Dom John Main

Dom John Main - the founder of the modern Christian Meditation movement. John Main rediscovered the authentic practice of mantra-based christian meditation by studying the ancient works of John Cassian.

WCCM website

Visit - the World Community for Christian Meditation website.

‘Maranatha’ is an Aramaic word from the time of Jesus, meaning 'Come Lord'. It can be found in Revelation 22.20 (the penultimate verse in the New Testament) and has been used as a prayer word since earliest days of Christianity. When meditating, use it simply as a focus for your attention, without thinking about the meaning of it.

Accessibility: This site has been designed so that users who struggle to see the content clearly can make use of the browser controls to magnify web pages. With most browsers holding down the control key and pressing the + (plus) key repeatedly will enlarge the web page (images and text). Holding down the Control key and hitting the - (minus) key reverses the process.

Bere Island: The birth place of Laurence Freeman's mother and a place to which he has returned from time to time for periods of prayer and solitude. In his book “Jesus, the Teacher Within”, Laurence uses his rediscovery of the island as an allegory of the search for personal identity and the gradual separation of reality and illusion we all need to make in order to grow spiritually.

Books and CDs by Laurence Freeman: The London Centre has a wide range of books and CDs by Laurence Freeman and other experienced meditators. Telephone 020-7278-2070 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) or email welcome@wccm.org to find out whether they have the product you want in stock, its price in £ and the postage rate.

WCCM Bookshop: The London Centre has a wide range of books and CDs on all aspects of Christian Mediation from a wide range of authors, including John Main, Laurence Freeman, Richard Rohr, Bede Griffiths, Paul Harris, Margaret Rizza and many others. Telephone 020-7278-2070 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) or email welcome@wccm.org to find out whether they have the product you want in stock, its price in £ and the postage rate.

Margaret Rizza: The London Centre has a wide range of music CDs by Margaret Rizza, an experienced meditator and meditation conference speaker. Telephone 020-7278-2070 (Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm) or email welcome@wccm.org to find out whether they have the product you want in stock, its price in £ and the postage rate.

Click to Expand or Close

Scenes from Guildford: The historic town of Guildford is located between the rolling North Downs and the winding River Wey. It has an interesting past that hails back to Saxon times.

Hove: scenes from the sea front.

Laurence Freeman: a Benedictine monk and priest of the Congregation of Monte Oliveto, and director of WCCM. He is also the founder and director of the John Main Center for Meditation and Inter-religious Dialogue at Georgetown University, and author of many books and articles for the Tablet particularly, and a member of the Board of Medio Media.

Central London, viewed from Greenwich Observatory. Can there be space for quiet contemplation in a city like this? Well yes actually! Saint Marks Church in Islington, hosts the London Christian Meditation Centre. Cockfosters Retreat Centre also offers a range of meditation retreats throughout the year, and further meditation events take place at St Peter’s Centre for Meditation and Peace, at Vauxhall, and at Westminster Cathedral

Views, from Loweswater Village Hall. Usually, once a year in the summer, the Cumbrian Christian Meditation group meet here. The hall provides one of the most panoramic views in the Lake District looking up the valley that holds Crummock Water and Buttermere, to Great Gable, which is wreathed in cloud on this occasion.

The Newsletter is released quarterly and is the main source of information for many many members of the Community. In it you will find sections covering news of the Community's leaders, forthcoming retreats and events and a message from Father Laurence Freeman. Contact Saint Mark's Church if you want to receive it. There are details at the foot of this webpage.

North Staffordshire includes the City of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme and their surrounding areas. There are currently three groups in the area: May Bank (Newcastle), Longton (Stoke) and Stone.

Benedictines: John Main, the founder of the World Community for Christian Meditation, and Laurence Freeman, the Community's current leader; a sketch of the former Christian Meditation Retreat Centre at Cockfosters and one of the corridors at the monastery of Monte Oliveto.

The Open Gate: a retreat house run by the Community of Aidan and Hilda on Lindisfarne, Northumberland. Courses and retreats on many aspects of christian spirituality are provided each year.

Oxford: Britain's oldest university town.

Portsmouth Catholic Cathedral was built in 1882 and is situated close to the City centre and the home of the Royal Navy.

Waterfall, in the grounds of Rydal Hall, near Ambleside. Meetings organised by the Cumbrian Christian Meditation group often take place here. The mountains of the Lake District make an inspiring backdrop to the grounds of the hall and remind us that although the path of meditation can sometimes appear rather steep and craggy, there is a way to the summit.

Autumn Colours, in the grounds of Rydal Hall, near Ambleside. Meetings organised by the Cumbrian Christian Meditation group often take place here. The mountains of the Lake District make an inspiring backdrop to the grounds of the hall and remind us that although the path of meditation can sometimes appear rather steep and craggy, there is a way to the summit.

Shrewsbury: typical half timbered houses in the town and plate glass windows in the cathedral

Lindisfarne Slakes, in the fading light of a late February afternoon. The tranquility of the sea and sky on this day, might remind us of our quest for tranquility of mind and spirit during meditation.

Staffordshire Moorlands at the southwestern end of the Pennines, provides an opportunity for solitude. The Staffordshire Peak District is distinctly quieter than its more famous Derbyshire neighbour!

Scenes from Surrey famous for its gardens and picturesque villages, and also an area where WCCM UK is very active, with a good number of groups and local events

Painted Ceiling, in one of the corridors of the Vatican Museum, leading to the Sistine Chapel.

The Website, has been produced using Adobe Creative Suite, and uses standard XHTML, JavaScript, CSS and PHP to achieve its effects. If you have any photographs or information that you think would be useful for the site, please contact the webmaster.

World Community for Christian Meditation - UK

Doves logo link to wccm.org

Dom John Main

UK Home page

Site Search

2013 Retreat

Shop

Donations

Audio Downloads

Meditation School

Local Groups

Group Resources

Lone Meditators

Young Meditators

Retreats & Events

Newsletter

Contact Us

Reflections

Login

Waterfall and pool at Rydal Hall Lindisfarne Slakes John Main, Laurence Freeman, Cockfosters, Monte Oliveto WCCM Doves

Meditation Advice

Resources for groups, teachers and practitioners

Welcome to this series of 'Letters from the International School'. The aim of these letters is to support and nurture all meditators, but especially those of you who feel called to share the precious gift of meditation with others. These letters will cover therefore the essential teaching of our Community.

A series of letters from experienced meditation leaders will be gradually added to this page.

The letters are meant to be read in sequence

The links allow you to download PDF files which could be used for personal study or readings for meditation groups.

Year 1

  1. What is Prayer?
  2. What is Meditation?
  3. How did John Main learn about meditation?
  4. Why do we start to meditate?
  5. How do we prepare for meditation?
  6. The universality of meditation
  7. The practice (1)
  8. The practice (2): Stilling the mind
  9. The practice (3): Thoughts, thoughts and once more thoughts
  10. The Way of the Mantra
  11. Christian meditation can be done anywhere by anyone
  12. The importance of the weekly meditation group
  13. Guidelines for preparing a talk for a group meeting
  14. The Labyrinth of Chartres
  15. Introducing Meditation to a Mainly Christian Audience
  16. What makes our meditation Christian?
  17. Sample talks introducing meditation to a mainly Christian audience (Part Two)
  18. Do we ever stop saying the Mantra?
  19. The fruits of meditation by Kim Nataraja
  20. Can I change my mantra?
  21. The journey of meditation (1)
  22. The journey of meditation (2)
  23. The problem of distractions by Paul Harris
  24. Quotes about the mantra in the Eastern and Western traditions of Christianity
  25. The power of silence by Kim Nataraja
  26. Staying in the present moment
  27. Why do we meditate?
  28. The stages of the journey (1)
  29. The stages of the journey (2)
  30. Entering the silence
  31. Our interior senses
  32. Its simple, but not easy for anyone
  33. Meditation – a different way of learning
  34. The Roots of Christian Mysticism
  35. The Mystical Experience of Jesus
  36. St Paul
  37. Gnosticism
  38. Clement of Alexandria: Jesus, the Divine Physician
  39. Gregory of Nyssa
  40. Cassian
  41. Benedict
  42. Under development
  43. Under development
  44. Under development
  45. Meditation: an authentic Christian way of prayer
  46. The contemplative tradition
  47. Leaving thoughts behind
  48. Attention
  49. The importance of preparation
  50. Communion or union
  51. Meditation groups: communities of faith
  52. What are the characteristics of a Christian Meditation group?
  53. The Christian Meditation group leader

Year 2

  1. Conversion
  2. Change
  3. Perserverance
  4. Achievement or Grace?
  5. Work and Pray
  6. Obedience
  7. The Gift of Tears
  8. Metanoia
  9. Apatheia and agape
  10. Communion or True Union
  11. Purifying the Emotions
  12. Set Your Mind on God's Kingdom
  13. Roots of Christian mysticism
  14. Eastern and Western Christianity
  15. Different types of prayer
  16. What is mysticism?
  17. Humility
  18. Anger
  19. On judgement

More to follow!

 

 


WCCM Birds

Updated: 09-05-2010