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.
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.
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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.
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.
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The Poetry of Stefan Reynolds
Stefan has written several poems exploring the nature of meditation. All contents on this page are strictly his copyright and should not be reproduced without his permission.
Three of Stefan's poems are displayed below:
You can also download Stefan's poetry (in PDF format) about Father Bede Griffiths and Meditating at Auchwitz from the links below:
The Mountain
The Skelligs
Skellig Micheal is a small rocky island thirteen miles off the ring of Kerry in Ireland. It was the place where a Celtic monastic life was lived, in extreme austerity, for some centuries. John Main’s family came from the mainland of Ballinskelligs. I was able to visit there in 2004.
Monte Olivetto
Monte Oliveto is a monastery in Tuscany founded by Blessed Bernard Tolemeo in the fourteenth century. The existing monastery goes back to the fourteenth century. Every year there is a retreat there with The World Community for Christian Meditation. In 2002 I was lucky enough to go.
- Sentinelled by cypress and the silver Olive groves
- Between the sun-burnt earth and the blue domed sky
- Stand the stones of a monastery six hundred years old.
- Exposed on a hill to the sun and the wind
- It stands steady as the prayer that psalm by psalm
- Built this place on a firm foundation of love.
- That prayer now permeates the walls like light.
- Beauty in the slope of a hill, in the curve of a tree,
- Soaked to the skin like in a timeless memory.
- Winter has come and gone eight hundred times
- Since this place was first marked for penitence,
- Eight hundred summers passed on bended knee.
- And I ask: What has been found? Time will tell
- The fruits. Prophets have been born out of silence
- As out of the labour pains of prayer.
- All will be well. An incandescence on the hill
- Shows that someone must have died to drive
- The frost away. And so it is today.
- The wind blows where it will, you hear the sound of it
- But you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes,
- So it is with those who are born of the Spirit.
Updated: 05-03-2011
