July 2024
Art and the woman
31/07/24 10:12 Filed in: Personal
On Tuesday I went to London for a rendezvous with Sheena the Art Lover, also a Hampstead churchwarden and a member of St James’s Piccadilly. Sheena is delightful company. Her head is full of art and many other things. She is a member of Tate Britain and a member of the Royal Academy and no doubt a member of many other things too. Read More…
Contemplation 10 – The endgame
28/07/24 23:10 Filed in: Christianity
In a game of chess, the endgame is the final stage. Most of the pieces have been exchanged. In the simplicity and clarity of endgame positions, we reach the essence: we see the game as it really is. And so it is in the world of contemplation. In a previous post I wrote of the transition from doing contemplative prayer to becoming contemplative people. In this final post I am looking at some features of the developed stage of the contemplative life. It doesn’t mean this is where I am, only that I have read enough and experienced enough to know what this stage looks like. Read More…
Contemplation 9 – Darkness
21/07/24 22:47 Filed in: Christianity
In spiritual terms, light and darkness correspond to the seeming presence and absence of God. There are two kinds of spiritual darkness: man-made and God-given. This post covers both, but mainly the latter. Read More…
Keswick woman
16/07/24 18:34 Filed in: Personal
I travelled by train and bus to Keswick to start a walking holiday as Ariane. Over the next three days I will be tackling groups of fells (known as ‘Wainwrights’ after the author) in the North Western Fells area. The forecast is mixed, but I’m going out anyway. This is the first time ever that I can spend days on end as Ariane. Read More…
Now you see us
11/07/24 23:29 Filed in: Personal
On Tuesday, Ariane returned to Tate Britain for the exhibition Now You See Us: Women Artists in Britain 1520–1920. I had two reasons for doing so. The first was educational. I realised that I had not heard of any female artists, except Gwen John, and the only painting of hers that I knew was her self-portrait (which is included in the exhibition). Second, to strengthen my growing sense of femaleness, as I am more and more seeing everything from a female point of view. Read More…
Contemplation 8 – Other organisations
08/07/24 07:47 Filed in: Christianity
The Julian Meetings is not the only organisation that supports group contemplative prayer. Others include Contemplative Outreach, the Fellowship of Contemplative Prayer, and the World Community for Christian Meditation. I do not have personal experience of these but thought it worth explaining what I have learned about them, and what distinguishes them from each other and from the Julian Meetings. At the end I comment on the nearest thing to a doctrinal difference that you find in the world of contemplative prayer. Read More…
Contemplation 7 – The Julian Meetings
02/07/24 11:16 Filed in: Christianity
The Julian Meetings is a national, UK-based organisation which fosters the teaching and practice of contemplative prayer. It works primarily through a network of local groups but its resources are available to individuals also. This is the only contemplative prayer organisation of which I have direct first-hand knowledge. JM, as it’s known for short, has been part of my life, in and out, for almost 30 years. So this post is all about the Julian Meetings then and now, and my interaction with it, and why it continues to be relevant in a changing world. Read More…