More than 100 years ago the pioneering psychologist William James wrote: “The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” How true this is when it comes to suffering. “In life there is suffering.” We don’t […]
Stephanie Dowrick writes: ‘Almost a year ago my Australian publishers nudged me to set up an “Official Stephanie Dowrick” Facebook page. They were confident it would be an easy way to communicate effectively with readers, people who come to my talks and those who are actively promoting similar values to mine. And they were right! […]
This exquisite lotus, which I photographed on a recent holiday, only shows its ravishing beauty at night. It seems a particularly apt reminder that at the most difficult times we are in greatest need of loving kindness, thoughtfulness, harmony and beauty. It is also a stark reminder that our world needs, that we need far greater […]
For those of you who might want to attend, a correction is needed! The events are this coming Sunday and Tuesday. If you are able to be there, I look forward to seeing you. South Australia 11-13 September Sunday 11 Sept Adelaide Multifaith Event at the Hawke Center. http://www.multifaithsa.org.au/events.htm Tuesday 13 Sept Hahndorf The “Roffey Reflection” […]
Welcome friends! Reading * Visiting South Australia * Peace-making * Mana Retreat Centre * You Tube talk * Elizabeth Lecoanet’s glorious singing * Special offer Seeking the Sacred * A poem from John O’Donohue * Service in Sydney One of the web tools I now have measures not just how many newsletters go out but […]
In the short video Dr Stephanie Dowrick uses the familiar, yet wonderfully fresh “Mary and Martha” story from the Christian gospels to demonstrate the interdependence of reflection and action. It’s what she calls the “Yin and Yang” of spiritual life. Stephanie also points out that it is reflection that we often overlook or rush by […]
We are now in our sixth year of interfaith services in Sydney. Yet sometimes even “interfaith” seems too much of a label (although I did use it on the census form when asked to nominate my religion…!). Perhaps it’s enough to know that the spiritually inclusive services we offer each month, 3rd Sundays, 3pm, at […]
A brief extract from Seeking the Sacred, now available as both printed book and audio, sent with the latest Universal Heart Newsletter. Whatever else the sacred is, it points to this: we are members of a single human family, marvelous and terrifying in its diversity. If we want to blink a couple of times and […]
Dear friends Books/Audio * Events: Adelaide, Hahndorf, SA, Sydney, Coromandel * Sydney service * A positive view of our time Welcome! This will be a briefer Newsletter than usual, in part because I am experimenting with writing to you a little more often with less information. I hope this works for you. Several invitations follow. […]
In this recent short talk, Dr Stephanie Dowrick discusses some of the common obstacles to our personal peace of mind. These inevitably also “disturb” the peace way beyond ourselves. With a possibly surprising lightness and even optimism, she brings our attention to anger, greed and ignorance – all well known to most of us, all […]
All people are children when they sleep. there’s no war in them then. They open their hands and breathe in that quiet rhythm heaven has given them. They pucker their lips like small children and open their hands halfway, soldiers and statesmen, servants and masters. The stars stand guard and a haze veils the sky, […]
Can we any longer afford to ignore our power to harm one another? Or to recoil, helplessly? “Doing no harm” is an active choice, one which perhaps has a higher ethical and social value than any other, as suggested in this extract from Stephanie Dowrick’s latest and most overtly peace-making book, Seeking the Sacred. She writes: […]