In his recent article in the Caldecote Journal, the Revd David Newton invites us to pause in the New Year and join in a new initiative of movement and Christian-inspired meditation.
One of the (few) downsides that I experience in working from home is that there is no “switch off” or processing time between work and home life. If I haven’t been out and about in the parishes, I’ll walk out of my study-come-office, across the hallway, and into the kitchen to join in the hectic whirlwind that is children’s dinner time. No hiatus, no in-between moment. I was talking to a friend the other day who has quite recently begun working from home, having previously worked in the City, and he similarly commented on how he (almost) missed his time on the train – to read, or listen to a podcast, or pray, or just sit and be.
Moments to stop are crucial for being human – I guess that’s what sleep is about in essence. But it seems to me that we need other moments in the day, and week, month and year that are about pressing pause; allowing time to process, to take in what has been going on, and to be present in the moment. As I understand it, the whole Mindfulness movement has picked up on the desperate lack of this in contemporary society.
Of course such a need is not new, and societies throughout time have made ways to create this pause. In the Psalms there is a beautiful little word ‘Selah’. It’s a musical term, and no one is quite sure what it means, but the best contender is that it means ‘pause’. Presumably the idea was that the singer would take a breath after this set of words or this phrase, to let them soak in and take effect.
As a church, we wanted to offer a pause from the noise of life, and so are beginning a new venture called ‘Selah’ this January. Through a series of gentle flowing postures and Christian inspired meditation we want to offer one way of helping us all take that moment of pause.
Sessions are free, held on the 1st Sunday of the month at 7.30pm in the Village Hall and will last 1 hour. Starting 6th Jan. Sessions are free and will be run by a REPs Level 3 qualified exercise professional.
And even if that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea. My hope is that each one of us finds moments of ‘Selah’ in a frantic world.
Revd David Newton
For details on Selah, see our post: After Christmas – take a “Selah” moment >