Contemporary Spirituality

This is from my new substack - and website. You can find my books here and all my new writing will be available on this page.

'Theology of Pssibility Through a Woman's Eyes'- A woman's perspective of the Jesus of the New Testament'

- Josephine

Contemporary Spirituality (@josephinegriffiths) A woman’s perspectie on the Jesus of the New Testament

A Silent Retreat for Women
Imagine a week-end when you do not have to clean, cook or even think about what to eat.
You can have a couple of days just caring for you.
See web-site for details
contemporaryspirituality.com.au

Here's a look at my recent newsletter, if you'd like to sign up, message me at [email protected]

I've also just reopened my counselling waitlist, so if you're needing some intelligent and thoughtful support, please email the above. I can do in person and online.

Newsletter:
"We are already a quarter of the way through the new year. Wow! Lent is half-way through, so soon it will be Easter. It has been a busy three months and many of you will know that our beloved Sr Marie Thérèse died in early February, she is greatly missed by many, many people.

I have started a new ad hoc kind of blog series, the first of which has just been posted. The idea and the topics have come from what I have called “Conversation with the Preacher”. Often when I hear a sermon or read something akin, I find myself saying, “Yes, but what about…..” My new blogs are my ‘yes buts’, raising issues, like what happens if you take neurological research into account when preaching about ‘sin’; or considering the difference between God and ‘The Universe’ as the Source of all good; what do we mean by ‘deserving the best life has to offer’? These are all fairly topical issues; it is interesting to find the correspondences and the differences between Christian and secular spirituality in these life matters and to open up conversations. I hope you enjoy my pieces and that they open up your own “Yes, buts”.

As my life responsibilities have changed this year, I am again able to see more clients. Mentoring, counseling, spiritual direction, whatever you want to call it, the secret is in having someone to talk to who is not part of your scene, friends or relations, but is caring, attentive and most of all listens while you talk about what needs sorting. It is amazing what a difference such a relationship can make to life and a beaut thing about it is that you can call it up when you need it, there are no strings attached. Some people will go for a few years and then find, “I need to talk to Josephine”, one-off or a few sessions in a row, whatever is needed. Try it out when you need to sort through an issue. Give me a call."

My new series of blogs takes as a starting point the suggestion that the Jesus of religion and the Jesus of spirituality might be two distinct ways of looking at the Jesus of history. Perhaps for many people today who have no church teaching in their background, the term Son of God is meaningless. My desire in these pieces is to focus on Jesus as a man, to see in him what it is to be a truly whole human being, the fullness of humanity made actual. https://contemporaryspirituality.com.au/blog_category/encountering-women/

Lent. How do you cope if you are romantically and liturgically involved as Ash Wednesday falls on St. Valentine’s Day? For traditionally inclined Christians there is a real conflict. Love or discipline? Are they in opposition? Historically there was a disparity between love (except of the most exulted variety) and discipline, it went along with the ‘knowledge’ that discipline was pleasing to God. Love in its glorious, delicious, romantic manifestation was an embarrassment, maybe an un-funny joke, with barely a nod in the direction of it being from God, (and maybe it was God’s best joke of all!).

https://contemporaryspirituality.com.au/the-lenten-project-an-invitation/

The Advent Calendar was originally invented at the time of the Reformation, to prepare the heart and mind for the coming of Christmas. Few of today’s calendars have any faith significance but are like so many of our traditions, when the sacred has gone one is left merely with a commercial opportunity.

My Advent Calendar takes us back to the original intent, with the very up-to-date twist.

An Advent Calendar for Grown-ups - Contemporary Spirituality -DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMT4iLCJhZnRlciI6IjwvaDE+In19@

The Value of Silence.
Our live are so full of noise, these days, added to all the usual stuff we now have beeps and buzzers going off constantly reminding us to look at our phone, catch upon the news, even the washing machine has a range of beep for different ‘services’.
Imagine a whole weekend of silence, time to reflect, gather yourself, have someone else doing the cooking and the washing-up, and someone providing thoughtful, inspirational delightful input for you to contemplate; time to walk on the beach and not to have to attend to anyone else’s need or wishes. That’s what a weekend retreat offers you.
Give it a try. You won’t regret it. May 26-28.

See website for details and enrolment
contemporaryspiritulity.com.au

's retreats

Josephine Griffiths - Contemporary Spirituality see website for details and enrolment
Contemporaryspirituality.com.au

Are you a misfit, too? Do you listen for a distant drum beat or long to hear something different? The Gathering Wisdom Project that starts tomorrow and goes on to Easter may be just the thing for you. Check it out!
https://www.contemporaryspirituality.com.au/blog/postscript-to-part-ii-god #/

Postscript to Part II: God The God of Monty Python

Part III of Spirituality God and the Universe duscusses some aspects of the Human Potential Movement (HPM) as a phenomenon without defined parameters, but in which certain language, models and concepts revolve loosely around the term ‘the Universe’ to describe the Source, the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
https://www.contemporaryspirituality.com.au/blog/spirituality-god-the-universe-what-is-it-all-about-part-iii #/

Potential movement

about God

Spirituality, God, the Universe. What is it all about? Part III The ‘Universe’

https://www.contemporaryspirituality.com.au/blog/spirituality-god-the-universe-what-is-it-all-about-part-1 #/

​It is obvious to anyone who gives the matter a moment’s thought that spirituality, God and our understanding of the universe are vastly different from what they were less than fifty years ago. It is interesting to explore those differences. How they have come about, what do they mean and to what do they point? # spirituality

Spirituality, God, the Universe. What is it all about? Part 1 The Experience of God

A “One-minute sermon” for Christmas Eve I played with in This Year for Joy some years ago still has some value and lines up well with my Advent offerings and with a quote I found recently about the choice of “some extraordinarily satisfying way of living” so I thought I’d bring the two together for your delectation this Christmas Eve!
https://www.contemporaryspirituality.com.au/blog/christmas-2022 #

Christmas 2022 ​Whether we take the stories of the Birth of Jesus as historical truths or whether we see them as mythic representations of Eternal Truth, they can continue to speak to us of a greater Reality. And...