Author: Jonny N
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Only then will you know…
Clearing by Martha Postlewaite Do not try to savethe whole worldor do anything grandiose.Instead, createa clearingin the dense forest of your lifeand wait there patiently,until the songthat is your lifefalls into your own cupped handsand you recognize and greet it.Only then will you knowhow to give yourselfto this worldso worthy of rescue. ‘Clearing’ by Martha…
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Our vocation hidden in the ‘where’ and ‘who’ of our lives
Often we want to be somewhere other than where we are, or even to be someone other than who we are. We tend to compare ourselves constantly with others and wonder why we are not as rich, as intelligent, as simple, as generous, or as saintly as they are. Such comparisons make us feel guilty,…
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Dark
Uncouth shepherds,esoteric scholars,a restless groom open to the mystery of the night, messages of the holy. What do you see,what do you hear,in the dark? With thanks to Brian Draper for his Advent reflections which stimulated my thinking and prompted me to listen to Luke Sital-Singh’s this song again, on this December morning..
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Become and becoming
Our life and how we live in the world now and in the future is, almost totally, a result of what we have become in the depths of our being – in our spirit, will or heart. That is where we understand our world and interpret reality. From there we make our choices, act and…
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Autumn light—Slowing down and noticing
The earth revolves around the sun, and every day the light from the sun hits the earth at a different angle. Auggie, Smoke (by Paul Auster, 1995) I’ve been enjoying the way the warm autumn light illuminates the world test last couple of weeks. The way the colour of the leaves is given luminance by…
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Serenity prayer
The Serenity Prayer is attributed to the American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. It was was adopted and popularised twelve-step programs, and has been used in churches across the world. I particularly appreciate the most well-known version of the prayer with its later inclusion of the word “grace”. I find the prayer helpful particularly after I’ve given…
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Spiritual Direction Training
I received my training with Sustainable Faith‘s School of Spiritual Direction. Sustainable Faith have many schools around the world — I spend two years with a cohort of fellow trainees in Amsterdam. I have since been involved in the training of others with the training schools running in the UK. We have been running cohorts across the British…
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Listen to your life…
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.…
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Bear patiently…
Be still my soul the Lord is on thy sideBear patiently the cross of grief or painLeave to thy God to order and provide In every change He faithful will remainBe still my soul thy best, thy heavenly friendThrough thorny ways leads to a joyful end” From the hymn ‘Be Still, My Soul’ by Jean…
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Opening up to the wonders
Look up — at the spaces in the trees,The gaps between the branches. Life is not a clamouring or a striving. But an opening up to the wonders of creation. Breathe deeply and receive. And let the space open up in you. — — As I sat yesterday on a park bench, these were the words that stirred…