UPCOMING RETREATS:

Retreat 3. 20-23 MAY – The Brick Wall of the Ego (WCCM Italy)
The Cloud of Unknowing calls this level the ‘naked awareness of one’s self’. Some traditions call it the ‘I thought’ which we cannot transcend by effort or will alone. It is here that we experience a reduction of egocentricity and a newfound sense of service to others even when many of our human faults are still active.

Retreat 4. 12-15 JUN – Breakthrough (WCCM Poland)
All traditions see meditation as an awakening. The Christian understands it by responding in the Spirit to the call to awaken and merge with the Mind of Christ who sees into the depths of the Father. As the Brick wall of the Ego crumbles the jopurney of convergence bursts into an infinite expansion.

Retreat 5. 22-25 JUL – Gradual enlightenment (WCCM Belgium & WCCM Holland)
Human life is a spiritual journey in which the full potential of human existence is discovered more richly at each stage. As the ego diminishes and the life of the Spirit expands, each aspect of life, physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual are brought into an ever-fuller harmony. The light of Christ grows more intense as we realise what he meant by ‘I am the light of the world’.

Retreat 6. 09-12 SEP – Recognising the Gardener (WCCM Malaysia)
The Resurrection experience is about coming to a full recognition of what we are looking at. As Mary Magdalene first saw the Risen Christ through her tears, she thought she was looking at the gardener. We too learn to see the depth dimension of everyday life as we learn not to look at but to see – and to see that we are seen

Retreat 7. 04-07 OCT – Living Life Anew (WCCM Spain)
The sign that this journey is real is how it changes the way we live. Gradually we see our preferences and default responses adapting to the new experience being liberated in us and through all our relationships. Personal values, habits, lifestyle are all brought into harmony with the new force of reality being unleashed. This can be turbulent and challenging to our sense of self but also, when supported in community, powerfully liberating.

Retreat 8. 18-21 NOV – The Heavenly Jerusalem (WCCM UK)
The English poet William Blake wrote an ecstatic poem called ‘Jerusalem’ which became an anthem for universal peace and justice. It echoes the vision of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21: 9-27) in which religion has been replaced by the direct experience of God. In this final retreat of the 2021 series, Laurence will consider the changing spiritual consciousness of humanity with the earthquakes in religious traditions in the hopeful light of a rising contemplative consciousness.

PREVIOUS RETREATS:

Retreat 1. 28-31 JAN – Strengthening the Muscle of Attention (WCCM Philippines)
At the first level of consciousness, meditation addresses the attention deficit in the human mind which early Christian teachers saw almost as the meaning of ‘original sin’. It is an especially acute problem of our time. Meditation does more than improve our capacity for attention, however. It expands our capacity for love.

Retreat 2. 22-25 APR – The Forces of the Unconscious (WCCM Nordic)

The next level of consciousness can bring us to face our shadow and half-forgotten turbulent experiences of the past locked in the hard disc of memory. Meditation brings healing and liberty at this level provided we don ‘t get into excessive introspection. Understanding how grace works on nature during the work of contemplation is part of seeing the Christian aspects of meditation.