The contemplative path we walk is ancient, spacious, and shared—woven through time by many voices across traditions, languages, and lives.
At its heart, our tradition of meditation is rooted in the life and teaching of Jesus, whose stillness and compassion revealed the shape of all true contemplation. His call to enter into prayer “in secret” (Matt. 6:6), to love without condition, and to dwell in the kingdom within remains the living centre of our journey.
Each of the voices which have shaped this tradition – male and female, ancient and modern – testify that contemplation is not about escape from the world, but about deep presence within it. It is not withdrawal, but communion: a life of prayer that opens the heart to God’s transforming love in all things.
The Desert Mothers and Fathers—early Christian monastics of the 3rd and 4th centuries—offer a vision of radical simplicity and inner watchfulness. Figures such as St. Anthony the Great, Amma Syncletica, and St. Evagrius of Ponticus taught the practice of silence, stillness, and attentiveness to the movements of the heart. Their wisdom was later carried into the Western Church by St. John Cassian, whose writings profoundly shaped the monastic tradition.
The anonymous authors of The Cloud of Unknowing and The Book of Privy Counsel invite us into the luminous darkness of God’s presence, where love—rather than intellect—is the path to communion. Their work reflects the maturing of the contemplative tradition in 14th-century England.
Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, and Isaac the Syrian—bear witness to the possibility of union with God, the depths of divine mercy, and the mystery that cannot be captured in words.
Contemporary contemplatives such as John Main OSB, Ruth Burrows OCD, Martin Laird OSA, and Rowan Williams help us hear these ancient voices anew. They offer practical guidance for living with depth, clarity, and compassion amid the noise and pressures of modern life.
The tradition is further enriched by the theological insight of figures like Dom Sylvester Houédard, Herbert McCabe OP, Maggie Ross, David Bentley Hart, and—drawing in more progressive perspectives—John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg. Each in their own way calls us to think more spaciously, live more courageously, and return always to the grounding presence of Christ.
Our roots within Christianity are richly varied, drawing from the streams of East and West—Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican. We are also shaped by the wisdom of saints and scholars such as Gregory of Nyssa, Bede Griffiths OSB, and Metropolitan Kallistos Ware, who speak of unity, transfiguration, and the divine indwelling that calls us into newness of life.
While we are grounded in Christ, we also listen with humility to the wisdom shining through other traditions.
From Buddhism, we have learned from the attentiveness and compassion taught by Shunryu Suzuki, Dōgen Zenji, and Master Sheng-Yi. In the example of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, we see a life of humility, joy, and peace that resonates with the Beatitudes and the spirit of Christ.
From Islamic mysticism, especially the vision of Ibn Arabi, we glimpse the vastness of divine love that saturates all creation.
At every step, these voices remind us: contemplation is not a private project, but a way of being ever more deeply open to God, to others, and to the mystery at the heart of all life.