Walking the Good Way – Presencing and Discernment as a way of life

Walking the Good Way – Presencing and Discernment as a way of life. ACT845

Led by Chris Blakeley and Karen Stefanyszyn

Tues 18th Nov 12pm noon - Thurs 20th Nov 2pm

“If you are to live, you must be all alive, body, soul, heart, mind and spirit” (T. Merton)

Come and join us at Ashburnham in an exploration of spiritual practice: two in particular – presencing and discerning.

Presencing is about being present to all that is happening in the now, as well as being open and available to a Greater Presence. Discernment is about making wise choices; as the ancient scripture puts it, “Stand at the Crossroads and look. Look for the ancient paths. Ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your soul”

We will begin by sensing into what it takes to be fully present - awake in mind, heart, soul and body. We will share experiences of this and what flows when we are present. Making full use of the spiritual and natural ambience of Ashburnham, we will explore how different practices (such as meditation, prayer, stillness, silence, solitude, creativity, pilgrimage and imaginative, somatic and emotional enquiry) serve us, each in our own way, to come into closer connection with ourselves, each other and the Divine.

On the basis of this, we will seek to expand our capacity for wise discernment, in relation to real questions we may be facing, large or small, at this juncture in our life. This is all about listening and being attentive to the ‘still small voice’ of Wisdom at work within and around us and we will use the special atmosphere and context of the retreat to support each other in this.

These qualities are essential life skills and our aim, in a spirit of co-enquiry, is to strengthen our capacity to sustain these amidst the pulls and distractions of daily life. This will help us be better able to discern when we are being our ‘best self’ and when we are being pulled away from this. Our hope is that we will leave calmer and clearer in our own priorities and more able to say ‘no’ to things that do not serve us in life.

Chris Blakeley has been pioneering the use of retreats and other ‘deeper learning’ practices to help people grow through transition for over 25 years. He is a qualified leadership coach, counsellor and spiritual director, founder of the Crossroads Retreats Charity and runs a range of retreats and pilgrimages. He teaches on the Spiritual Formation programme at Waverley Abbey and has just written a book on ‘Presencing in Spiritual Direction’

Karen specialises in individual and group approaches to personal growth that are designed to keep up with the complexities of the world and intensity of change experienced today. She is a certified integral coach and mindfulness practitioner and is co-Director of Waverley Learning, which provides leadership development to Christian and Secular organisations. She is also Chair of Cliff College, and a Programme Director of the Leadership Fellowship at St Georges House Windsor.

TO BOOK please call our Bookings Team on 01424 894201 or click on the link to book online

Single Occupancy £348.00 per person

Shared Occupancy £300.00 per person