audio guided meditation

A 22-minute meditation with John 18:12-27, using breath work and Lectio Divina.

A meditation for Lent as Jesus is arrested and interviewed by Annas.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

You can support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, making a one-off donation or becoming a member. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch

A 16-minute guided audio meditation with John 8:31-36, using breath work and Lectio Divina.

"We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying 'You will be made free'?" John 8:33

Jesus invites his followers into an interior freedom. We could devote our entire lives to the exploration of this invitation. You might find it useful to reflect on these questions:

• Where and when do I feel lack of freedom around my choices or my reactions?
• When and how do I feel an inability to give and receive love?
• In what ways do I feel stuck?
• Am I free to express my needs and opinions with confidence and grace?
• Where do I feel most alive? Where do I feel least alive?

Every blessing as you reflect and pray.

You are more loved than you can ever imagine. May this be the truth that sets you free.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

You can support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, making a one-off donation or becoming a member. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

A 22-minute audio guided meditation in John’s Gospel, John 8:12-20, using Lectio Divina.

My invitation to you, always, is to engage with scripture through your creative, non-rational self. Rational engagement with scripture is equally important - we usually call it bible study - and I hope there is a dose of it in your rhythms. But my invitation is to help you engage with this sacred text through the non-thinking parts of yourself. With your intuition, your soul, your inner knowing.

In this passage, there is debate. The pharisees are pushing Jesus, prodding with questions and asking for how he measures to the framework of their law.

You will have your own responses to this, and as you listen I invite you to stay in your deep inner knowing, to allow one word or phrase to open meaning for you, and to let the rest fall away.

I see Jesus here deep in his own inner knowing, profoundly connected with his Source, and focussed wholly on that alone.

May you come close to Jesus as you pray with this text.

All love, all Light, all blessings.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

You can support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, making a one-off donation or becoming a member. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

A meditation with John 6:30-35, 38-39, using breath work and Lectio Divina.

This passage is so beautiful.

I know that bread has taken many different forms in different times and places, but I can't help but see a loaf of sourdough rising in the oven - expanding, filling, bubbling, opening.

There is so much language in these verses about giving life. Manna. Nourishment. Food. Satiation of hunger and thirst. Being raised up.

They said to him "Sir, give us this bread always" I imagine it sounding like "Rabbi - we always want this bread."

Don't we though? Life. To the full. Yes, please.

Blessings as you pray, loves. All blessings.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

An imaginative contemplation with John 6:16-21.

In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth.

Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become present to your deeper self, your true self or essential self. I invite you to a way of unknowing, a place of deep being. 

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

A meditation on John 6:15, using Lectio Divina and Imaginative Contemplation.

Today we meditate on one verse: "When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself."

I very nearly skipped this in my travels through John's gospel, but was drawn in when I realised that this crowd wasn't taking him by force in order to arrest him, but in order to make him king. A study in his response to the buzz of the ego.

Blessings as you pray with this one today.

(Apologies for the slightly tricky music/speaking mix at the beginning... tried to fix a few times but ran out of time to sort properly... it doesn't last too long)

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

A meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 6, verses 1-13, using Lectio Divina and Imaginative Contemplation.

In this meditation on John’s Gospel, I invite you to join me in taking a ‘long, loving look’ at a few verses of text, beholding the words as living, shimmering, life-giving containers which hold endless layers of wisdom, mystery, beauty and truth.

Just for these few minutes, I invite you to leave your dogma, your creed, your thoughts, and your rational mind aside, and become present to your deeper self, your true self or essential self. I invite you to a way of unknowing, a place of deep being. 

The miracle of the five loaves and two fishes is the only miracle that is recorded in all four gospels.

Blessings as you pray!

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

A meditation with John 5:19-22, 24 using Lectio Divina.

After the man is healed at the pool of Bethesda, and some take issue with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, Jesus goes on to describe the relationship between himself and the Father.

I invite you to listen with the ears of your heart, staying in your deep-self centre as you remain open for layers of meaning to come out of this text for you today.

Blessings.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

A meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 1, verses 1-5, with imaginative contemplation.

The story of the woman at the well is one that most listeners will be very familiar with. Sometimes over-familiarity breeds disconnection: we stop seeing the things we look at every day.

Here I'm asking you to really imagine that you are actually in the scene. Is this well in a small clearing or in a big open place? Is the ground flat or steep? Where and how is Jesus sitting by this well - are there seats of some kind or is he on the ground? What is he doing as he waits for his friends to bring food - resting, or praying? It is so, so hot. You must feel the heat of the day.

And what is the woman's gut response as she discovers this Jewish man loitering at the well?

I hope that you experience this exchange in a new way, that there will be a vibrant sense of fresh living waters bubbling up, to nourish and restore you.

Every blessing, as always.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

An audio meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 1, verses 19-28.

As an undergrad at Whitworth College, I took a class in John’s Gospel with F. Dale Bruner. I vividly recall Dale opening each session by translating the text into animated English out of the original Greek, which he held entirely memorised in his brain. I particularly remember his arm gestures as he put across the point: “he who comes behind me, ranks ahead of me, because he was before me.” (John 1:15, 1:30)

A final assignment for the class was to make some kind of representation of each chapter of John’s Gospel. I made a small book of water colour paintings. One of the very few University assignments that is still with me, today it sits on my desk to guide me as I travel through John’s Gospel with Contemplative at Home,

For the text in this meditation (which could be called John the Baptist's sermon on the identity of Jesus) I have used Dale’s own translation as recorded his Commentary on the Gospel of John (Eerdmans). I find the language to be full of life and I hope it will open a new door for you as you listen, with the ears of your heart open.

Every blessing as you pray.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch. 

An audio meditation in John’s Gospel, chapter 1, verses 19-28.

The text for today's meditation records a conversation between priests and John the Baptist. John has been baptising at Bethany at the Jordan, and huge numbers of people are coming to respond to his message that "the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Matthew 4). The chief priests send representatives from Jerusalem to ask some questions, to find out what the buzz is all about.

They want to know if John is someone they are expecting, based on their reading and interpretation of the scriptures. Is John the Messiah, is he Elijah who ascended to heaven in a whirlwind and will return before the Messiah returns, or is this the prophet who Moses said would come before the Messiah?

John says he is none of these, and instead seems to be inhabiting his own unique voice, his own unique vocation. I’m neither Elijah, nor anyone else you are expecting, in the way you are expecting them. I am myself, and I'm here to point towards something that is at hand, someone who is among you on whom the Spirit rests. (Jesus later says in Mt 11:14 “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”)

I sense John inviting the interrogators to get out of their heads, to stop trying to puzzle out answers to match their expectations, and to open their hearts with curiosity to how the Spirit of God is at hand.

I invite you to open yourself to this sense of the Holy, to let go of trying to puzzle it all out in your brain, and even as you listen and pray, when you sense the Spirit hovering, to allow yourself to receive it. Let it wash over you, let your self be immersed, even baptised, in Presence of the Holy, even if it comes in an unexpected guise.

Every Blessing

Lissy

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch.

Friends,

As we continue our Lenten look at the mess we are always moving through, we come to the story Jesus told of a rich man and a poor man. (Luke 16:19-31)

I found myself wondering about the ways in which I construct 'chasms' or false distinctions between me and others whom I deem unworthy or unappealing. I also wondered about the ways in which I try to cut off parts of myself which I find unattractive. How am I invited to befriend, love, receive or care for these parts of myself?

May you be ushered into love as you pray. 

Every blessing 🙏🏽

Lissy

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch.

 

Dear Friends,

Lenten greetings.

When choosing which passages to work with in these meditations, I tend to lean towards the most positive, hopeful and encouraging bits of the Bible that I can find.

In the midst of all that we struggle with, I feel that we primarily need hope and love and peace spoken over us. I also have a wild faith in the power of Love to transform us, and in Christ's beautiful invitation to intimacy and union. Bringing you into this invitation is my primary desire in making these meditations.

Lent, however, is a good time to gaze at what is broken and difficult. Jesus did that himself, and, in my experience, offers a presence and a friendship to stand beside us, and gaze with us, at the sticky, painful bits of our inner and outer worlds. 

With that in mind, we will be looking at brokenness - all that is difficult and wearying - in our meditations over the next few weeks, noticing how it is handled throughout Biblical texts. 

May these stories continue to help you make sense of your own story, and may this practice of ‘beholding the pain’ in a safe context bear gifts of life for you. Do take care of yourself, don't address more than you are ready to, and turn to safe people for support when you need it.

Blessings, always, as you pray.

Lissy

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's monthly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch.

A gentle practice to rest in God's love, using a combination of lectio divina and centering prayer. 

Blessings as you pray.

Lissy

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's monthly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

All music by Pete Hatch.

Dear Friends, Today a meditation with the gifts of winter. In this guided meditation, you will imagine yourself in a winter scene, listening to the wintry landscape as it teaches you about how to live in the cold and fallow seasons. Job knew that the natural world understood the fundamental truth of things, understood who God is and how God works Job: 12:7 But ask the animals, and they will teach you,     or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; 8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,     or let the fish in the sea inform you. 9 Which of all these does not know     that the hand of the Lord has done this? And John Scotus Eriugena, the medieval theologian and celitc Christian saw all of creation as sacred text. So today we ask, together with contemplatives down the ages, what might the winter of January have to teach me? As always, if you don't feel safe in a meditation, do bring your attention out of that space and return to the breath, or something else that feels calm and loving. Blessings, dear ones. L Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina. Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" http://eepurl.com/hkbDFP or join our Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1905953786386080/ For more information please visit www.contemplativeathome.com. All music by Pete Hatch. instagram.com/brother.boost

In this 18 minute meditation, you are invited to remember the baptism of Jesus, and to explore where you are at just now, how you stand on the brink of something new and possible, and how you might like to open yourself to the Spirit of God at this juncture. You may want to use this meditation to pray about the next few months, or the next year.

No matter who we are, or where we are headed, we all need to hear the words "you are my precious one. You are beloved." 

If you aren't familiar with Jan Richardson's poem Beloved is Where we Begin, I commend it to you.

The text in this meditation is from Matthew 3:13-17, NIV.

Blessings, always, as you pray. 

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Your support makes a HUGE difference! If you enjoy these meditations, please consider sharing them with a friend, giving a rating on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

All music by my dear bro, Pete Hatch.

This is a 20-minute meditation with the magi, who studied the stars, and followed a star whose rising signified the birth of the King of the Jews. 

This mindful meditation gives you space to prayerfully reflect on Matthew 2:1-3 & 7-12, the visit of the magi, and to consider what insights the account may have for you. I find this a particularly helpful new year meditation, though it is by no means specific to a particular time of year.

We don't know that the bearers of gold, frankinsense and myrrh were kings, or how many of them there there were. What we do know is that they brought three gifts, that they were astrologers, likely Zoroastrian, and that they came from the east.

I am reminded in my annual reading of Elizabeth Goudge's children's book I Saw Three Ships, that gold, frankincense and myrrh may represent wealth, worship and death, three profound gifts we may offer to the Giver of all.

Blessings on you.

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

Further details www.contemplativeathome.com.

All music by Pete Hatch.

 

A meditation for the fourth week of Advent, with the prophecies of Isaiah 11.

Blessings as you pray. 🙏🏽

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

Further details www.contemplativeathome.com.

All music by Pete Hatch.

We begin the liturgical year now, in Advent, starting with the cries of our hearts out of the profound need within and around us. The need for restoration, for justice, for wholeness, for peace. Isaiah 35, (read here from the Message), points to a time of healing and life, blossoming and singing. It invites us to dare to hope, in the bleakest of places. Come, thou long-expected Jesus Born to set thy people free From our fears and sins release us Let us find our rest in Thee. Advent blessings and much love, Lissy Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina. Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" http://eepurl.com/hkbDFP or join our Facebook group here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1905953786386080/ For more information please visit www.contemplativeathome.com. All music by Pete Hatch. instagram.com/brother.boost

A meditation with Matthew 20:20-23

What is it that you want?

The mother of James and John has come to ask that her children might sit at the right and left hands of Jesus in his kingdom. But what is it that she most deeply wants? Power? Security? Honour? Status? Love? Which of her wounds propels her to make this request? And does she understand what Jesus' kingdom will look like?

May this story help to reveal your own story, may this question become a question for you.

Grace and peace 🙏🏽

Contemplative at Home offers guided meditative prayer - space to slow down and listen to the truth that is being born out of God's love for you today - drawing on Ignatian spirituality and at times, Lectio Divina.

Sign up for Lissy's weekly newsletter "The Contemplative Window" or join our Facebook group here

Support the show by sharing it with a friend, rating it on your preferred podcast platform, or by becoming a member for just a few $ or £ per month. Thank you so much!

Further details www.contemplativeathome.com.

All music by Pete Hatch.