endures, she says, because she has a sense of God as ‘large, expansive, forgiving, infinite, and both incomprehensible and intimate.’ Author and retired bishop Graeme Rutherford* reflects on her use of the word ‘phosphorescence’, which is also the title of her recent book, and how it has illuminated his understanding of faith, contemplation, St Paul and 20th century mystic Thomas Merton.

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