I've always been an innercity girl and in a lot of ways I love the energy of the city, however after a spot of reflection, I questioned myself what was/am I looking for and realised an inner longing for something authentic, real and peaceful. Last year, I had my first experience of it when I went to visit a monastery in the Isle of Wight. After such a brilliant experience of quietness I decided to have a repeat this year and between the 28th July and 10 August 2014 I went away to the city of Oxford to stay at two convents to explore the lifestyle of nuns and see if it was for me. The first convent was enclosed and based around praying for the world and the second convent was also based upon prayer however they were active nun's and so did a lot of work in the community.
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I met and spoke to some of the most amazing people on the planet and asked about their journeys and how they came to the conclusion of their current lifestyles. Which only really encouraged my quest for peace, enhanced by reading an amazing book given to me by a friend entitled Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr. In addition to the conversations I had with nuns, I also made a friend for life in a fellow visitor who was on his own journey and came to deepen his own spiritual practice. He introduced me to a practice he was into entitled Centering / Contemplative prayer and he also kindly gave me a book entitled Open mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating and in addition I started reading The Artist Way by Julie Cameron. The whole experience was a great exploration into a life free from stress and anxiety and instead learning to recongise peace and stillness in your everyday life. I came home and was met with reality, however was given some great tools for enjoying the beauty in the everyday and enjoying the life, people and art I love, free from striving. Great interview about contemplative lifestyle and a retreat I would like to visit in the future:
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