Experiment With Light Workshop
For 350 years, Quakers have talked about the light in each person. But what is it? Is our experience of the light today the same that gathered early Friends and forged them into a dynamic movement? ‘Experiment with Light’ draws upon the spiritual counsel of Quaker founder George Fox. It provides an opportunity to center our awareness in the light in a focused, intentional way. This renewal began over a decade ago with the work of Rex Ambler, a British Friend, who immersed himself in Fox’s letters of spiritual guidance and devised a guided meditation based on them. I have attended one of Rex Ambler’s workshops and found his guided meditation a powerful experience. It is non-manipulative and does not assume any particular system of belief.
‘Experiment with Light’ has been taken up in North America by Mel Keiser, retired professor of religion from Guilford College. Mel led a short workshop in Richmond last spring with the annual gathering of the Quakers in Pastoral Care and Counseling. He will lead a more extensive workshop Saturday, November 7, at the Earlham School of Religion. We will begin at 10:00 am with coffee and rolls, then move into Mel’s introduction and our first meditation at 10:30. A free, simple lunch will be provided around noon. More meditations will follow the afternoon. We will close by 4:30. The focus of meditation sessions will move from a personal focus in the morning, to meditations in the afternoon on one’s community, Meeting, or the world. This free workshop is co-sponsored by Earlham’s Newlin Center for Quaker Thought and Practice and by First Friends Meeting. It will help planning for lunch and refreshments if you call the Newlin Center (983-1605) in advance.
