20 September, 2014

Questions for the Spiritual Traveller


SATSANG – SEEKING TOGETHER

Continuing the Spiritual Journey


                   Next Meeting : Saturday 11th October,  1.30 - 4.30 p.m.
                              Friends Meeting House , Wolverhampton

A Reflection on our New Satsang Programme

Spiritual Life has been likened to a Journey. This is a journey that each Spiritual Traveller must and will take. Our Journey is unique. However, as with all journeys, it can be helpful to share parts of it with others. This for me, is the value of the Satsang Companionship, a companionship of Spiritual Travellers, from different Faith Traditions and no Faith Tradition who meet regularly to explore their journey with a spirit of  mutual respect and support.

For the past 20 years a group of us have met regularly here in the West Midlands and we will shortly resume our new Annual Programme. With this in mind, it may be helpful to reflect on our last meeting and to introduce the theme for our next meeting on Saturday the 11th October, at the Friends Meeting House in Wolverhampton. Before that I want to briefly outline the underpinning of our last and new programme – basically Spirituality for Adults in the 2nd Half of life.

Our spiritual life is a journey and many of the mystics , in reflecting on this, have suggested that it has two main stages of parts. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan Monk, refers to these as the 1  and 2nd half of life. I find this quite helpful. These are not chronological , they are more a question of developing personal and spiritual awareness.  

Karl Rahner, one of the foremost Christian theologians of the 20th century, reflecting on the challenges posed by both modern science and evolution and Mysticism, wrote ‘ The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not survive at all’.  This informed a series of talks delivered by Sister Ishpriya in Dublin in 1999 on Only the Mystics will Survive. A reflection on this can either be found in previous blog posts or  be accessed on our Satsang Website ( as a pdf file in our resources page- click the link).

 In any event Rahner’s words apply to people of all Faiths. For  as we continue to evolve as co-creators on this awesome and evolutionary journey with and within the Mystery we are faced daily by the new revelations of science and spiritual scholars, that challenge our pre-conceived and often patriarchal ideas of the major Faith Traditions. In addition, the Mystics of all Spiritual Traditions  advise us to be wary of definitives as all is ultimately Mystery. But it is time to return to our Satsang theme..

In the first half of life, we develop a sense of the Mystery which we often refer to as ‘ God’. For the vast majority this is heavily influenced by family, culture and Faith Tradition. I can only relate my experience. I was born in Catholic ( Roman Catholic) and raised in that strong tradition. Much of it was about meeting a God who was Judge and Jury. A God who laid down rules ( in Tablets of Stone ! ) and a  set of strong moral guidelines. It was a foundation that emphasised the parental nature of God and my position as a child. This provided a firm foundation but also fed me merely on ‘milk’ and not solid food.

Our task , as we mature, is to grow into an adult, take personal responsibility and develop an adult faith and a solid and mature relationship with the Mystery at the Heart of Creation. . This is serious 2nd half of life Spirituality and  one that poses us some very fundamental questions which demand reflection and a personal response .

 At our last Day of Reflection in July 2014, we began to look at 3 of these questions. Each question requires an individual response.

  1. What is our 1st Decision  ?. Do we believe that there is a Source or Mystery behind creation or do we not believe. It faces us with the classical Theist or Atheist question

  1. What is Spiritual Awareness ?  Is it the same or is it related to cognitive and emotional awareness or to the different levels of neurological and psychological awareness?

  1. How can we simply live?

Our next meeting on Saturday 11th October , at the Friends Meeting House , Wolverhampton, will reflect on two further issues or signposts on the journey and the questions they give rise to

We will look at two video clips from Sister Ishpriya. One of these will focus on symbols and the other our common Global Family


All are welcome to attend