Strengthen your capacity to stand strong amidst the raging winds of contemporary chaos. Come spend the day in New Denver with others who love silence, prayer and community, and who are committed to loving as God loves. Contemplative in the Kootenays meets on Saturday, March 22, 2025. We will sit in Centering Prayer together; ponder …
In the book Unshakeable by trauma therapist Jo Ann Rosen, there’s a discussion of anchors, those simple practices that return us to awareness. Rosen speaks about anchors because trauma responses bypass all our good skills. We forget what we know and react instinctively. Instinctive reaction may be the perfect response when a rattlesnake is rattling, but it’s …
Margaret Wheatly, in her book “Who Do We Choose to Be?” argues that our culture is at the end of its time. Every civilization, she says, goes through a predictable cycle. Wheatley places us firmly in the “decadent” phase, which is the last step before chaos and dissolution. Wealth, celebrity, and entertainment are central; compassion, …
There are some big things facing us these days: “us” collectively as in the human race, and “us” as in my little family. Some of those collective big things are so big—global climate change, vicious politics—that I have no idea how to repair, heal, or change them. Sure, I know how to complain; I also …
I have a friend whom I will call Georgianne, because that is not her name. She is a brilliant and deep human being, whose career was sidelined by Covid. Over the past four years, she has struggled to sort out what her work is. Not how to support herself, but what she should be offering …
I have been reassembling our freezers, moving turkey and frozen wontons and homemade soup from the inside freezer to the newly empty outside freezer. It’s empty because friends have been able to go home: their frozen chickens, applesauce and tomato paste have gone home, too. I am also re-assembling my office. Strewn across desk and …
Contemplative in the Kootenays meets (mostly!) monthly in New Denver. This day-long event (10 am to 3 pm) is open to contemplatives across the Kootenays; most of us practice Centering Prayer, but not everyone. Most of us are Christian, but not everyone. Most of us come regularly, but not everyone! This month we’ll be exploring …
Join us for Sunday Sit on October 20, 2024, at Knox Hall in New Denver. This event has an initial session of guided meditation, followed by a break. The second session is a time of reflection on sacred text and an open communion celebration. Both sessions will be led by Therese DesCamp. Session 1: 9:30 …
I have been thinking that we may have reached the chronic, as opposed to acute, stage of our forest fire saga. For many of us, evacuation orders and alerts are rescinded, at least for now. For others, there’s at least a system to check on livestock and land. People are making plans to sustain a …
One predictable result of a good retreat is the scramble at the end when people start asking, “How can we keep this great community going?” Then follows a frenzied exchange of emails and phone numbers. Equally predictable is that any community formed simply for its own continuance inevitably falls apart. I find this depressing. I …
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Box 452, New Denver, BC, V0G 1S0, Canada