Circles of Spiritual Formation
a) Anam Cara
Year One of Soul Care Spiritual Formation
Combining monthly gatherings (12 person maximum per circle), Spiritual Direction, audio meditations and weekly reflections, individuals are invited on a journey of ‘in and down’.
The Anam Cara (soul friend in Gaelic) journey is one where a friendship begins with one’s own soul.
So many of us are disconnected from our true essence, the true self within.
It is a slow journey to take off one’s masks and begin to uncover the inner voice that is always there.
Through practices of breath meditation, silence, rest and listening, individuals are invited to return ‘home’. Home to their true essence and begin to live from a place of greater inner integrity and freedom.
Subjects Explored:
- Contemplation
- Silence
- Listening
- Centering Prayer
- Prayer of Examen
- The journey in and down
- Psalm 23
- Stories as pathways for transformation
- Essence
- Enneagram Introduction
Next group begins in August 2023. Registration opens in early Spring 2023.
Books in the Curriculum (some of these vary given the different circles)
- When the Heart Waits, Sue Monk Kidd
- Falling Upwards, Richard Rohr
- Psalms for Praying, Nan Merrill
- Reaching Out, Henri JM Nouwen
- Anam Cara, John O’Donohue
- Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer
- Enneagram, Riso & Hudson
- He, Robert A Johnson (depending on the circle)
- Women Who Run With Wolves, C.P. Estes (depending on the circle)
Anam Cara is a life-changing experience. It’s like a feast for my hungry soul. The table is set with abundant opportunity to learn who I am and who Divine Love is calling me to be. I was weary and thirsting in my spirit and now I feel waves of renewal coming into my life. I am deeply grateful for all that Anam Cara has to offer.
b) Cloister
Year Two of Soul Care Spiritual Formation
Combining monthly gatherings (12 person maximum per circle), Spiritual Direction, audio meditations and weekly reflections, individuals are invited to deepen the journey that began with Anam Cara.
Deepening spiritual practices, developing awareness of shadow-work and dreamwork, participants continue the slow walk of aligning with their essence and learning to live from a place of greater integrity and freedom.
Subjects Explored:
- Contemplation
- Healing of Feminine & Masculine Energies
- Shadow-work
- Centering Prayer
- Fidelity to Soul
- Union with Love
- Life of love and service
- Stories as pathways for transformation
- Essence
- Enneagram
- Vocation
- Living from the gaze of Love
Books in the Curriculum (some of these vary given the different circles)
- Here All Dwell Free, Gertrud Mueller Nelson
- Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris
- Dark Night of the Soul, Gerald May
- Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
- Invisible Partners, John A Sanford
- Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron
- Christian Mystics, Ursula King
- One Drum, Richard Wagamese
Subjects Explored:
- Forgiveness
- In the Womb of God
- Healing of Feminine and Masculine Energies
- Contraction and Expansion
- Archetypes
- Equanimity
- Fidelity
- Integration
- Dreamwork
Books in the Curriculum (some of these vary given the different circles)
- Embers, Richard Wagamese
- Listening for the Heartbeat of God, J Philip Newell
- Amazing Grace, Kathleen Norris
- Dance of Intimacy, Harriet Lerner
- Dance of Anger, Harriet Lerner
- The Wizard of Us, Jean Houston
- Wisdom Jesus, Cynthi Bourgeault