We are afraid of emptiness. Spinoza speaks about our “horror vacui”, our horrendous fear of vacancy … It is very hard to allow emptiness to exist in our lives. Emptiness requires a willingness not to be in control, a willingness to let something new and unexpected happen. It requires trust, surrender, and openness to guidance. Continue reading “whole: day 4”
Tag Archives: soul work
whole: day 3
Genuine wholeness in the spiritual life … requires unflinchingly facing one’s hollowness. The harshness of the desert exacts a stripping away of every chimera and self-delusion for the sake of what is real. “Delight in the truth,” exhorts Donald Nicholl. “Truth tastes better with each illusion that evaporates.” The Solace of Fierce Landscapes, Belden C.Continue reading “whole: day 3”
whole: day 2
Who speaks the sound of an echo? Who paints the image in a mirror? Where are the spectacles in a dream? Nowhere at all – that’s the nature of mind! Tree-Leaf Woman (8-11thc. Indian female practitioner of Tantric Buddhism) What is it that I think I know of myself? I may not want to lookContinue reading “whole: day 2”
K’s big birthday gratitude project 3
I often am to be found with a mug of tea, and love nothing better than sharing several pots with friends over the course of a long afternoon’s natter. So having the first of my birthday celebrations as a tea party felt right – and all thanks go to the staff at the Farnham PotteryContinue reading “K’s big birthday gratitude project 3”
gospel 5. be. here. listen.
I AM the leap. I AM the ice cold air you gasp in on take-off. I AM the muscles which lift you, the limbs which bend, flex and fly free. I AM the gravity which holds you safe and brings you back down to earth. I AM the same whether this leap springs from yourContinue reading “gospel 5. be. here. listen.”
Ash Wednesday March 2 2022: what is a lectio soul collage?
Since joining the Holy Disorder of Dancing Monks in 2014, I have been intentionally trying to make my sabbath distinctive from other days of the week. My illness often makes one bed-bound day merge into another, and prevents me attending church (even virtual church), this is harder than one might think. There are practical disciplinesContinue reading “Ash Wednesday March 2 2022: what is a lectio soul collage? “
Under a Sap Moon (Vernal Equinox 2021)
What needs to go? What like the seasons is preparing to shed, or to grow. is silent yet in the earth? To reflect, make three columns with your paper and ink: Then walk through the garden of your life, with full attentiveness. Take part in your practice, with your arms raised like the trees, thatContinue reading “Under a Sap Moon (Vernal Equinox 2021)”
Lughnasadh season
Since writing at Beltaine, and then again at the Summer Solstice, the colours of fire have continued to dominate the photos I have received and the watercolour doodles I have painted. Hot pinks, oranges, violets rise up, and vermillion and scarlet find their place in this inner glory-blaze. This year, somehow for the first time,Continue reading “Lughnasadh season”
psalms for passiontide: Holy Wednesday Psalm 70
I find it fascinating that the Lectionary gives two days for me to contemplate this psalm in Holy Week. What can possibly be so important in it that I need to hear it twice? The subtitle of this psalm reads, ‘To the leader. Of David, for the memorial offering’ and there is an academic theoryContinue reading “psalms for passiontide: Holy Wednesday Psalm 70”
advent apertures 2019: day 23
Light and darkness, night and day. We marvel at the mystery of the stars. Moon and sky, sand and sea. We marvel at the mystery of the sun. Twilight, high noon, dusk and dawn. Though we are mortal, we are Creation’s crown. Flesh and bone, steel and stone. We dwell in fragile, temporary shelters. GrantContinue reading “advent apertures 2019: day 23”
image into ikon 