My Spirit Drinks Deep

~ Another phrase Finds me out . Just a few Words are enough . For thought To be inspired . And my spirit Drinks deep . From the waters Of life . That never Run dry. ~ Inspired by Psalm 1 which you can read here ~

Spiritual Reflection – Contemplation (3) – Benedictine Contemplation

I am not a monk but I am very interested in spiritual traditions handed down through monastic orders. And contemplation is one of these! My first two posts on contemplation have considered the way we naturally contemplate beauty and awe-inspiring sights: Caspar David Friedrich - "Two Men Contemplating the Moon" Turn to a Benedictine writer …

Lectio Divina on a Psalm (Introduction)

Lectio Divina is a way of reading that is unknown to many people - strange when literacy rates are probably at an historic high! But we have come to read quickly, to skim read, to take on as much transitory information as possible, in the sense that we are somehow gaining in this way. But …

A Year of Inspirers (4) – William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth inspired me with words about beauty and  transcendence... It is a beauteous Evening, calm and free; The holy time is quiet as a Nun Breathless with adoration; the broad sun Is sinking down in its tranquillity; The gentleness of heaven is on the Sea: Listen! the mighty Being is awake, And doth with …

Spiritual Reflection: Time to Study, Time to Contemplate, Time to Pray

Study Study forms our minds but also our inner character. Study affect our beliefs and our values. Study affects our understanding and our vision. Study affects how we look at and perceive the world. Contemplation Contemplation is a near-lost method of thinking. It has been preserved and passed down by some who engage in spiritual …

Inspiring Books: The Return of the Prodigal Son (Henri Nouwen)

"All of my life is there.  All of the lives of my friends is there.  The painting has become a mysterious window...It is like a huge gate that allows  me to move to the other side of existence and look from there back into the odd assortment of people and events that make up my daily …

Christian Spiritualities – The Psalms

“...like a tree Planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in season, And whose leaf does not wither...” (from Psalm 1) So many Psalms have inspired me to write, but this post focuses on just one - the first Psalm. The beautiful image of a tree, in the extract above, growing beside a …

Reading Stories of God

One way of approaching the Gospels is as stories of God. The Gospels are collections of stories about Jesus.  Some people talk about “pericopes”: short sections of a few sentences, or more, that tell one complete story.  We think the Gospels were basically collections of stories that had been passed around by word of mouth, …

The Spiritualities of Christianity – Lectio Divina

“Lectio Divina” is a method of transcending “paralysis by analysis”, and it can be very exciting for people today to discover a totally new way of reading a spiritual text. “Lectio” used to be practised by monks hundreds of years ago, and was a method of prayerfully reading the Bible. It is not skimming, or …

Weave it into your spirit

Integrate Your spiritual reading . Weave it Each new day . Into your spirit Into your soul . Let God Have God’s way. . Image by katie175 from Pixabay