CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH OF PUGET SOUND NORTH AUTUMN/WINTER OF 2016 Coming Events/Calendar Notes Saturday, October 29 th : Experiencing the Presence of God - A Day Retreat with Bonnie Shimizu-Father Keating s Assistant St. Mary s on the Lake/Bellevue Saturday, December 10 th : Annual Contemplative s Advent Retreat St. Mary s on the Lake/Bellevue Thoughts on the Threshold of Autumn When you begin to sense that your imagination is the place where you are most divine, you feel called to clean out of your mind all the worn and shabby furniture of thought. You wish to refurbish yourself with living thought, so that you can begin to see
The late Irish philosopher and poet John O Donahue emphasizes a key mission in our life is the radical letting alone of ourselves-allowing the world to speak into us and through us, enabling ourselves to hear the deeper voice within us. That is, of course, the core of Centering Prayer. As we know, and as O Donahue acknowledges, this letting alone demands much of us. A frequent and very human response to the pain and grief that is a part of life is to essentially say- Look God, if this is your game, I m not going to play. I m going to disengage-i m going to create my own game. That game is to create a selfimposed boundary-one we believe makes us safe, but disconnects us from an enriched and deeper sense of who we really are, and the possibilities that lay before us. The gift of silence that is at the core of our Centering Prayer practice, is that it works to dismantle this boundary, this self-imposed exile. But to embrace that gift is to embrace and accept our vulnerability. The gifted poet David Whyte, a longtime friend of John O Donahue, offers a wonderful perspective on vulnerability and its gifts in his marvelous book Consolations. A few excerpts: vulnerability is not a choice, vulnerability is the underlying, ever present and abiding undercurrent of our natural state in refusing our vulnerability we refuse the help needed at every turn of our existence The only choice we have as we mature is how we inhabit our vulnerability, how we become larger and more compassionate through our intimacy with disappearance The practice of Centering Prayer, the offering of our consent to the Holy Spirit, is the acknowledgement, the practice, and the embrace of that vulnerability. It is that creative, if at times uncertain space, that we enter daily. It is our Amen.
EXPERIENCING THE PRESENCE OF GOD THE PERSPECTIVES OF BONNIE SHIMIZU Saturday, October 29 TH -10 a.m. to 4 p.m., St. Mary s on the Lake, Bellevue We are blessed to be able to offer a rare opportunity to spend a day with Bonnie Shimizu. Bonnie has assisted Father Thomas Keating for more than 26 years; 20 of those years were spent living near St. Benedict s Monastery in Snowmass, Colorado. She now continues to assist Father Thomas, but from here in the state of Washington. Her duties include assisting in the editing of his many books and articles. During Bonnie s time with Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., she created workshops, a study program in the Christian Contemplative Tradition, and directed more than 50 teacher formations, known informally as Presenter s Training. Bonnie has traveled both nationally and internationally to lead workshops and Centering Prayer retreats, such as the one Contemplative Outreach of Puget Sound North is privileged to be able to offer. Here is Bonnie s description: Most people who are drawn to Centering Prayer are responding to an
inner call to find God in a much more intimate and experiential way. To paraphrase St. Augustine, Our hearts are restless until they rest in You. Centering Prayer has given us a way into the silence that Fr. Thomas has called, God s first language, and a way into the stillness which is the essence of our being. The silence of prayer is the deepest encounter, but beyond that is the work of daily life, which is sometimes orderly and serene, but often full of surprising mishaps, missteps, and even chaos. We can learn to see that everyday life itself is not just things and events that happen to us, but that life happening for us. It is the call of the Spirit who is not only our deepest essence but is all of life itself. Join us for a day with Bonnie at St. Mary s on the Lake, a beautiful retreat center on the shores of Lake Washington in Bellevue. Space is limited, so advance registration is necessary. Coffee, tea and morning refreshments will be offered at 9:30 a.m.; the program will begin promptly at 10 a.m. Participants are requested to bring a sack lunch. We ll complete our day at 4 p.m. To register for this workshop, mail the completed registration form at the end of this listing of events, which includes the mailing address. The cost for this workshop is $25. Checks should be made payable to Contemplative Outreach of Puget Sound North or simply, COPSN.
A CONTEMPLATIVE'S ADVENT RETREAT: A DAY OF CENTERING PRAYER AND LECTIO DIVINA Saturday, December 10th, 10 am to 4 pm St. Mary s on the Lake, Bellevue Gift yourself with a retreat from the busyness of the Christmas season, and enter into the restful silence of Centering Prayer in community with others at the beautiful St. Mary s on the Lake retreat center. Allow yourself to enter more deeply into the gifts offered by Advent, and set the foundation for a rich appreciation of the coming Holy Day of Christmas. This retreat will include periods of Centering Prayer, Meditative Walks, and the practice of Lectio Divina. To register for this workshop, mail the completed registration form at the end of this listing of events, which includes the mailing address. The cost for this workshop is $25. Checks should be made payable to Contemplative Outreach of Puget Sound North or simply, COPSN.
EVENT REGISTRATION- CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH OF PUGET SOUND NORTH NAME: ADDRESS: CITY: STATE: ZIP: EMAIL: TELEPHONE: I D LIKE TO REGISTER FOR: EXPERIENCING THE PRESENCE OF GOD WITH BONNIE SHIMIZU $25 ENCLOSED A CONTEMPLATIVE S ADVENT RETREAT $25 ENCLOSED I D LIKE TO REGISTER FOR BOTH! $40 I'D ALSO LIKE TO REGISTER FOR (NAME)
TOTAL ENCLOSED: PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH OF PUGET SOUND NORTH (COPSN) FOR MAILING, EMAILING OR FURTHER INFORMATION: CONTEMPLATIVE OUTREACH OF PUGET SOUND NORTH 19920 N.E. 30 th Court SAMMAMISH, WA 98074 info@copugetsound-north.org Or, after September 18th, 425-868-8888 Copyright 2016 Contemplative Outreach of Puget Sound North, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because of your affirmative response to past emails and/or participation in Contemplative Outreach events. Our mailing address is: Contemplative Outreach of Puget Sound North 19920 N.E. 30th Court Sammamish, WA 98074