The School for Contemplative Living

me in-person gatherings. See our website for details at www.theschoolforcontemplativeliving.com. Vows for A Contemplative Community

The Consecrated Hour
We offer one hour, set aside each day, for "God alone." Let other time be dedicated to sacred reading, reflecting, thinking, writing, other forms of prayer, communicating with others, serving the needs of the world. We give one hour for the love of God alone: loving God for God's own sake; breathing our way into union with the Divine, practicing the presence of God. We do not seek to receive messages. We do not try to figure out the problems of our lives, or those of others. We do not try to fix anything. There is a place in the soul where we are not broken. We go to this place of innate wholeness in the inner being. We enter there the sanctuary of the soul. We bow before the One who has called us into being. We practice simple being for one little consecrated hour, breathing in the Presence. No need for words when with this One. Here begins our contemplative call. The Consecrated Day
Just this day given to God: turning all our efforts and cares over to the One who cares for us; serving in more than our own strength; becoming activists under the moment by moment guidance of the One who calls us to kingdom activity; working from the Source, out of the fullness God gives in each moment. This day is not about working to exhaustion, or frantically striving to save the world, while we become empty. We have known that life, and it is no longer our life. We live our days in consecration now. We do not answer every call to busyness. We do not work outside our personal giftedness, just because we can. We keep turning to the Giver of Life, all through the day, asking, "Is this You calling?" As we encounter each person we keep leaning into that spiritual intuition to learn when to speak and when to keep silent, when to act and when to remain still. Union with the Divine does not end with the first hour of the day. Herein is our consecrated, contemplative day. The Consecrated Life
Our decisions are made in union with the Holy. We cannot rely on reason and logic alone, as they never did contain the greater wisdom we sought. We seek something Higher and Truer as a Source of guidance now. We listen deep. We listen long. We bring our longing Home, and find there the way to a consecrated life. We seek clearness in our lives in consultation with the Contemplative Community. We know our judgments can become skewed, our purposes unbalanced. So we turn to each other, trusting that a Voice from the Inner Sanctuary will emerge from group listening. We regularly gather as a community for worship, sharing our lives, mutual support of our consecrated intention to live the contemplative life, joyful fellowship, and periods of discernment for our individual and community lives. In these vows we have committed our lives to become A Contemplative Community, contemplatives serving the world through prayer and action.