Recently I was blessed when two of my offspring, with partners and baby, came home for a visit. They both live in the antipodes, so it has been a while. They are both blessed with my `lark` genes and would join me on the deck very early, a time in which I would usually meditate, so my meditation practice and daily spiritual routine became more erratic as time passed. The joy of their presence and all the unusual activities that went with their brief return home confused `norm

Stress is a word in common parlance, it abounds as a `source` of ill health, a reason to self soothe by distractions such as shopping to gambling, food and drink etc. Which, left unaddressed, might evolve into addictions inevitably multiplying the original stress exponentially leading to a state of `dis-stress`. The word stress used to refer to the effects of external pressures on metal. The way temperature, or distortion affect the integrity of the metal altering its tensile

“You are held within the web of life, within flows of energy and intelligence far exceeding your own.” This is another way of describing intuition, that `hit` we get when something thought or idea lands in our minds that we do not know where it originated. It was visible in the early days of Who wants to be a Millionaire when the contestants would say aloud, they didn’t know but the first answer that came was…. they would go with it and be right. Until playing for a sum of mo

Change is a response to something each of us has deemed `not what we want, or like`, yet in truth, whilst the current situation may not be what we want, often we do not know what we want, or it induces a deep-seated fear in us. This fear is of not being worthy, perfect or whatever is `your thing`. It becomes easier to project it onto others as in “if only they did so and so, then all would be right in my world”. We all know this, have all experienced this and are now invited

I am on a beautiful journey which has no end, and one I hope you will join me, my friend, it lifts your heart, it lifts your soul, it’s the very thing that makes us whole, so think about your purpose in life, what gives you joy? What gives you strife? You will find the answer to the riddle lies within, so please don’t falter, let the search begin, set out your intentions for each new day, as this will help you on your way, sometimes you will stumble, sometimes you will fall,

The world we currently live in is a `head-based`; with information coming at us fast and furiously. What to do with it all…..?  It is easy to be sucked into the whirlwind of constant activity with appointments, events, meeting etc almost overlapping as we try to keep up. We have do, do, do, make money, have lots of contacts and friends, rushing through life. We have been sold a crock of fools gold by believing society. By adhering to what society thinks is acceptable or succ

Easter Sunday and the vitality of spirit in other realms, the onset of hope as seen in nature in Spring is opened to, acknowledged and is the perfect opportunity for us all to start again. To remember the world, sharing, in their varying forms, the hope that this time of year brings. The collective energy created when many people focus on and celebrate such a powerful time. The many people attending Easter services at dawn on loch sides, on hills and mountains stepping into

It is Holy Week, the week before Easter, the week when Jesus enters the city on a donkey, washes his followers’ feet, breaks bread with them at the last supper, is betrayed by a loved one before being tortured, sentenced to death, crucified and entombed before finally rising again. Whilst Holy Week is based in the Christian tradition, its key points are salient for us all. The week contains humility, community, betrayal, love, loss and more however here we will explore what w

Recently I was sitting in a service station, idly looking at all the people breaking their journeys when my attention was drawn to a young couple, mid-twenties, sitting at a table quite near to me. They were sitting close and as I watched she leaned over to him, placed her hand on his arm and said “ I just want you to know how much I appreciate you doing all the driving”. He physically sat straighter, looked at her with eyes full of love and said, “Thank you”. He took their p

Last month some of us were able to meet with Peter Dewey, a renowned Christian minister deeply involved in the mystical teachings of Christianity and a writer on the Gospel of Thomas. His talk was wide ranging, and he shared an image that resonated deeply that I would like to share here with you now. The ego as used here is the part of us that thinks it is special and separate, better than everyone else and always right. We can start to tune into it by noticing where and when

“Life is for the giving and receiving of Love - Relationships are the vehicle.” The final line in our motto is “Hold others in unconditional love”. The word of interest here in `unconditional`. It is said that we love our children unconditionally always able to see through their behaviour to the truth of their internal pure innocence where love is all they are. We remember the gaze of our children as babies and know that perfect little being is incapable of intentionally bein

In this second offering exploring our motto we are considering the line `hear beyond words`. We are told that only 8% of all communication is speech. However most of us give much more credence to the words we hear than the manner in which they are spoken or the context in which they are said. Not forgetting `hearing` the words that are unspoken. It is easy for us to remain at the level of words. It can be so easy to hear the words and then judge and respond from our judgement

One of the remits of the Open Sanctuary is in supporting each other discern their core truth and live their spiritual belief to best of their ability. Deepening understanding of the values that support living in close alignment with that core belief.  To further this, I offer an expansion on the motto of the Open Sanctuary in the next couple of blogs. Taking a line at a time what does it mean to see through masks? “Sees through masks Hears beyond words Loves unconditionally”

Welcome to our blog. Recently the Open Sanctuary had a community meeting, the first in our new community formation. It felt timeous that it happened so early in the new year, A beautiful harbinger of 2023. Having been absent for a while it was a heart warming experience to return to the fold and feel held. Not just in smiling faces and warm words, which are received by a tender heart, thank you; also in witnessing and sharing in the respect given and received by all members o

Over the past three months I have lost 3 friends. Each relationship was very different and related to a different part of my life. One friendship was over 30 years, one over 50 years, and one of 65 years standing. This prompts the reflection that each life has a limited span, and this takes me on again to the thought that “Life is a Life Long Lesson” (regardless of how long that particular life is) I have mentioned before in this space that am fortunate to live in the High

This month is flying by. There has been so much happening it has been hard to find the time to write a few words.February is well known to be a difficult time of the year. Days are short and dark, the weather is traditionally bad, and many of us struggle to find our way through. This February I have found particularly difficult as I have lost one of my dearest friends: “my spiritual buddy”. Death is so final; but nature teaches us that out of death comes opportunity for

This month is flying by. There has been so much happening it has been hard to find the time to write a few words.February is well known to be a difficult time of the year.   Days are short and dark, the weather is traditionally bad, and many of us struggle to find our way through. This February I have found particularly difficult as I have lost one of my dearest friends: “my spiritual buddy”. Death is so final; but nature teaches us that out of death comes opportunity for

Last weeks blog provoked some pondering, what is it about communities that attracts us ? Communities come together in all forms from the obvious community of families related by blood and marriage, community groups from shared interests, shared work situations, shared experiences. Consider the depth of shared experience and feelings produced in a reality show, a heightened hothouse truncating the usual evolution of group develop,emt into a time of full immersion. This is not

We have arrived in this new year of 2022 with many social activities postponed or cancelled for the second year. In my case this situation gave me more time to reflect, but sadly not the enthusiasm to transfer these reflections to paper ! However at last, as we are now in mid January, here I am with ‘pen to paper’. Under open sky’s (both night and day) I have from time to time walked and reflected on the passing of the past year. This, of course, brought up the subject of th

Over the past three months I have lost 3 friends. Each relationship was very different and related to a different part of my life. One friendship was over 30 years, one over 50 years, and one of 65 years standing. This prompts the reflection that each life has a limited span, and this takes me on again to the thought that “Life is a Life Long Lesson” (regardless of how long that particular life is) I have mentioned before in this space that am fortunate to live in the High