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CCMC News Item - March 23, 2010

Phil Barnet Speaks at Twilight Retreat in Ottawa

Ron Dicks welcomed the 60 people who attended the Twilight Retreat and introduced Rev. Canon Phil Barnett, National Coordinator CCMC. The Retreat was sponsored by the Ottawa Area Christian Meditation Community and hosted by the Group at Emmanuel United Church. There were two talks and a period of meditation and socialization.

The first talk was an introduction to Christian Meditation and was directed to beginners and long time meditators, Canon Barnett reminded us of our Lenten journey and the time Jesus spent in the wilderness in silence and prayer. Christian Meditation encourages us to enter into silence and be in the presence of God. It is often difficult to let go of thoughts and words. We must focus on our prayer word—maranatha—reminding us that the mind becomes silent with the repetition of the mantra. Distractions are always a struggle and we are encouraged to return to the mantra without judgement. We then meditated and socialized before the second talk ,“The Yearning of the Heart”.

Canon Barnett focused his talk on Psalm 84 from “Psalms Now” by Leslie Brandt. The Psalm speaks of a tender yearning to be with God. Many in our society suppress that longing and feel we need money, success, power and luxuries when in fact we don’t need these things to satisfy us. We long for a deeper relationship with God. God is always there to welcome us back through meditation which brings meaning to life. We can sense this closeness to God by learning to live in the present moment. Canon Barnett shared how he had learned this through the observation of his grandchild.

Another yearning is peace and security. Even though there are doubts and distractions, with perseverance and discipline meditation becomes a gift from God. Canon Barnett compared his life-long love of birding to meditation and how we can learn from each other.

Psalm 84 also speaks to the “springs of healing” and just by listening we help others. We learn to listen when we meditate and become more attentive to what God loves, (our fragile earth).

The process of change and transformation happens slowly through meditation. Canon Barnett shared his experience of observing a caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly and compared this to the subtle changes that occur when one meditates over a period of time.

God speaks to us in many ways through reading scripture, the wisdom of others and insight during meditation. When we focus on our own self centeredness we feel empty and still have a yearning but when we meditate we feel in the centre of God’s will.

Trust in a God who loves us and use this time to meditate. God has given us this gift.

Olga Graham thanked Canon Barnett for his enlightening talk and also for his great contribution to the CCMC.

Joan McGuinness

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