Living Water

While bushwalking in Western Australia, Rodney Marsh practised a silence and attention that allowed him to discover the silence and generosity of the natural world, and how nature can heal and restore the soul. This is the first article in a series of three in which he reflects on how walking in nature nurtures spiritual well-being.

God has poured his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit he has given us. (Romans 5:5)

This is one of my favourite Scripture verses, and for me is at the heart of my faith, and why we celebrate Easter. Through a simple practice of mantra meditation (see below) we can tap into this stream of love, and verify the truth of this claim through our own experience.

Baptism, if remembered, is a tame occurrence for many, but at its heart it is a wild gift, writes Fr Robert Whalley. Drawing on a poem by W.H. Auden, the following is a reflection by the late Anglican priest that he posted on his blog and social media in January 2022.

The innate nature of children, and therefore of all of us, is closeness to Divine Reality, says author Kim Nataraja*. Through meditation, she says, we can attune to the pure spiritual consciousness we were born with.

In his poem Not A One, Mark Nepo reflects on how ‘being awake’ depends on outgrowing our masks, which Noel Keating says is one of the fruits of meditation. Long-time meditator, educator and author Dr Keating* continues his reflection on how poetry gives rise to rich contemplative insights and helps deepen our appreciation of the mystery of our own spiritual experience. The articles are a slightly edited version of an online talk Dr Keating gave to a group of Christian meditators on 28 August 2023*.

Just as meditation moves our consciousness from the head to the heart, and from Doing to Being, so poetry also leads us to an inner richness that we hunger to experience. Long-time meditator, educator and author Dr Noel Keating* reflects on how poetry gives rise to rich contemplative insights and helps deepen our appreciation of the mystery of our own spiritual experience. Part II of his reflection will appear in two weeks. The articles are a slightly edited version of an online talk Dr Keating gave to a group of Christian meditators on 28 August 2023*.

Following the Rwandan genocide, a planned campaign of mass murder in 1994, World Vision sent John Steward and his wife Sandi there in 1997 to manage its reconciliation and peace-building program. Here John reflects on what he learned about peace-building, and the lessons that can be learned in the Middle East, particularly as we celebrate the coming of the ‘Prince of Peace’.

In meditation we discover our essential unity with one another, and also the Earth, says author Jim Green*. And in this act of contemplation, or communing, our consciousness is transformed, and we both hear the cry of the Earth and are at one with it. In the following edited extract from his online course, Contemplating Earth, Jim reflects on the crisis now facing humanity and the planet as COP28 meets in Dubai, and the urgency of a contemplative response.

If we’re to save our world from catastrophic climate change then we need to learn to make sacrifices, argues Justine Toh. And, she says, the 20th century French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil shows us how.

We must not let hate, fear and anger seep into our being, argues Bishop Philip Huggins*. And we must continue to hope for a better world, and strive to make it happen, he says, by rekindling simple bonds of trust and friendship.

It is with an almost overwhelming sense of sadness and despair that we have witnessed such diabolical atrocities being committed in the Middle East, and the unleashing of such terrifying anger, hatred and violence.

Christians must wake up to the insanity of an economic system based on compulsive consumerism and rampant inequality, argues Sarah Bachelard. Theologian, author and long-time meditator, Dr Bachelard* says that in our era of deepening ecological and social crisis, Christians are called to action as well as prayer, to a transformation of lifestyle as well as of consciousness.

A pilgrimage is a journey of sacred encounter, where the inner and the outer meet. Theologian, author and long-time meditator *Dr Sarah Bachelard reflects on her own pilgrimage through the majestic wilderness of Tasmania’s Overland Track, and how deep inwardness, and transformed awareness of the living world, can lead to profound blessing.

It is all too easy to fall into despair at the state of our world. Global warming, war, greed and inequality all pose a serious threat to the future of humanity and the future of the planet.

The following two responses, written in the style of Psalms of Lament, of which there are many examples in the Bible, cry out to God in sorrow, grief and anger, while also clinging to the hope that the God of Love, infinite source of a love that is stronger than death, will not desert us in this hour of need.

Thomas Merton – monk, writer, poet, prophet – was a wild young man who ‘came home’ to God, devoting his monastic years to seeking the face of God and being a courageous witness to God’s love. Robert Whalley reflects on one of the greatest Christian mystics of the 20th Century, whose centenary was celebrated in 2015, when this article first appeared*. Contributing Editor of Living Water, Roland Ashby, writes: I am re-publishing the article on Living Water as a tribute both to Thomas Merton, and to its author, Robert Whalley. Robert, who died earlier this month following a long illness, was an American who settled in Victoria, Australia. He spent most of his ministry in teaching and tertiary chaplaincy, and was ordained an Anglican priest in 2010. He had a profound love for Merton and was founder and director of the Merton Centre in Australia. As a gifted teacher and retreat leader he introduced many to Merton, and communicated an infectious affection and enthusiasm for Merton which sprang from a deep and intimate knowledge of Merton’s writing. Indeed, such was his love for, and knowledge of Merton, that he made me and others feel that we had met and known Merton himself. This is a precious gift for which I, and many others, will be eternally grateful.

Long-time meditator and retired chaplain Adele Mapperson recently received a profound and life-changing insight into the sacredness of the human person, and how God is alive in the very fibre of our being. Adele is also coordinator of the Victorian Chapter of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM) in Australia. This is a slightly edited version of a talk she gave on 17 June 2023.

Retired teacher Gilly Withers has suffered pain and loss, but through Christian meditation she has found strength, love and deep joy. A long-time member of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), 10 years ago she became one of its oblates, who strive to live according to the guidelines set out in the Rule of St Benedict, written 1500 years ago. Here she reflects on her journey towards discovering her True Self, and the fruits of a life centred in meditation and monastic wisdom.

Born in the 5th century, Saint Benedict has had a profound impact on Western civilisation. His philosophy, outlined in his Rule of Life, is suffused with practical wisdom for daily living, and rests on a deep and meditative engagement with Scripture. As John Stewart* reflects, in the wake of Saint Benedict’s feast day on 11 July, the Rule has a powerful application which is just as relevant in the 21st century.

Loving attention to nature can teach us much about God, and ourselves, reflects Benedictine monk Br. John Mayhead. A keen birdwatcher and gardener, with an ‘obsession’ for natural history, Br. John has been a monk at the Monastery of Christ Our Saviour, Turvey, in Bedfordshire, England, since 1991.

Songwriter and visual artist John Coleman reflects on how he has found inspiration, as well as the inner freedom, joy and knowledge of his ‘better self’, through an ancient form of meditation called Lectio Divina*, by practising silent prayer, and by sharing life in community with people with and without learning disabilities. He lives by the sea in southeast Tasmania.