Contemplation means different things in different schools of spirituality. For Ignatians it meant becoming personally present through the imagination in an event in the life of Christ ( From A Method of Contemplation, Spiritual exercises of St.Ignatius, Loyola- Manresa Retreat House, Pickering, Ontario).
Mysteries walk- Manresa-Jan 2023
On this visit to Mississauga by Sagar the family came with me to Manresa where we walked through the labyrinth and then we went to the Pickering waterfront. Applying the exercise of contemplation which should be closed with a colloquy – I told them how we can use the imagination in prayer to access to a deeper level of ourselves than we are generally conscious of.
In our personal journeys as a family, we have stayed in Biblical lands and Malta is the site of the shipwreck of St.Paul
A colloquy is simply a conversation – by speaking exactly as one friend speaks to another. So spend time in meditation, contemplation, imagination and speak to your Higher Power to express one’s desires, gratitude or needs.
Tree of Renewed Life-Manresa chapel- Jan 02,2023
The Labyrinth-Manresa-Jan 2023
Previous perspectives- Niagara Walk- 2013-January-Exploring local histories
One day we went to Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (AKM) when Sagar had come to Mississauga from New York for his winter break. As we walked through the galleries we had a communion with some exhibits, came in better touch with our own experiences of the past decades.
In the early 19th century, two British sisters, Elizabeth Gwillim (1763-1807) and Mary Symonds (b.1772) produced hundreds of watercolours of the local flora and fauna , and landscapes around Madras (present day Chennai) in Southern India. Elizabeth’s paintings of 104 species represent a substantial contribution to ornithology in India. This is a continuation of the tradition of nature studies which has a long history in Indian, Persian, Arabic art and literature.
Thinking places expanded this year to New York State as Sagar shifted there. However, Brant Street, Burlington and the surrounding areas remain one of my favourite thinking places.
READING JOURNALS
Did some readings around Pickering. This evolves many lovely walks around Old Mills-on the Humber. This year, one of my mentors passed away physically. He taught us how to view literature through the post colonial lens. Prayed and remembered our many discussions together at the Tripoli cafes around the Libyan chapter of the Arab spring.
SPIRITUAL JOURNALS
Looking back at some of our thinking places, and the many energies, memories associated with them.
Royal Ontario Museum-2017Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery-TripoliWith my Mamaji. Sudhir Bahuguna- walks in the HimalayasXlendi- The tower guarding the mouth of the bay was built by the Grandmaster Juan de Lascaris-Castellar on 29 June 1650.2009-Walks in Khadra Forest-Tripoli1968- Delhi-
see blog Skype parenting http://wp.me/piL5Q-t7Sabratha..2007OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERASLEIMA-MALTA-2011- We did not inherit this earth from our ancestors, we borrowed it from our Children..Native American ProverbSagar-Sliema-Malta-2012EDWARDS GARDENS-Toronto Botanical Society- This year Sahil became taller than meTHE RHODODENDRON SOCIETY OF CANADA-Edwards Gardens-Leslie Street-TorontoWalksGOZO CITADEL
See blog-
MUSEUMS WITH CHILDREN
https://prashantbhatt.com/museums-with-the-children/WALKS- 2004-LEPTIS MAGNA (Modern day Khoms)-Libya..The birthplace of Roman Emperor Septimus Severus2011- Revolution in Libya
“ All British nationals were told to leave. I hold a British and Libyan passport. But I chose to stay behind. I am from this land. Whatever happens to the people here, will happen to me”
Shara Jraba discussions
When I asked him can I record his interviews on camera he replied.
“Doctor ! In the Tripoli of today, I cannot even trust my mother. You never know what pressures a person can be put under to make statements. Record what you want, in writing, but nothing on camera.”
4 generations of our family have walked Lodhi Gardens..This was in October 1999, with Dada ji of Agra https://prashantbhatt.com/2008/12/23/an-afternoon-at-lodhi-gardens-delhi/FIRST TIME IN MALTA-SEP 2010
Newark airport notes: July 2022: After leaving Sagar at his new place in NYC, I spent a few hours reflecting on past journeys. Remembering the first time they came to Tripoli from Delhi on Feb 25,2004 and Malta from Mumbai on Sep 24,2010 . Airport diaries are a part of a separate special notebook which I keep. This year, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, passed away in November. Nasseri spent many years stuck at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris . As a person who has spent many lonely hours in different terminals of the world, I could identify in with Nasseri in a special way.
UNIVESAL ENERGIES
Connecting with the universal energies. One of such places is Algonquin
Algonquin-July 2022
Manresa-May 2022
REMEMBERING PAST YEARS-AND GENERATIONS
One of the meditations, reflections I did on my elder son Sagar leaving for New York was the India of 1960s when his grand parents first left their homes. My father PNB left Delhi to serve in the North East after his graduation. He returned to those areas again in 1970s-1980s, and I remember him sending us first day covers, leaves, butterflies from the North East-Nagaland- which were not seen in the Western India Sahyadri area or the Northern India Shimla Himalayas areas.
My father-in-law- (Sagar’s Nana ji) left Karachi when British India became India and Pakistan. In the early 1960s he joined Nirlon, Mumbai. He describes his struggles of those years.
These are part of the family memories and legacies which Sagar will carry with him on the next phase of his life. I remembered my own years when I first stayed away from home in Delhi in 1980s. The associations with the campuses of Delhi university and the walks in Firoz Shah Kotla, Lodhi gardens areas. Leaving India in 2003-made me discover Northern Africa-Libya and we later stayed in Malta for two years.
Prashant Bhatt's notes 