Purpose
The purpose of The School of Contemplative Life is to teach meditation as a simple pathway to peace, community and oneness.
We teach meditation in the Christian tradition in a way that is accessible to people of any faith or none. The wisdom and healing of this ancient practice is available to all.
“If our thoughts are kind, peaceful and quiet, turned only towards the good, then we influence ourselves and radiate peace all around us – in our family, the whole country, everywhere.” Elder Thaddeus
A new way of seeing
for a new way of being
Contemplative practice, also known as meditation, refers to the spiritual art of turning to the sacred within, through the disciplines of stillness and awareness. Through these simple practices we may be liberated from the resistances and self-orientated habits that veil the sacred.
Ultimately, contemplative practice is not about mastering techniques, it’s about relationship. It’s the quiet, steady work of simply being here, fully present to the gift of our life. Which means it’s also the quiet, steady work of being present with and for those around us. Because all that we have, all that we are, is born in and from relationship.
What is the contemplative practice of meditation?
Meditation refers to the spiritual art of turning to the Sacred within, through the cultivation of inner concentration and the opening of awareness.
Ultimately, meditation is not about “emptying our head” or mastering techniques.
It’s the quiet, steady work of simply being here, fully present to the gift of our life.Â
Which means it’s also the quiet, steady work of being present with and present for those around us.Â
All that we have, all that we are, is born in and from relationship.
The School of Contemplative Life aims to:
1. Contribute to the restoration of contemplative practice as a way of life which purifies our motives and opens us to the oneness of being – the foundation of peace within us and between us, the deepest basis for our care of each other and our precious world.
2. Promote the inseparable relationship between interior transformation and social transformation.
3. Be an antidote to the fundamentalism which gives rise to so much conflict and violence in the world.
4. Nurture the common ground across faith traditions through teaching meditation within the Christian tradition as a simple and universal practice for people of all ages, beliefs and circumstances.Â