Still Presence Spirituality Centre Newsletter Vol. 2, No.
1 Winter 2010
www.s tillpres e [Link]
Winter Session 2010
The Practice of Meditation
The practice of meditation is about freedom, about breaking the chains of
old beliefs and fears that keep us in bondage to the illusion that we are separate
from each other and from All That Is.
Freedom is the destiny of every living being. We become free by waking from our
dreams of fear, scarcity, blame and guilt, by taking responsibility for acting, to the best
of our knowledge, with care and loving-kindness that we may kindle the
light of love within and by that light see our way home
and serve as beacons for others along the way.
Adapted from Joan Borysenko
Page 1 of 12.
The Still Presence Spirituality Centre
“Still presence is where our hearts come home.”
West Island & Verdun
West Island at Christ Church Beaurepaire, 455 Church St., Beaconsfield
Verdun at St. Clement’s Church, 4322 Wellington, Verdun
mini-retreat provides an Christ." Move down through
opportunity to deepen your your whole body in this way
contemplative practice in an just giving the stress away.
atmosphere of inspiration,
innovation, and tranquility. 4. Dissolving Stress
S
Date: Saturday, Dec. 5 imply imagine all the
Time: 9:15 – 11:30 am stress in your body as
Leaders: Michael and Cedric
THIS IS YOUR black smoke. As you
Suggested freewill offering $10
L AST CHANCE breathe in, see this black
TO MEDITATE!! smoke being drawn into the
(at one of our group gatherings
before the Christmas break.)
2. Stop and Breathe
formless "space" of your
W
Hen your life heart-center. Don’t worry
West Island
Nov 23, 30, & Dec 7, 7:15 pm becomes too about taking it in, because
much, stop, find your center is vast enough to
Verdun
Nov 26 & Dec 3, 7:00 pm a comfortable place, close contain it. Now, as you
your eyes, and take five deep, breathe out, imagine the ball
calming breaths, and let go, of smoke being blown out of
4 Ways
to
let go, let go. you. Watch it as it dissolves
completely into the clear blue
Reduce 3. Give Stress Away sky of God’s infinite love and
Stress this mercy. Do this nine times in
L
CHRISTMAS ie down on the floor quite rapid succession. At
with your arms and the end, rest a while,
1. Attend our Advent legs stretched out. picturing yourself as filled with
Mini-Retreat Then, quietly and solemnly the light of Christ, and radiating
calm peace in all directions.
B
intone, "I give the stress of
efore the real rush of the
(Adapted from “The Direct Path”
my facial muscles to Christ. I
Christmas season, this by Andrew Harvey)
give the stress of my neck to
Page 2 of 12.
The
C all How much longer can you live
like this?
i have heard it all my life, Your hungry spirit is gaunt,
A voice calling a name i recognized as your heart stumbles.
my own. All this trying.
Sometimes it comes as a Give it up!
soft-bellied whisper.
Sometimes it holds an edge of Let yourself be one of the God-mad,
urgency. faithful only to the Beauty you are.
But always it says: Wake up, my Let the Lover pull you to your feet
love. and hold you close,
You are walking asleep. dancing even when fear urges you
There's no safety in that! to sit this one out.
Remember what you are, Remember, there is one word you are
and let this knowing here to say with your whole being.
take you home to the Beloved When it finds you, give your life to it.
with every breath. Don't be tight-lipped and stingy.
Hold tenderly who you are, and let a Spend yourself completely on the
deeper knowing color the shape of saying. Be one word in this great love
your humanness. poem
we are writing together.
There is nowhere to go.
What you are looking for is right
here.
— Oriah Mountain
Open the fist clenched in wanting and Dreamer
see what you already hold in your
hand.
There is no waiting for something to
happen,
No point in the future to get to.
All you have ever longed for is here in
this moment, right now.
You are wearing yourself out with all
this searching.
Come home and rest.
Page 3 of 12.
WEST ISLAND New Year’s Resolution:
Winter Schedule “I Want to Live a More
Centered Life in 2010.”
This one-hour workshop offers the
essentials of meditation in a
straightforward and easily accessible
way. It is ideal for beginning
practioners, for experienced meditators
looking for a “refresher” course, and for
people who simply wish to respond to
“This is the moment of embarking.”
their “spiritual longing” as we begin a
new year. Free, open to all.
“We prepare ourselves to start anew.
• Christ Church Beaurepaire
Though we may be intent on the
Monday, January 11
journey ahead,
7:00 – 8:00 pm, with Michael
all things are contained
in this first moment:
our optimism, our faith,
“Everything is laid out for you.
our resolution…
Your path is straight ahead of you.
In order to start, Sometimes it’s invisible, but it’s there.
You may not know where it’s going
we must make a decision.
But you have to follow that path.
This decision is a commitment
It’s the path to the Creator.
to daily self-cultivation.”
It’s the only path there is.”
– Deng Ming-Dao
Chief Leon Shenandoah
Page 4 of 12.
Ongoing Practice:
Inviting Silence
Into Our Lives
Shared silence with others is a profound
gift: together we grow, and come to see
and know ourselves as vehicles of the
Spirit. Each week, experience living
fully in body, mind, and spirit.
Saturday Mini-Retreat:
Newcomers are welcome at any time
Deepening Your
and will find the sessions accessible.
We invite regular participants to bring Spiritual Practice
their friends. Suggested freewill offering
The time pressures of modern life are
$5 per session.
such that few of us can engage in long
• Christ Church Beaurepaire periods of daily prayer and meditation.
Even if we have a spiritual practice, at
Mondays
times it becomes dry and lifeless. This
January 18 to June 7
3- hour workshop will provide the
7:00 – 8:00 pm
inspiration and support to refresh your
(No sessions April 5 & May 24)
spiritual practice and bring it to a deeper
Alternate weeks led by Michael or Cedric level. Suggested freewill offering $15.
Cedric:
• Christ Church Beaurepaire
Jan 18, Feb 1 & 15, Mar 1, 15, & 2
With Michael & Cedric
Apr 19, May 3 & 17, Jun 7
Saturday, January 16
Michael:
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Jan 11 & 25, Feb 8 & 22, Mar 8 & 29
Apr 12 & 26, May 10 & 31
Page 5 of 12.
Saturday Mini-Retreat:
Children of the Light
In the spring, we rejoice at the return of
the light. The season after Easter is a
good time to realize our potential and
emerge from winter with greater clarity,
love and purpose.
Saturday Mini-Retreat:
In this 3-hour workshop we will explore
The Breath of Life letting go of our small selves and
opening up to our true selves through
Most of us have some idea about silent meditation, journaling, reflection,
control of our body, but control of the and time for sharing. Suggested
mind is a more difficult business. freewill offering $15.
One of the oldest ways of controlling the
mind is through the breath. • Christ Church Beaurepaire
With Michael & Cedric
This 3-hour workshop— designed for Saturday, March 20
beginners and intermediate students— 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
explores in depth the psychology of the
breath, and the relationship between
breathing and spiritual healing.
Suggested freewill offering $15.
• Christ Church Beaurepaire
With Cedric
Saturday, February 20
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Page 6 of 12.
Conscious Living Series:
The Wounded Heart
of the World
This 3-week workshop series will
explore our wounded hearts, and our
connectedness with a wounded world.
Conscious Living Series:
We explore how through meditative
Following the Path
practice we can have a positive impact
with Heart
on the world around us as we continue
This 3-week workshop series shows to explore our journey in Christ.
you how to bring your contemplative
Through specific spiritual exercises, we
practice to flower every day of your life
will learn how to become instruments of
through gentle spiritual exercises.
God’s peace and love. Suggested
Especially designed for people who
freewill offering $5.
wish to deepen and refine their spiritual
journey in the Way of Christ. • Christ Church Beaurepaire
With Michael
Our primary resource will be Son of Three Tuesdays
Man: The Mystical Path to Christ by Feb. 23, Mar. 2, & 9
Andrew Harvey. Suggested freewill 7:00 – 8:00 pm
offering $5 per session.
• Christ Church Beaurepaire
With Cedric
Three Tuesdays
Jan. 26, and Feb. 2, & 9
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Page 7 of 12.
THE GIFT of CHANGE VERDUN
Winter Schedule
Conscious Living Series:
Inner Peace and
the Way of the Heart
For the twelve days of Christmas, consider giving The darkness of winter beckons us
yourselves these twelve spiritual gifts. Then reflect on
each one in turn during the upcoming New Year. inward so that we may discover the
GIFTS TO REFLECT UPON: seed of peace already within our hearts.
In this 3-week workshop, we practice
1. Following your own Path with Heart
the essentials of contemplative prayer
2. From Forgetting Who You Are
in the context of the Season of
to Remembering Who You Are
Epiphany, and bring these lessons into
3. From Negative Thinking
our everyday life. Freewill offering.
To Positive Thinking
4. From Anxiety to At-one-ment
• St. Clement’s, Verdun
5. From Asking God to Change the World
With Cedric Cobb
to Praying That God Change You
Three Thursdays
6. From Living in the Past and Future
to Living in the Present
January 14, 21, & 28
7. From Focus on Guilt 7:00 – 8:00 pm
to Focus on Innocence
8. From Separation to Relationship
9. From Spiritual Death to Rebirth
10. From Your Plan to God’s Plan
11. From Who You Were
to Who You are Becoming
12. Letting Go into Your True Self
(Adapted from The Gift of Change
by Marianne Williamson
Page 8 of 12.
Conscious Living Series:
Awakening to
our True Potential
The theme of this 3-week series
explores coming to wholeness of body,
mind, and spirit as children of God.
Through exercises which purify and
Conscious Living Series:
strengthen our hearts and expand the
Letting Go of Fear circle of love, we will open ourselves to
experience the Mind of Christ and the
This 3-week Lenten series uncovers our Easter promise of new life. Freewill
inner faith and courage through offering.
exercises which help us to let go of our
fear, and to trust in the Divine • St. Clement’s, Verdun
Presence. With Cedric
Three Thursdays
Lent is the traditional season of April 15, 22, &29
“awakening,” and we will open 7:00 – 8:00 pm
ourselves to the call of the “still small
voice within.” Freewill offering.
• St. Clement’s, Verdun
With Cedric
Three Thursdays
March 4, 11, & 18
7:00 – 8:00 pm
Page 9 of 12.
End Notes
contact with the earth? How does the
shape of the body shift with each inhalation
and exhalation? How does your experience
M EDITATION 10 1 change over time? Cultivating an
To all those new to meditation, here are a few awareness of the present moment will
straightforward suggestions. To give meditation a foster a more serene and attentive mind,
try, sit comfortably, set a timer for 10 minutes, one that is able to settle into the here and
and explore one of the following strategies. now.
JUST SIT FOLLOW THE BREATH
C ommit to doing nothing more than
sitting quietly and watching what
happens. Don't pick up the phone, don't
A ttach your mind to the breath. While
you're breathing in, note that you're
breathing in, and while you're breathing
answer the doorbell, don't add another item out, focus on the exhalation. Don't
to your to-do list. Just sit and observe the manipulate the breath in any way; simply
thoughts that arise and pass through your watch it with your mind's eye, just as you
mind. You will likely be surprised by how would follow a tennis ball bouncing from
difficult it is to sit quietly for 10 minutes, in one side of the court to the other during a
the process, though, you may learn particularly engrossing match. When you
something important about the qualities of find that your mind has strayed, as it
the restless mind and inevitably will, gently refocus it on the
the ever-changing nature of life. breath and begin again.
LISTEN TO THE SOUNDS OF USE A MANTRA (PRAYER
LIFE WORD)
C lose your eyes and tune in to the
sounds percolating both within and
around you. Open your ears and adopt a
C hoose a favourite word, phrase,
prayer, or fragment of a poem, and
repeat it slowly and softly. Let its rhythm
receptive attitude. At first, you'll likely hear and meaning lull you into a quiet,
only the most obvious noises, but over contemplative state of ease. When you
time, you'll discover new layers of sounds notice that your mind has wandered off to
that you had previously tuned out. other thoughts, simply redirect it back
Challenge yourself to observe what you toward the words you've chosen as your
hear without clinging to it or resisting it. touchstone and rededicate your awareness
Notice how the world feels more alive as to them.
your awareness of the
present deepens. PRACTICE KINDNESS
PRACTICE BARE ATTENTION A s you sit quietly, focus your inner
attention on someone you know who
N otice the raw sensations of the present might benefit from an extra dose of
moment—feelings of warmth and kindness and care, in your mind's eye,
coolness, hardness and softness, pressure send this person love, happiness, and well-
and ease. Which parts of your body are in being. Soften your skin, open the
Page 10 of 12.
floodgates of your heart, and let gentle Who We Are
goodwill pour forth. “Still Presence is where our hearts come
(Excerpted from Yoga Journal) home.”
We are a community of
meditation practitioners who
Some Websites you might
like to explore. have found that contemplative
prayer, or meditation, nurtures
1. Centering Prayer:
our Christian faith and practice.
[Link]
Through this spiritual discipline,
2. The Empty Bell: [Link]
we practice the Presence of
3. Ruah Spirituality Institute: God, experiencing the Divine
in each present moment.
[Link]
4. The Shalem Institute: [Link]
We are committed to reclaiming
meditation practice as a
5. Mindfulness Meditation: foundational discipline on the
[Link]
Christian path, and offer events
and courses* which support
6. True North Insight: [Link] experiential faith and
7. Unitas: [Link] contemplative living.
*Still Presence Courses can be used for Lay Reader
8. Quiet Mind Seminars: Continuing Education credit.
[Link] To be placed on, or taken off, our newsletter list,
email: [Link]@[Link].
9. IASIS: [Link]
For a full listing of all our events, visit our
Website: [Link].
About Us We welcome your articles, poems, artwork and
feedback.
the Christian contemplative at Christ Church Beaurepaire. His
tradition for over twenty years. spirituality is grounded in Creation-
Centered Spirituality and in the
interplay between western and
eastern spiritual traditions.
Cedric Cobb
Cedric Cobb is a retired parish
priest from the Anglican Diocese of Michael Johnson This issue comes
Montreal. He has practiced, and
been a student of, meditation and with heartfelt
Michael Johnson is the Incumbent
Page 11 of 12.
gratitude
for all our
companions on
the journey!
SHALOM AND BLESSINGS,
Cedric & Fr.
Michael
Page 12 of 12.