Our Life is Love: the Quaker Spiritual Journey
Marcelle Martin's book, Our Life is Love: The Quaker Spiritual Journey, explores ten elements of the spiritual experience of Quakers. It is a great resource for study groups to explore these elements of spiritual experience in our own lives. See the Publication page for more information. * * * * * * * * Marcelle is available to lead workshops and retreats and to give talks. See the Teaching and Upcoming Workshops page.-
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Category Archives: Contemplative spirituality
The Power and Potential of Faithfulness Groups
A couple of hours before my faithfulness group met, an unexpected event triggered strong emotions. I had waited a few months for my turn to give a presentation, and I was dismayed to be in such an emotional state when … Continue reading
Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices
Tagged evolutionary potential, faithfulness group, honesty, mutual spiritual accountability, prayerful accompaniment, small group, spiritual potential, Spiritual practice, trust, vulnerablity
2 Comments
An Australian Quaker’s Transforming Encounter With Jesus
David Johnson seems an unlikely person to write a book about the Gospel of John. He had a long career as a geology professor and co-authored a standard textbook on the geology of Australia. His book reveals that when he … Continue reading
Giving Birth to Christ in Our Time
As Christmas nears, I often think of words by Meister Eckhart, a radical 14th-century Dominican priest, who said, We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the Divine … Continue reading
An Ancient Forest and the Ground of Being
We had waited a long time to walk among those ancient trees. Finally we rented a cabin in Cook Forest State Park, and there we were, walking between towering pines and hemlocks. Some are as old as Quakerism, having gotten … Continue reading
Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Contemplative spirituality, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices
Tagged Cook Forest, gathered worship, God, Ground of Being, hemlock, Joan Maloof, Lenni Lenape, meeting for worship, old-growth forest, Oneness, Pendle Hill, white pine
11 Comments
The Offering of Emptiness
A recent week-long silent retreat allowed me to enter more deeply into the prayer of emptiness–the prayer in which I quiet my mind and open to the presence of God. Continue reading
The Light That Shines in the Darkness
On a dark, starry night, in a year of whole-hearted seeking, inner senses opened and divine Reality was suddenly revealed. I experienced a Light that flows through everything and a Power that can heal anything. Continue reading
Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Contemplative spirituality, Facing Life with Faith, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices
Tagged awareness, collective spiritual practices, concepts of God, consciousness, divine Power, Existentialists, faithfulness, God, inner senses, John 1:5, Mysticism, Oneness, Quakers, Reality, revelation, Spirit-led, spiritual practices, the Light, transformation of consciousness, ultimate truth
11 Comments
A Faithful Friend
As we drove to Ohio for Katharine Jacobsen’s memorial service, my husband and I remembered her loving friendship and the radiant, welcoming smile with which she greeted us when we came to visit. Katharine and her husband, Ken, had invited … Continue reading
Opening to Divine Guidance
We each have an amazing inner connection to divine wisdom and guidance, always available. The challenge is to turn our attention toward it and stay focused long enough to receive benefit. Here is a link to a guided meditation to help us focus on situations in our lives that require more understanding. Continue reading
Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, meditation, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices
Tagged A Meditation to Reveal and Heal, divine guidance, divine Light, Experiment with Light, free gift, guided meditation, Inward Teacher, John 1:9, Light of Christ within, Pendle Hill, turning within
6 Comments
Prayer of the World
Each time I’ve seen the Prayer of the World, I’ve felt shaken out of a certain dull habituation with this world to see more clearly God’s awesome handiwork. Each time it has been breathtaking to recognize more clearly the wisdom and healing power present in Creation. The world is alive to its sacred source and it is calling us to wake up to the sacredness of our own nature and to our interconnection with Spirit and with all created things. Its message for humanity is an urgent one, calling us to awaken. Continue reading
