The purpose of the SCM is to make accessible ways to experience wholeness and sacredness through the practices, teachings, life and example of Christ Jesus, and the Christian mystics, women and men, who accompanied Jesus and have followed him since.
Mysticism is a way to experience this wholeness, a state which is for most of us a forgotten mode of being. Many people have a sense of nostalgia for “times gone by” or perhaps not yet come, when life felt more peaceful, less stressful, when we felt nurtured and cared for, connected and in right relationship with ourselves, others and the natural world.
When remembered, this forgotten mode of being changes the way we experience everything. From a state of unity, our view naturally becomes more inclusive, accepting, compassionate and respectful and our actions more harmonious. We are less concentrated in our minds, on what we believe and what defines and separates us from others, and more centred in our hearts and on our experience of harmony, love and what we have in common.
In such a state we are simply present, aware of things as they are, rather than caught in regret or sadness about the past or anxiety about the future. We are aware of the infinite mystery of life embedded in our everyday lives, however challenging, indeed we find that our everyday lives become an experience of the sacred. Jesus called this experience “The kingdom of heaven” which is “within you” (Lk 17: 21). He said that it is like a mustard seed that starts out tiny but can grow to become a huge tree, not only having a life of its own but also benefitting others by giving them shelter and food (Mt 13:31). In the same way, our experience of wholeness and peace is small and easily undermined by life’s challenges at first, but it can grow to benefit ourselves and others.
The SCM is open to anyone and everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike. It is open in attitude to all spiritual traditions considering them to be offering different ways to an experience of the sacred unity. It also offers contemporary perspectives on the New Testament arising from explorations of the original languages of the texts and studies of the gospels of Mary, Philip, Thomas and other non-canonical material from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hamadi finds, which underline the centrality of mysticism in the Christian tradition. We are developing the SCM because we believe that only through increasing and deepening sister and brotherhood, and joining with each other in the transformative journey available through all traditions deeply travelled, can human beings stop turning the page to their own and the Earth’s demise and step hand in hand into a loving and heartfelt future.
Mysticism is a way to experience this wholeness, a state which is for most of us a forgotten mode of being. Many people have a sense of nostalgia for “times gone by” or perhaps not yet come, when life felt more peaceful, less stressful, when we felt nurtured and cared for, connected and in right relationship with ourselves, others and the natural world.
When remembered, this forgotten mode of being changes the way we experience everything. From a state of unity, our view naturally becomes more inclusive, accepting, compassionate and respectful and our actions more harmonious. We are less concentrated in our minds, on what we believe and what defines and separates us from others, and more centred in our hearts and on our experience of harmony, love and what we have in common.
In such a state we are simply present, aware of things as they are, rather than caught in regret or sadness about the past or anxiety about the future. We are aware of the infinite mystery of life embedded in our everyday lives, however challenging, indeed we find that our everyday lives become an experience of the sacred. Jesus called this experience “The kingdom of heaven” which is “within you” (Lk 17: 21). He said that it is like a mustard seed that starts out tiny but can grow to become a huge tree, not only having a life of its own but also benefitting others by giving them shelter and food (Mt 13:31). In the same way, our experience of wholeness and peace is small and easily undermined by life’s challenges at first, but it can grow to benefit ourselves and others.
The SCM is open to anyone and everyone, Christians and non-Christians alike. It is open in attitude to all spiritual traditions considering them to be offering different ways to an experience of the sacred unity. It also offers contemporary perspectives on the New Testament arising from explorations of the original languages of the texts and studies of the gospels of Mary, Philip, Thomas and other non-canonical material from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hamadi finds, which underline the centrality of mysticism in the Christian tradition. We are developing the SCM because we believe that only through increasing and deepening sister and brotherhood, and joining with each other in the transformative journey available through all traditions deeply travelled, can human beings stop turning the page to their own and the Earth’s demise and step hand in hand into a loving and heartfelt future.
