Curious Christian

As some of you maybe aware from my recent posts, things have been a little unsettled in the Stone household over the last few weeks. We’ve had a death in the family and my department was outsourced as part of a corporate restructure.

Monday will be my first day of real unemployment, so I am planning to have an extended meditation session.

I like to take retreats from time to time, when I need a refresh and a sense of perspective. Its one thing to take out 20 minutes during the day, its quite another to block out an extended period and say: today I will sit in solitude. Besides, my mind has been unsettled and Ive been finding I just can’t focus, so a more extended session is definately in order.

The idea of a meditative retreat from the static of everyday life casts my mind back to the ‘moutain of transfiguration’ story, where Jesus takes his disciples up to an isolated peak in the wilderness and is transformed before their eyes, all obscurity is gone and they see him as he really is. This gospel story reminds me of the climax of the Bhagavad Gita too in a way, despite all the differences, for both speak of visions beyond the limitations of language. For me, the liminal place, the thin place, that I go to is not the mountain, but the beach, the transition zone between the sea and the land. Palm Beach (in northern Sydney) is one of my favourite places, as is also the Central Coast, but who knows where I’ll end up? I don’t pre-plan the destination but just see where I feel led.

I am wondering if any of you do this as well, as Id love to hear stories of other experiences.