Border Crossings

Last week I took part (one of 200) in “The Way of Awareness” with Jon and Will Kabat Zinn at the Omega Center, outside Rhinebeck in Upstate New York.   It is a wonderful, peaceful setting and the autumn colours were just commencing, the leaves begining to fall and create blankets on the earth.   The landscape was beautiful, with the birds and squirrels (or were they chipmunks?) scampering around and many flowers blooming.   The meals were fantastic- I was spoilt for choice in this vegetarian (almost totally with generally only one of more than 20 dishes containing meat) heaven!   There was a wonderful book shop – fortunately I have little spare space in my luggage so I resisted buying, except for T shirt, as the temperatures in the US have been much warmer than I had anticipated. We started at 6am each day with 90 minutes of meditation and this was followed by two x 3 hour sessions and a 2 hr evening session of mostly meditation and some teaching mainly through...

"Week 3a: A Mindful Week" to follow at a later date. A Sabbath Morning Walk along and around the High Line A Sabbath Afternoon in and around Central Park From Henri Nouwen’s Reflection for 23 September (from Bread for the Journey) How do we live in creation? Do we relate to it as a place full of "things" we can use for whatever need we want to fulfil and whatever goal we wish to accomplish? Or do we see creation first of all as a sacramental reality, a sacred space where God reveals to us the immense beauty of the Divine?  As long as we only use creation, we cannot recognise its sacredness because we are approaching it as if we are its owners. But when we relate to all that surrounds us as created by the same God who created us and as the place where God appears to us and calls us to worship and adoration, then we are able to recognise the sacred quality of all God's handiwork. I give thanks for creation and creativity.  I give thanks for ...

The natural beauty of Anchorage in Fall is stunning.  And to have the opportunity to participate in a Twilight Photo Tour was wonderful.  Jody was both a great tour guide and a helpful photography tutor.  And I also discovered two other forms of beauty. The first was what drew me to Anchorage in the first place.  Back in April 2017, I emailed Marcia Wakeland in response to an article that she had written with Mary Cartwright “ The Art of Listening Deeply with the Vulnerable and Marginalised ” that was published in Presence, the journal of Spiritual Direction International.    Although we only met for the first time on Tuesday, by the time I left Anchorage, it was as if we have been lifelong friends.   Maybe, on some level, we have.   So many connected interests, passions and mentors: spiritual questing, labyrinths, passion for listening among the marginalised just to name a few.   Marcia has an amazing network of volunteer...

Over these past few days, I have received such radical hospitality and been enriched by some profound soulful encounters. I have been so inspired by Traci, Marie and Marian from Sidewalk Talk who are fostering human connection through listening. Now with over 2,500 volunteer listeners, with 58 city leaders, in 37 cities, across 10 countries. So simple, yet so profound! I was hosted by a lovely soulful woman, Lynnda, with an amazing life story, at her Airbnb home in Sebastopol. I have been grounded, literally! I was making my way to Diana's home for a women's meditation and dream sharing circle. Walking along the main street, of Sebastopol, I stopped to get some milk as my Airbnb host had none, crossed the road and tripped on the kerb, falling to the ground, flat on my side, the freshly purchased milk carton breaking open, soaking my 3 layers of clothing, grazing my knuckles and even my knee through my trousers. A woman came to my rescue as did a man driving...

I have not yet left Australia yet but 3 insights from this past week are upper most in my mind. 1. Taking and Leaving While it has not been easy to restrict what I take with me to a medium sized case weghing about 16 kg and a smallish carry on backpack, I wonder if it is going to be more challenging to respond to the other baggage I take.  For while I have been saying that this is a sabbatical for rest, renewal and reorientation, I suspect it is also about meeting and befriending my shadow.  May this excess baggage not become a weight under which I labour but a gift to be embraced and the accompanying graces recieved. 2. Disruption The first hoped for part of my Sabbatical Program was a pilgrimage with to Daly River, but that was cancelled as the community was recovering from floods earlier in the year.  Then, very fittingly there was the Australian Ecumenical Council for Spiritual Direction Confernce “Spiritual Direction in the Borderlands”. This se...