The latest issues of Meditation News, the UK Community Newsletter, is now available to download and read here for free.
The WCCM International Newsletter will be added as soon as it is available.
From Acedia to Joy
Laurence Freeman started his recent series ‘Learning to Meditate in Lent’ by talking about Acedia which derives from the Desert Wisdom Tradition.
He quoted from Thomas Merton, 60 years ago who said that acedia was the spiritual disease of his time. It affected the whole world like a pandemic. In our time, we don’t even know we are suffering from it, Laurence said. The whole world is suffering from it. Acedia is a feeling of failure, losing heart, being distracted and disheartened…
Many of you will recognise and perhaps even have visited St. Davids Cathedral. Its origins were established over 1500 years ago when Dewi Sant (Saint David) founded his monastery here, settling in this far westerly coastal valley in rural Wales.
We are still a small, quiet, rural, coastal community in essence, but St. David’s has always been associated with Christian Pilgrimage and in many ways, our Cathedral is the beating heart of our little ‘city’, attracting thousands of visitors every year…
‘I was very close to my grandparents. I went to stay in school holidays with my maternal grandfather. I called him Data. In the evenings, when my mother and the rest of the family were chatting in the front room, I used to go into the kitchen where Data was always working, preparing food for his family.
When he finished, he sat down and we had lovely, wonderful conversations which I will never forget. We talked of life and poetry, Wales and hymns! I had learned a bit of Welsh and, when I asked him to hand down his black Baptist hymnal, I asked for help in reading some of them. One of my favourites was ‘Arglwydd Iesu, arwain f ‘enaid at y Graig sy’n uwch na fi’. Translated, it means, ‘Lord Jesus, lead me to the Rock that is higher than me’…
Spiritual nudges can be very insistent. On a particular day recently I heard this phrase in a secular context: ‘If you invite me I will come,’ and I felt a resonance. Later my attention was caught by an almost identical phrase in a novel.
Throughout the day this ‘message’ was repeated in multiple forms. My playlist shuffled to Enya singing O Come, O Come Emmanuel. A podcast spoke of a growing expectation and longing for spiritual evolution using the metaphor ‘waiting for the return of the Jedi’…
Dorset Meditators is a title used by the WCCM group leaders in Dorset, coined to interest a wide audience. We hold one event a year, usually resulting in new meditators, some joining our groups. In recent years, however, attendance had diminished and we needed to do something differently to encourage a new audience.
Chris Whittington, the speaker we invited, is the inspiration behind a charity The School of Contemplative Life formed like WCCM to share the practice of Christian meditation. Chris has excellent communication skills and a simple approach. Indeed, he is very similar to the John Main tradition of explaining how to meditate, then say it again and again but in slightly different ways…
Charles will have been known to many WCCM members, as a committed meditator, who along with his wife Jill, was WCCM Regional Coordinator in the North-East for many years. After a long illness, Charles died on 3rd January 2025.
Born in Leicestershire, Charles attended Bristol University where he studied law. He loved to travel, and as a young man, he worked in New Zealand and Australia and trekked back to England through the Far East, Asia and the Middle East, along routes that were more remote than they are now. Through his travels, Charles developed an enhanced awareness and respect for different cultures, traditions and religions that lasted throughout his life…
At the recent WCCM National Council meeting it was proposed that the role of Special Interest Coordinator for adults with learning disabilities be broadened to incorporate neurodiversity. Serendipitously there were already plans afoot for a second Coordinator to join me (Celia Gurowich) and we are delighted to announce that Sam Kilpatrick will be the joint Coordinator from the beginning of February. Sam calls himself an Autism Ambassador and attends our weekly WCCM Monday evening online meditation group with people with learning disabilities…
WCCM in the UK
Last month WCCM, the international charity, held their 2025 annual appeal and in the autumn you may well receive a request to support our WCCM in the UK annual appeal. If, like me, you support a variety of charities these requests can seem like part of a never-ending flow. With the WCCM there is an added complication in that many members don’t realise that the international charity is completely separate from WCCM in the UK as we perform very different roles. WCCM international offers global resources to meditators, including Bonnevaux, whereas WCCM in the UK is focused on directing people to groups and offering local support. Neither of us offer what the other does and in that way, we complement one another…
I am delighted to invite you to follow our Facebook page, where you can find all the latest news, events and updates about WCCM in the UK.
By following our page, you’ll receive regular updates on events, meditation groups, retreats, resources and details on how you can get involved in our growing community. Whether you’re a long-time practitioner or new to the practice, our Facebook page is a great way to stay engaged and informed…
Making the most of the recent warm days walking on the beach, I have found myself there at that time when the tide has already turned, and the initial sudden surges, and equally rapid retreats, have begun to turn into a steady and increasingly powerful flow of water and waves, moving with speed over the sand and rocks. A hope began to grow in me that just maybe, we are about to enter that time when movement, energy and power is released into the Outreach activities of our community here in the UK…
Meditation News and the International Newsletter are available free on our website from //wccm.uk/newsletters-page/ Â Distribution to most subscribers is online with notification of a new issue by email. If you wish to subscribe please sign up here: //wccm.uk/newsonline
If you would like to receive a printed copy of the UK newsletter please contact the office by email uk@wccm.org or phone 020 8095 4442. There is no charge but a donation of £20 is suggested which covers the cost of photocopying and postage for the four issues. The latest International newsletter is included.
Some articles are available as separate news items on the website listed on
//wccm.uk/category/newsletters/.
There are listings of UK events, key International events and selected offerings from Bonnevaux and the Meditatio Centre. The contacts list has been updated (the latest version is always available on the website).
The next issue will be available in mid-June. Please send articles to: uknewsletter@wccm.uk and events to: events@wccm.uk to reach us by 1 May.