Report on the Essential Teaching School held at Sneaton Castle Centre, Whitby 17th-19th May 2002 Travelling to Whitby was an exciting trip for us to take since we are Americans now living in London. After crossing the beautiful and foggy moors of North Yorkshire, we arrived at the Sneaton Castle Centre, rich in history and near the sea. It is a quiet place of peace, the peace we often strive for through our meditation. It set an appropriate mood for our gathering. We were impressed that the first thing we did when we gathered together early Friday evening was meditate. Kim pointed out to us, that it was a way for the sixteen of us to get to know one another on a deep level. We found that to be true. After we had centred, we each shared our faith journey and our experiences with meditation. Although there was a diversity of life experiences, a common thread could be found in all of our stories. We had found a deeper connection with God and within the combined energy of our group. Each of us left that evening feeling that this was going to be a rewarding weekend. Saturday morning was devoted to two teaching sessions, interspersed with periods of meditation. John Auer’s presentation on the Essential Teaching was concise, filled with humour and stressed the practical aspects of meditation. He provided reassurance to all of us when he spoke about the distractions and hindrances that often confront us in our practise. His insights were most helpful as we divided into groups to discuss the Essential Teaching. Before lunch, David Wood gave a talk on the History of the Tradition. This helped ground our practise of meditation within the context of the Christian faith. Again, his excellent insights greatly assisted the groups as we met to discuss his presentation. The questions, laughter and meditation were guiding us to develop more depth as a group, with all of us longing to learn from each other. After lunch on Saturday, we viewed a video by Fergal McLoughlin on Communication Skills. This video was shown to assist us as we prepared to give our meditation talks. Kim commented that our group seemed less apprehensive about the presentations than previous schools. Our individual presentations were again done in our small groups -groups in which we now felt comfortable. We discovered that each member of the groups gave their presentations from completely different angles, but again, each contained the same common thread. Each of us felt much more confident in our ability to give a presentation on meditation after this important exercise. Sunday morning was devoted to more meditation and our third teaching session, provided by Kim Nataraja. Kim’s presentation on the Stages of the Journey and the Psychology of Meditation provided us with a holistic view of the practise of meditation and some of the psychological factors that need to be considered. It was simply amazing that she was able to give so much relevant information in such a brief period of time. Handouts summarising each step were provided for us throughout the weekend, as well as a helpful booklet to aid us in our own teaching of meditation. David Wood then led us in a celebration of the Eucharist, which was most appropriate as it was Pentecost Sunday. The wonderful liturgy and time of meditation provided us with a sense of closure to what had been an exciting and fulfilling weekend. After lunch we gathered to explore the question ‘Where do we go from here?’. It was helpful to hear about some of the upcoming events that are available through WCCM. Sneaton Centre was an excellent venue for the School for Teachers. The food was excellent and in ample supply. The grounds were beautiful and were especially appreciated during our periods of walking meditation. Our time together was well organised and provided a good balance between meditation and presentations. We should give special thanks to Kim, David, John and Shankar Nataraja for all of their efforts to make this an enjoyable and fruitful time. We returned to London feeling refreshed and renewed. We also returned celebrating the fact that I had learned more about World Community of Christian Meditation and had made some new friends. Ronald Garner and Maurene O’Hagan, 36 The Reddings, Mill Hill, London NW7 4JR