Now here is a first… In 2025 I will present an 8 week online program featuring meditation and especially contemplation. Having taught contemplation in various residential retreats and programs over the years, and experienced it transform my life and the life of many others, it will be a delight to present this material in an easily accessible format – online.
So this week, some insights into the breadth and depth of what contemplation has to offer, plus some detail of what the program will cover, along with good wishers for 2025, but first,
Thought for the day
Contemplation is a process
Of thinking about a particular matter
Over and over in a meditative fashion.
Contemplation has the intention
Of thinking that matter through clearly,
As well as developing creativity and insight.
There is also the real possibility
That through contemplation
One may access intuition
And come to more fully embody
One’s own personal truth.
Ian Gawler
We often hear about contemplation. People seem to revere it as a very useful tool for developing clear thinking, gaining insight, developing intuition and creativity, and even as a process that helps us to take a new concept from being an intellectual theory, into something we actually embody. However, contemplation is rarely taught and there are very few books that provide details of how to do it formally.
In my own experience, contemplation is an essential part of the creative process. For many years now, whenever I have needed to write something significant, I have used contemplation to think the matter through sequentially, and then to open the door to insight and intuition – and the full creative process.
I love the practice of contemplation.
It is one of my very favourite things to teach.
Another reason for this is contemplation bridges the Active Mind - which with all its thoughts and emotions is the domain of the intellect, and the Still Mind which is beyond all that activity and is the domain of wisdom.
During the 8 weeks of the program we will meditate together each session, and I will share some meditation practice tips and deepen the theory that supports the practice.
However, the main content will focus upon contemplation - its techniques, theory and practice. The program has been designed for those new to all this, as well as the more experienced. It will be highly experiential and interactive, with time for questions and answers… Plus we will email you summaries of the key points from each week, and you will be able to access recordings of each session for up to 3 months so you can go over the content or revisit the many guided practices.
Meditation and Contemplation – 8 weeks online with Ian Gawler
Every Thursday from February the 13th at 7.30 to 9.00pm AEDT (check your time zone).
Bookings: CLICK HERE
And as a bonus, here are some more definitions, along with how contemplation is regarded in different traditions – enjoy…
CONTEMPLATION
General definition - from the Oxford Dictionary
Contemplation: The act of thinking about or pondering over a thing continuously, musing, meditation.
The action of viewing as a possibility or as a purpose; taking into account, prospect, intention.
Contemplate: be occupied in contemplation, ponder, view mentally, consider in a particular aspect.
Look at with continuous attention, observe thoughtfully, regard as possible, expect, take into account as a contingency.
Have in view as a purpose, intend.
The author, Ian Gawler’s working definition:
Contemplation is a process of thinking about a particular matter over and over in a meditative fashion. Contemplation has the intention of thinking that matter through clearly, as well as developing creativity and insight. There is also the real possibility that through contemplation one may access intuition and come to more fully embody one’s own personal truth.
Contemplation in Greek Philosophy
Contemplation was integral to Plato’s philosophy. Plato stated that through contemplation, the soul may ascend to knowledge of the Form of the Good, or other divine Forms. Here, Forms are defined as perfect, eternal, and changeless concepts existing outside space and time; the Form of the Good is the mysterious highest Form and the source of all the other Forms.
Contemplation in a religious context
The practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with religious practices such as meditation or prayer. Some examples:
Christianity
The anonymous 14th Century text, Cloud of Unknowing makes clear that the practice of contemplation is not an act of the intellect, but a kind of transcendent 'seeing,' beyond the usual activities of the mind.
In Catholicism, St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: "It is requisite for the good of the human community that there should be persons who devote themselves to the life of contemplation." One of his disciples, Josef Pieper commented: "For it is contemplation which preserves in the midst of human society the truth which is at one and the same time useless and the yardstick of every possible use; so it is also contemplation which keeps the true end in sight, gives meaning to every practical act of life."
In Eastern Christianity, contemplation literally means to see God or to have the Vision of God.
Judaism
Contemplation has been a central part of Jewish tradition throughout history, and is a focus of the growing Contemplative Judaism movement - a new, more universalist theology that sees God as a force/consciousness/Presence known through experience, and recognized through a wide range of practices including traditional liturgy and commandments, but also through meditation, experience in nature, and art.
In Judaism, contemplative practices include silence, quieting the mind, concentration, and cultivating ethical and spiritual qualities.
Islam
It is said Muhammad would go into the desert, climb a mountain known as Mount Hira, and seclude himself from the world. While on the mountain, he would contemplate life and its meaning.
Bahai
Baha’u’llah and Abdu’l-Baha wrote about contemplation and meditation in regard to reflecting on beauty, the Kingdom of God, science, and the arts. Abdu'l-Baha stated that "the sign of the intellect is contemplation, and the sign of contemplation is silence... he cannot both speak and meditate".
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