According to established research, one in four of us experience some form of mild mental health difficulty each year. Even if you do not suffer – what the medics call – identifiable psychiatric morbidity – nevertheless you still may feel bad; fed up, irritable, worried or distressed. In which case, if you are to be … Continue reading Heal distress — Can spiritual practices help?
Here are 8 ways to live mindfully. 1. Be aware of your surroundings. Whilst you’re walking, standing or sitting, be aware of the nature, people and architecture that surrounds you. 2. Set aside a time each day to sit still and focus on your breathing. When thoughts arise, try to simply view thoughts as thoughts, … Continue reading 8 ways to live mindfully
Control of breathing is related to meditation. When you are meditating you very probably have great difficulty attending just to one thing. The mind wanders off and it takes great practice to stay focused. You are distracted by extraneous sounds, random thoughts, an itch, a worry. The original centre of attention disappears several times. You … Continue reading How does control of breathing help with meditation?
Now that sounds unbearably pompous or over pious. But in fact it it is the name that the early Fathers of the Christian (yes there were also early Desert mothers too) church gave to their meditation or prayer life. The most well known was Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in 270–271 and … Continue reading Practising awareness of the Divine
By Helen Brown published by spiritualwisdom.org.uk © July 2009 pp 75 £9.95 Enquiries: contact editor@spiritualquestions.org.uk
Helen also leads groups taking this course. The aim is primarily to encourage reflection, experience and exploration of what our ‘soul’ means for each of us. The scope of the course includes music, art, prayer, meditation and energy medicine.
This has been a course that was both inspirational and challenging. Throughout the eight sessions in our exploration of the ‘soul’, Helen gently guided us along an inner path in keeping with her book on the subject.
From our childhood onwards our lives are filled with questions of one sort or another – some more pressing or even agonising than others. But where are we to look for valid answers and find the meaning of life?
There are the really big questions and the smaller ones. Here are a few of the bigger ones. Does outer space beyond our solar system go on forever or does it have an edge – and if so what is on the other side? Where do we come from, why are we here, and what will become of us when we die? I can imagine some alien intelligence on a far distant planet asking exactly the same questions. These sort of universal questions have puzzled thinking people down the ages.
Children as well as adults ask questions. The play age stage of childhood is often characterised by developmental theorists as one of explorative activity and exuberant discovery. Consequently good educational practice encourages a child-centred approach to learning. This compares favourably with the old approach of rote learning. Modern teachers enhance children’s interest by providing knowledge building on what they already know. They relate their teaching to the child’s limited experiences stretching their understanding a bit further.
Beset with countless challenges and tasks we find stillness in the mind not something that comes readily. However just taking 2 minutes to complete a brief guided visualisation can make some difference. Pretend to yourself that around you is a white sandy beach. It is early in the morning and you can see the sun … Continue reading Stillness – How to find it?