Hi all!
It’s been a while coming, but I’ve finally found a domain name and format for ideas which have been brewing for—well, a few years.
The ideas emerged while I was learning to teach meditation in Spain in 2014. Our teacher often talked about living life 200%. I mean, we all, surely, would like to live life fully—so that’s 100%. Which is what made the 200% intriguing. It’s an appealing idea at an emotional or unconscious level, even though it’s mathematically impossible to live “twice as much!”
The suggestion at this mediation retreat was that by meditation alone, you could live 200%, the fullest life possible. A fellow meditation teacher and friend of mine even wrote a book called “200% An Instruction Manual for Living Fully.”
The original draft of this website was 200pclife.com, which I planned as a source of information and inspiration for people interested in meditation.
It never quite took off, and as time passed, I realised that there was something missing, something more to a full life than meditation alone. Don’t get me wrong, meditation can and does enhance life considerably (even though it seems counterintuitive this is the result of sitting quietly for long periods of time doing… very little it would seem.)
Around three years ago, I started reading the work of Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest in the USA whose ideas have, in my view, far transcended what one might expect from a Catholic priest. I’d go so far as to say his thinking is beyond the Roman Catholic priesthood, beyond conventional Christianity, beyond religion as most people think of it. I hear he jokes that the church thinks he’s too old to be excommunicated.
He has set up an organisation in Albuquerque, New Mexico called the Center for Action and Contemplation. I found the linking of Contemplation (or meditation) with Action very appealing. Even more when I heard that when asked, “So, Action and Contemplation – what’s the most important word?”, he replied “And!” So, action and contemplation are both vitally important.
I’m going to be bringing together ideas from Rohr and many other sources, especially from New Zealand/Aotearoa where the indigenous Maori people have some deeply meaningful concepts to contribute.
It’s early days – I only wrote this today because some friends were teasing me, asking when the site would be live. Thanks, Margaret and others!
cheers
Paul