1. Meditation in context 2. Meditation in the Christian Tradition 3. Practicing Meditation 4. Resources. Chris Morris Catholic Theological College

Transcription

1 1. Meditation in context 2. Meditation in the Christian Tradition 3. Practicing Meditation 4. Resources Chris Morris Catholic Theological College

2 Mindfulness is the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgementally to things as they are. (Jon Kabat-Zinn)

3 Each person as he or she is at rest is worthwhile they don t become worthwhile by all they do when not at rest. It s from that point that God will move in them, create afresh, change. (Rowan Williams)

4 Guided/Reflective Meditation using the imagination; reflection; thinking deeply; relaxation/movement of the body Silent Meditation: silence; simplicity; stillness; attentiveness; being non-judgemental It starts not from thinking and self-awareness but from being... (Thomas Merton)

5 Scientific language Poetic language Spiritual/Religious language

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8 Numerous Studies show that a regular practice of mindfulness: Improves resilience, mood, blood pressure Improves empathic response and reduces carer fatigue, burnout, depersonalisation Application in treating mental health, pain Improving brain function, performance - sport, academic, relationships Spirituality school_based_mindfulness_programs - American mindfulness research association

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10 It almost seems as though I m able to transport myself beyond the turmoil on the court to some place of total peace and calm I appreciate what my opponent is doing in a detached abstract way. Like an observer in the next room It is a perfect combination of (intense) action taking place in an atmosphere of total tranquillity. When it happens, I want to stop the match and grab the microphone and shout that s what it s all about, because it is. It is not the big prize I m going to win at the end of the match or anything else When I m in that kind of state I feel that tennis is an art form that s capable of moving both the players and the audience. (Billie-Jean King)

11 You re actually inside the surfboard you re inside the landscape around you and the ocean as it s surging, you get totally inside the moment and it s so intense that time disappears, you disappear (Nick Carroll, surfer)

12 There are many forms of prayer Silent meditation supports and enhances other ways of prayer A Portrait of Jesus: The Active Contemplative That evening, at sunset, they brought to him all who were sick...and he cured them... in the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. (Mark s Gospel)

13 John Cassian, 4 th Century We pray in our inner room whenever we withdraw our hearts completely from the tumult and the noise of our thoughts and our worries, and when secretly and intimately we offer our prayers by repeating a single verse

14 Use this little word and pray not in many words but in a little word of one syllable. Fix this word fast to your heart so that it is always there come what may. With this word, you will leave all thoughts. (14 th Century: The Cloud of Unknowing)

15 Centering Prayer and Christian Meditation developed in recent times In the Christian tradition, the experience of prayer, the experience of meditation, is of unity, of oneness. It is an experience that changes the whole of our perception of reality. We see reality as a whole, unified by the basic energy of the cosmos, which is the energy of love. This is the message of the truth that sets us free. (John Main) What we take in by contemplation we must pour out in love. (Meister Eckhart)

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17 contemplation is very far from being just one kind of thing that Christians do: it is the key to prayer, liturgy, art and ethics, the key to the essence of a renewed humanity that is capable of seeing the world and other subjects in the world with freedom freedom from self-oriented, acquisitive habits and the distorted understanding that comes from them. To put it boldly, contemplation is the only ultimate answer to the unreal and insane world that our financial systems and our advertising culture and our chaotic and unexamined emotions encourage us to inhabit. To learn contemplative practice is to learn what we need so as to live truthfully and honestly and lovingly. It is a deeply revolutionary matter. (Rowan Williams)