At the heart of the work of St Antony's Priory has been offering ways into meditation (often called "contemplative prayer" in the Christian tradition). At the end of days exploring this theme, I have often wondered how it might be possible to go further to provide consistent opportunities for shared meditation and to help and inspire our personal practices.

To that end, in the first half of the 2009 program there will be regular opportunities on one Saturday morning each month for us to spend one or two hours together in this spiritual practice. It is for beginners, seekers, and for experienced people to share together. The sessions will be slightly longer than most groups so as to make the trip worthwhile and because the meetings occur only once a month, rather than every week.

Starting at 10 a.m. there will be a short input on some aspect of meditation - but for no more than 10 minutes. The remaining 50 minutes will be spent in silence together (probably in two 20-minute periods interspersed with breathing, stretching and walking exercises as part of the meditation). We will break for refreshments at 11 a.m. for 30 minutes. The second hour will begin at 11.30 a.m. and will be a repetition on the first hour. I guess that many will chose to leave before or after the break before the second hour. Others may join the group at that point and some may stay for the whole morning - whatever is most helpful on any given day.

The wisdom of various meditation traditions will be offered; but at the heart of it all is shared silence in the unique atmosphere of St Antony's chapel, where each person is free to use silence as they wish. We will seek to encourage one another as a community of contemplation. An important element is the contemplative practices of the major faiths - the Body of Christ in the Christian tradition; the Sangha of the Buddhist tradition; and the Ashram of the Hindu tradition.

I will lead the first few sessions, but will seek to involve other leaders as the months go by.

The dates are: Saturday January 10; February 14; March 14; April 18; May 23; and June 13.

If you want to register an interest in attending some of these Saturday, send me an email and I will send you a reminder before each session ...
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