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Greetings!
At a time when Richard Dawkin's book The
God Delusion is acquiring the status of a
bestseller, it would be tempting to conclude
that an awareness of divine mystery is no
longer relevant in this age of scientific
rationalism.
But I have the niggling feeling that the
triumphant celebration of the scientist will
be short-lived. If you have the eyes to see
them, the green shoots of spiritual
regeneration are springing up everywhere. The
institutions of religion are in decline, yet
the individual impulse to connect with
something deeply meaningful has never been
greater.
As Einstein said, "The most beautiful
thing we can experience is the mysterious. It
is the source of all true art and science."
Warm wishes,
Ian
| Awake to the Ordinary |
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The Taoist wisdom suggests that when we are
in harmony with ourselves, we send out a
harmonious ripple into the environment. We
find ourselves in peaceful relationship to
others, and it seems as if the whole external
world begins to respond with a harmonious
signal. We might only catch a fleeting
glimpse of this now and again, but these
glimpses are supremely life-affirming and
help to wake us up from our usual daily slumber.
We had such a glimpse only yesterday. Our
friends are visiting from Spain, and we took
them to a favourite part of Dartmoor, the
national park close to where we live. We were
eight in total - four adults, our daughter
Alicia who is almost five, and our friends'
triplets, Sara, Theresa and Diego, who are
older than Alicia by just a few months.
After a leisurely picnic and a good few hours
spent messing around by the river, we set off
along the track leading back to the road.
Most of the way, the track was overgrown on
both sides with bracken and gorse that was
taller than the children, and we all had to
walk in single file. The children, as you can
imagine, were running ahead, making lots of
noise and jostling for the position of group
leader.
After about ten minutes of this, something
remarkable
happened. Sara was now at the front, picking
her way through the foliage. Alicia had
somehow relented and accepted her place as
second-in-command. Diego was behind her and
in front of me. Theresa was behind me,
followed by the other three adults.
And for a few magical minutes, we walked in
complete silence, each of us in our 'right'
place, concentrating only on where we were
putting the next step. The river trickling
over some rocks was the only sound to be
heard apart from birdsong. Bright blue
dragonflies flitted
around our heads. And I was suddenly struck
with wonder at the fact that here we were,
with four young children, walking in
silence! No one had asked the children to
keep quiet. They had quieted themselves,
quite naturally. And so had we.
It seems to me entirely possible that every
day contains moments such as these. Moments
when we fall into our natural rhythm, and
allow ourselves to be carried, and feel
ourselves to be connected. And all that seems
to be required is that we pay attention. We
notice. And we catch a glimpse of the mystery
that is always just waiting to break through the
veil of ordinary, everyday life.
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| Consultations with Ian |
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There are still some slots available
in London on August 15th -17th, and the next
available dates will be September 10th - 12th.
Consultations
in Devon and telephone consultations are
available
on other
dates. See below or send an email for more
information and to book an appointment
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| Subscriber Information |
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Donkeys at Dunderry Park |
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An old Sufi tale tells how Nasrudin used to
travel across the border with his donkey
every day, carrying only a load of straw. The
customs officials searched him every night
when he returned, and although he admitted
being a smuggler, they found nothing but straw.
The ritual continued for many moons, and
despite their best efforts, the guards never
found him carrying anything of value.
Nasrudin, meanwhile, was becoming visibly
more prosperous. And one day, he
retired to live in a distant land.
Many years later, he encountered one of the
customs officers by chance, who could not
contain his curiosity. "Now you can tell me,
Nasrudin," he said. "What were you smuggling
all those times that you passed through our
border when we searched you and found nothing?"
"Donkeys," said Nasrudin.
~~~~~
We are currently taking bookings for a 3-day
retreat at Dunderry Park in Ireland
and a 6-day retreat in
Egypt,
at the Red Sea resort of Nuweiba.
Visit the website for more information.
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