Journey Int0 Wisdom - A Retreat Not To Be Missed

I Skype with Matt Lamont, who will leave his New South Wales family home and journey across the world to co-lead a retreat at The Open Gate October 21-25 on 'Journey Into Wisdom'. This will be a retreat not to be missed. I first met Matt after he had won a power lifting competition. God told him he could choose the gift of strength or the gift of wisdom. He chose wisdom, and then fell in love with a lady named Sophia and married her!

Matt has dedicated his life to the Wisdom tradition - among -Quakers, Aboriginal people and nature.; and I shall explore with retreatants the Wisdom tradition in Scripture and in Celtic Christianity.

Matt has written 'Australian Prayer Rhythms and writes a blog on www.aidanandhilda.org.au 'Musings from the Suburbs'. In response to a seminarian in Rome who asked 'What is grace?' Matt blogged:

Grace is…

finding one’s home in the Sacred present moment

knowing you are loved and can love despite your failings and self-centredness

awareness that there is life beyond death

a sense of connection to the Australian bush

sitting by a seaside on granite rock and feeling the presence of the divine in the waves and the wind

the chuckle of an infant ... good food and drink... the deep silence in one’s heart... knowing that enough is enough... lovemaking ...

the deep joy to be found in simple things that surprise by their ordinariness ... knowing that even hard feelings can be a call from God back to the centre... intimacy that endures

discovering the gift of compassion for oneself and the whole world

discovering that Jesus and God are Compassion and Silence and in reality no separation is possible