Cover Image for Discovering spirit within ourselves: Session 1: Awakening (Hybrid)

Discovering spirit within ourselves: Session 1: Awakening (Hybrid)

 
 
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“We shall not be able to rebuild our shattered world until we recover our faith in eternal realities, and we shall not do that until we discover spirit within ourselves.” - Rufus Jones, The Inner Life

What does it look like to cultivate inward life today? What kinds of support, practices, and communities might we need in order to get in touch with the divine or Light within? 

Part of the grounding of Quakerism is the experience of the Inward Light — that divine spark that lives in us. But Friends don’t always talk about what that kind of experience is like, or the practices that help access those experiences.

In this first session of the series Discovering Spirit Within Ourselves, we will explore the question of what it looks like to cultivate our inward lives. This will be an interactive hybrid (in-person and on Zoom!) workshop, where participants will engage with readings, queries, journaling, and discussion to engage deeply.

This workshop is for everyone — Quakers and non-Quakers, no matter where you fall on the question of "God" (including theists and non-theists), or whether you have engaged in a practice like this before.

Things we will do with our time together:

  • We will begin with a grounding practice and introduction

  • We will engage with several short readings, including from Quaker authors Rufus Jones, Parker Palmer, and others.

  • We will have time to journal in response to these readings.

  • We will engage with queries through journaling and discussion. 

  • We will have time for silent, "waiting worship" in the manner of Quakers, as a group. 

  • We will have a break! :) And lots of time off-camera for those who are on Zoom.

About the workshop leader: 

Jen Higgins-Newman, is a convinced Friend, theologian, feminist, and mystic. Jen holds a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and serves as the Program Director at Beacon Hill Friends House where she plans programs to cultivate and nurture community and our spiritual lives. 

Beacon Hill Friends House is an independent Quaker not-for-profit organization that operates a 20-person community residence, overnight guest accommodations, meeting and event space, and public educational programming in a large historic house in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. The Friends House exists to provide opportunities for personal growth, spiritual deepening, and leadership development, drawing inspiration and guidance from the values, principles, and practices of the Religious Society of Friends.