Many years have gone since I first discored WCCM and brother Laurence message. Outer life and stresses separated me from the site. Now I rejoice finding these talks on UA-cam. My wish is for more priests to learn from this and practice meditation, it is the only thing that will renew and help the Church be the beacon it should.
@scottk276 Your so right about neo platonic connection. But ironically this encourages escape from 'shadowy realm' of created order (by demiurge) thus renforcing Christianities distrust of it and dualistic 'splitting off of God from Creation - and 'beauty of world is transient' approach. Neo platonic Contemplation is thus 'philosophical and aspirational' and not embracing of matter. Although this is mantra meditation - there are important dstinctions with TM (which are not stressed enough).
@Cloisterite you're right-this isn't mindfulness meditation-it's basic tm-as far as the neoplatonist practice of contemplation it doesn't appear to be biblical either-not that i think either is evil but they aren't specifically christian-and God is not "imagined"- God is real-apart from his creation-if we insist on tying our awareness of God to the beauty of his creation we risk pantheism-the beauty of the world is transient-God is eternal-love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself.
@scottk276 Incidentally one of the goals of this form of disciplined Christian meditation (prayer) is to counter this 'imagination' that has so led Christianity up the garden path - and to extirpate 'fantasy theology' (which leads to the very real denigration of matter - including human beings!). It is a noble goal.
@scottk276 We're getting muddled between contemplation, meditation.and mantra meditation. Contemplation in Christian practise goes back to first centuries and to Jesus. Contemplation of created order isn't 'Pantheism but Panentheism (recognising divine Immanence IN creation. -not identified with it). Nothing unchristian about that. You don't have to tie God to created order (how could you) -but contemplate God through it.That's where we are - we arn't disembodied spirits but embedded in matter.,
@scottk276 This is NOT minduflness meditation. Nor is the beauty of 'the lilies of the field' obvious. Vast numbers (a majority) go about oblivious to them and it does indeed require a special practise -the practise of 'noticing them' or 'paying attention' -itself a divine gift -and a form of prayer - the beginnings of Contemplation. Do not imagine you can bypass this stage nor split off some 'imagined' God from his wondrous creation. For that is Gnosticism and leads to 'fantasy eschatology'
He may be a teacher of 'contemplation' - but Jesus doesn't emphasise the quality of silence in prayer (2.22) anywhere in the gospels (synoptic or apocryphal). He may imply it - but in typical engimatic fashion he never even uses the word. Jesus is silence neutral - and he does not devalue words - indeed, they are the cypher for what 'lies within' - 'what comes out of a man'. Contemplation is NOT the same as Meditation. And some forms of meditation don't involve silence.
mindfulness meditation is not the classic Christian way to experience God-prayer and doing everything as if for God is-we consider the lilies of the field not for their beauty per se-which is obvious and requires no special practice other than looking- but as an example that even as God clothes them with a greater beauty than the hands of man can manufacture how can we doubt that He will give us- whom He created out of love to worship him- even more-we direct our attention to God not the world
Many years have gone since I first discored WCCM and brother Laurence message. Outer life and stresses separated me from the site. Now I rejoice finding these talks on UA-cam. My wish is for more priests to learn from this and practice meditation, it is the only thing that will renew and help the Church be the beacon it should.
Thank you 🙏 that was so amazing and soothing. Praise God ❤
This is great material for spiritual growth. Thank you.
Beautiful. I could listen to these videos all day long. So much to learn!
Thank you
❤ Thank you
Very helpful (though I find the continually changing camera angles and muzak quite distracting)
@scottk276 Your so right about neo platonic connection. But ironically this encourages escape from 'shadowy realm' of created order (by demiurge) thus renforcing Christianities distrust of it and dualistic 'splitting off of God from Creation - and 'beauty of world is transient' approach. Neo platonic Contemplation is thus 'philosophical and aspirational' and not embracing of matter.
Although this is mantra meditation - there are important dstinctions with TM (which are not stressed enough).
@Cloisterite you're right-this isn't mindfulness meditation-it's basic tm-as far as the neoplatonist practice of contemplation it doesn't appear to be biblical either-not that i think either is evil but they aren't specifically christian-and God is not "imagined"- God is real-apart from his creation-if we insist on tying our awareness of God to the beauty of his creation we risk pantheism-the beauty of the world is transient-God is eternal-love God above all else and your neighbor as yourself.
@scottk276 Incidentally one of the goals of this form of disciplined Christian meditation (prayer) is to counter this 'imagination' that has so led Christianity up the garden path - and to extirpate 'fantasy theology' (which leads to the very real denigration of matter - including human beings!). It is a noble goal.
@scottk276 We're getting muddled between contemplation, meditation.and mantra meditation. Contemplation in Christian practise goes back to first centuries and to Jesus. Contemplation of created order isn't 'Pantheism but Panentheism (recognising divine Immanence IN creation. -not identified with it). Nothing unchristian about that. You don't have to tie God to created order (how could you) -but contemplate God through it.That's where we are - we arn't disembodied spirits but embedded in matter.,
@scottk276 This is NOT minduflness meditation. Nor is the beauty of 'the lilies of the field' obvious. Vast numbers (a majority) go about oblivious to them and it does indeed require a special practise -the practise of 'noticing them' or 'paying attention' -itself a divine gift -and a form of prayer - the beginnings of Contemplation. Do not imagine you can bypass this stage nor split off some 'imagined' God from his wondrous creation. For that is Gnosticism and leads to 'fantasy eschatology'
He may be a teacher of 'contemplation' - but Jesus doesn't emphasise the quality of silence in prayer (2.22) anywhere in the gospels (synoptic or apocryphal). He may imply it - but in typical engimatic fashion he never even uses the word. Jesus is silence neutral - and he does not devalue words - indeed, they are the cypher for what 'lies within' - 'what comes out of a man'. Contemplation is NOT the same as Meditation. And some forms of meditation don't involve silence.
mindfulness meditation is not the classic Christian way to experience God-prayer and doing everything as if for God is-we consider the lilies of the field not for their beauty per se-which is obvious and requires no special practice other than looking- but as an example that even as God clothes them with a greater beauty than the hands of man can manufacture how can we doubt that He will give us- whom He created out of love to worship him- even more-we direct our attention to God not the world