Monastery of the Everyday
All of the inner journey, all of spiritual practice, ultimately comes down to this: that we are able to be genuinely what we are.
(A.H. Almaas)
I am a new-monk, embodying monastic stillness, contemplation, and rhythmical living and loving, not within the high stone walls of the monastery but out in the hustle and bustle of ordinary, everyday life.
As an expression of this vocation, I host spaces that are open to anyone who wants to slow down, center themselves and explore practices - ancient and modern - so they may listen deeply to their lives, live more adventurously and let their lives speak!
What I envision is a rebuilding of monasticism without the need for monasteries, a recovery of sacred language without a church in which to use it, an education in the soul that takes place outside of school, the creation of an artful world accomplished by persons who are not artists, the emergence of a psychological sensibility once the discipline of psychology has been forgotten, a life of intense community with no organization to belong to, and achieving a life of soul without having made any progress toward it.
(Thomas Moore)
What I Host:
Get Real:
A weekly online guided meditation space (every Tuesday evening, 7pm-8pm, BST)
I lead a weekly online guided meditation each week. The guided meditation lasts around 40mins and then there is time for questions afterwards.
If you are interested in joining, please email me at sjdonaldson@hotmail.co.uk .
The suggested donation is between £5 - £10.
The Soulful Study Group:
A "new-monastic" learning space, exploring monastic wisdom for the modern world.
This learning space is an opportunity to reflect together on what monastic wisdom has to offer our lives in the modern world. We engage with a range of different resources - books, podcasts, etc - and have an opportunity to share together on how these resources have spoken to us. This learning is not "academic" but is about "becoming intimate with" the soul and spirit of monasticism.
If you are interested in joining the study group, please email me at sjdonaldson@hotmail.co.uk .
The suggested donation is between £10 - £20.
Retreats:
I offer a range of different retreats - some one-day retreats, others week-long retreats. You can find out about upcoming retreats here:
Upcoming :: rewildyourlife
If you are interested in attending any of the above, please email sjdonaldson@hotmail.co.uk