Between 1973 and 1977 I had a wonderful BIG OE in Europe. I travelled, studied, made many friends and met my wife. In August 1974 I spent two days at the French Marian Shrine at Lourdes. I took to the grotto a problem that had been weighing on me and quickly received a message from […]
‘Under the Huang Jiao Tree: Two Journeys in China’, writing as Jane Carswell, I describe the inner and outer journeys of a year teaching English in China. The inner journey proves to be the last stage in my journey toward Christian Meditation. In the passages from it below, I tell of my first encounter with […]
I was always interested in meditation as I enjoy peace and quiet, and reasoned that if I could pray as well, it would be an awesome experience. So I went to an evening with Fr Peter at the Panmure church. There was a short video presentation which explained everything about meditation, adding that after some […]
I had for a long time been interested in meditation, though never done a lot about it, partly because I’m a reflective kind of person. I noticed, some years ago now, an article in the WECOM paper about a visit from Fr Laurence and a talk he was giving about Christian Meditation. I recall a […]
I’d like to say I’d been thrown off a horse, found the Lord, and could not find a better way to get to know Him. Not true. I can’t remember when I didn’t know the Lord, and His Father. My friendship with the Holy Spirit came as I matured a little. I’d like to say […]
Reading and reflecting has been a major habit of mine to met a hunger for depth and meaning and also a longing and ache I constantly and periodically experienced. In my younger years life to me was scary, daunting, unappealing. Yet from my reading and also listening to stories there was presented various ways a […]
Occasionally, special things certainly do happen in seemingly mysterious ways. My journey to Christian meditation, for example, unfolded for me in ways that I could have neither predicted nor planned. Concepts, perceptions and insights that previously I had only read and experienced through a number of years of ‘mainstream’ health and well-being style meditative methods […]
During the late 1950’s and early 60’s the roll at the primary school I attended was rapidly dropping, and with this situation came a succession of Headmasters. Finally the school attracted an unusual and forward thinking Principal who was able to stay. He introduced yoga, relaxation, creative writing, Spanish and Italic writing into our daily […]
I had always enjoyed a certain amount of solitude and even before being aware of meditation I used to sit with scripture. My first experience of meditation came when I attended a talk given by Fr. Laurence Freeman in Hamilton in 1988. Following that talk I received newsletters from time to time and practised meditation […]
Elisabeth Herriot, a calm woman of inner beauty in our parish, asked me one morning in the 1980’s as I walked the beach in Eastbourne whether I was interested in contemplative prayer. And thus began my pilgrimage. Later she obeyed God’s whisper to offer a weekly meditation and so a small group of meditators began, […]