What is Prayer? Why is it important in the Spiritual Life?
Prayer lies at the heart of the spiritual life, yet it is often misunderstood, reduced to technique, obligation, or belief. Beneath these layers, prayer speaks to something more fundamental — our human capacity to turn toward the mystery that gives rise to us, sustains us, and calls us into transformation. This reflection explores what prayer is, and why it remains essential if our spiritual life is to become lived and embodied rather than merely believed. Prayer as a Human I
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.
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.
