Telling our Stories...
I was recently at a wonderful workshop for spiritual directors run by Pádraig Ó Tuama leader of the Corrymeela Community , Northern Ireland's oldest peace and reconciliation organisation. As a poet and theologian, Pádraig is interested in storytelling, in how we tell our stories to ourselves and others: What are the deep narratives of our life's story trying to work their way out? Our particular stories of life circle round us, as themes weaving their way in and out of who
Understanding Islam
Hans Küng, the noted Swiss Catholic theologian, once said, 'Until there is peace between religions there can be no peace in the world.' In our current world, where religious tensions seem so fraught, I have sought, as a Christian, to reflect on what Christ's demand to 'love my neighbour ' means in this context. Certainly, for me, loving my neighbour must encompass understanding, respecting and seeking the good of the other. I would hope that others would seek to properly und
Silent Mind, Holy Mind: A Christmas Reflection Across Traditions
Looking through the eyes of another can bring into fresh focus those things familiarity can too easily obscure. So, at this Christmas time I share some reflections on the birth and teachings of Jesus Christ as offered by the Tibetan Buddhist teacher Lama Yeshe (1935–1984) from talks he gave in the Christmases of 1971-74 when first encountering Western students in Kathmandu.* Although disenchanted with the Christianity of their homelands, and seeking alternative answers in Bud
Barbara Hepworth's Spiritual Vitality
A Garden of Presence: Encountering Barbara Hepworth in St Ives I've been staying a stone's throw from Barbara Hepworth's studio and museum in St Ives. So, before the crowds arrive each morning, I slip alone into her extraordinary garden - a captivating blend of sculpture and exotic planting. Her working spaces lie undisturbed as if she has just popped out for a moment to fetch milk for morning tea, or perhaps in her case a packet of cigarettes. The early morning light in St I
The Wisdom of Imperfection
Many of us approach the spiritual life with an unspoken assumption that growth means improvement — becoming better, purer, or more complete versions of ourselves. Yet again and again, both spiritual tradition and lived experience suggest something more paradoxical: that our imperfection itself may be one of the primary places where transformation begins. Wisdom, it seems, does not arise from eliminating what is broken, but from learning how to live more truthfully, compassion
Going on Retreat
Retreats are times of renewal and refreshment - time to slow down and go deeper, to connect with what is truly important to you in life; a time to listen inwardly. Life these days can be a whirlwind of activity. We can become so caught up in our everyday 'doing' that pausing and reflecting, taking time just to 'be', can be a very deepening and centering experience, refreshing our weary, stressed body, mind, and soul. We can regain a sense of personal balance and integrity.
Sacred Cairns: Markers Along the Inner Path
There are images that quietly accompany us through life, gathering meaning as we change. The image of a cairn — simple, weathered, and humanly made — is one such symbol , holding memory, passage, loss, and orientation in a single form. Cairns as Markers On the home page of my website is a picture of a cairn. Cairns are piles of stone placed one on top of the other to mark key events such as battles or burial sites, to mark trails, or to remember sacred and important moments.
Awakening Love
Just back from attending a refreshing and inspiring interfaith retreat day led by Maura Sills. She spoke of the numinous quality of love and wisdom that is at the centre of us all. And how awakening to, and resting prayerfully and consciously in this depth within us, not only helps us but all those to whom we relate in life. I was very struck by how easily we can live our life separate in our own skin, sometimes never really experiencing a sense of deep connection to others
Spiritual Journeying
'In one sense we are always travelling, and travelling as if we did not know where we are going. In another sense we have already arrived.
