This month our meditation reflection is on being kissed by God into Life using words from Margaret Silf’s The Way of Wisdom and Landscapes of Prayer.
Margaret quotes Ronald Rohlheiser:
- Ancient philosophers and mystics used to say that before being born, each soul is kissed by God and then goes through life always, in some dark way, remembering that kiss and measuring everything in relation to its original sweetness.
- Inside each of us, there is a dark memory of having once been touched and caressed by hands far gentler than our own. That caress has left a permanent imprint inside us, one so tender and good that its memory becomes a prism through which we see everything else. / Thus we recognize love and truth outside of us precisely because they resonate with something that is already inside us…things touch our hearts because they awaken a memory of that original kiss.
- ‘Moreover, because we have a memory of once being perfectly touched…every experience we meet in life…falls a little short…Deep calls to deep…choose life.
Margaret Silf – on Desert Landscapes:
- Sand is for sifting. In our desert spaces we find ourselves confronting our own emptiness…in the desert we learn discernment sifting through our experiences, our memories, our desires discovering which of them lead to life…letting go of all lesser considerations, all illusions, and in every situation choosing what your heart knows to be the more loving, the more life-giving, the more truly human thing to do next. Remembering the kiss…choose life.
As you begin to relax now in body and mind, slow your breathing, and enter your meditation, centering your prayer let us remember the words from…
Deuteronomy 30: 14 – 19 (adapted)
It’s not too difficult to reach…no, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it…love the Lord…choose life…for the Lord is your life.
Love and every blessing, Kathryn, Meditation Leader
Margaret Silf, The Way of Wisdom. Lion. Hudson, 2006, England
Margaret Silf, Landscapes of Prayer. Lion. Hudson, 2011, Oxford
Let me know how you are finding this time. I always like to hear from you.
Peace and good health at this time, Kathryn
Remember to watch an introduction to Centering Prayer Meditation with Kathryn. You can see it here
Kathryn Pile leads a meditation on the first Tuesday of the month at 1:00pm in the Malone Room (214 Richardson Street, Middle Park). It runs for 50 minutes and is followed by an invitation to spent time together socially.