A 14-year-old boy called Walker whose heart is breaking prays and the next day Jesus turns up in his bedroom, long flowing robes, sandals and all. This short story/poem is absolutely amazing. The Jesus we meet is the Jesus I'd like everyone to meet. I often ask people to read one of the gospels to... Continue Reading →
‘Who do you say that I am?’ How do we know who we really are?
How do we hold ourselves together when we find we hear within ourselves competing voices some of which talk loudly and which appear to take us in opposing directions? Okay, so I don't mean 'hearing voices' in a bad way. I simply mean that all of us have different roles going on in our 'one... Continue Reading →
Managing your mind
Here is a second talk I did recently. This one is very practical: what to do with difficult feelings and whirling thoughts. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/authentic-2018-managing-your-mind-sheila-bridge/id1359049384?i=1000406713333&mt=2 Here are the slides I refer to through the talk Look at the shape made by the intersect of your body, mind and spirit. This is a traditional image representing God the... Continue Reading →
Being a Beloved person
I'm just posting here a link to a talk I did back in March at the Activate Conference. If you want to listen to the talk you follow the link and it's on itunes but it's free. I was blown away by the generous response to this talk when I gave but maybe you had... Continue Reading →
‘The Gifts of Imperfection’ and other books by Brené Brown
This isn't so much a book review as a library review - this woman has written alot and it's all very good. Where do I start? 'The Gifts of Imperfection' is annoyingly brilliant. why annoyingly? Because she kind of says the exact same thing that I wrote TWENTY-THREE years ago! Only she says it alot... Continue Reading →
‘It is what it is’
This is a phrase that has got me through some difficult experiences and some low moments. I've found myself saying it again to a couple of people lately. It may sound like resignation but there is a world of difference between resignation and acceptance (see image). So when I say this phrase I mean acceptance.... Continue Reading →
Bird-watching is a lot like thought watching
I am not much of a birdwatcher but I am learning to become a thought watcher and I was intrigued the other day by a metaphor which connected the two ideas. For about six months now I have been practising meditation. Practising is what you do when you are not very good at something and... Continue Reading →
Why the one truth most people live by will not help you
"Peace on earth"? How, in God's name (quite literally) did the concept of 'peace' come to be associated with the birth of child? Anyone who's ever had a child will tell you that the quality of peace is not something you associate with the arrival of children! In fact the very opposite: not only are... Continue Reading →
Prayer as breathing and breathing as prayer
Breathing: necessary, unconscious, continuous, usually an easy activity, we don't even learn it, we just do it. Prayer: ... err? a learned activity, a conscious effort, we 'might do it wrong', we are not sure why we do it or who is 'listening' or what effect it has but that doesn't stop most people praying... Continue Reading →