Garden meditation

St. John’s Church received this wonderful invitation from Jean Morrison earlier this summer:

Heather McGregor, former chaplain for Nova Scotia Health, will be co-leading the contemplation in the garden. The opportunity will be to practice being in the moment, as best we can, through guided experiences. We look forward to being together in a beautiful setting!
Jean (Morrison)

On Monday, August 29, about 12 people gathered in the Quiet Garden at Kent Lodge, courtesy of Pat Moore. With chairs gathered in a circle and coffee or lemonade to hand out, we settled into a journey exploring various ways of quiet contemplation.

​To begin we used our senses to become aware of the things in the garden we could discover from our places. We focused upon things we could see, hear, smell, and taste OR touch. We were invited to think about God’s presence as another sense we could experience. Our reflections were varied but similarly grateful for being together in the Quiet Garden -- where so much is brought to the senses.

---

Our journey turned to our sense of hearing. Heather’s notes were thought provoking. We were encouraged to accept all that we could hear whether it was pleasant or not in our opinion. The idea of poetic beats in chanting was explored. The science of patterns in speech, breath patterns and music are profound. For a while we listened to Gregorian chant. Our reflections were varied and thoughtful.

We had a brief break and then Jean led us in an exercise of Mindfulness linking to the Buddhist tradition. The addition of Centred Prayer illuminated the difference meditational practice has for Christians. The way one sits, chants, prays, and focuses was a point of discussion as we reflected upon this experience.

---

Our final part of this journey was to walk about the garden. This practice involved stepping slowly and purposely as we intentionally monitored how our weight shifted as steps were made. As we became at ease with this step making, we could feel the difference between automatic and intentional responses. If one wished, one could chant “Jesus walked this earth, Jesus walks with me.” The concepts of habit and practice were part of our reflections after this exercise. The relational aspect in this practice is strong.

Participants included St. John’s Anglican Church and Wolfville Baptist Church members. We thank Jean and Heather for their thoughtful preparation and sharing of their learning. We thank Pat for the beautiful morning in the Quiet Garden. We thank those who help this garden to maintain such a pleasurable gift to our community.