Your Divine Fire

Since I was a kid I’ve had a fascination with monks and monasteries, feeling a strong pull towards religious life. The picture of me below is from a primary school medieval day where I decided to go not as Robin Hood or a prince, but as a monk (obviously).

But this pull has clashed with the pain I feel about the judgmentalism of many forms of organised religion. At times, this has left me feeling confused and directionless. Other people I have spoken to have shared experiences of feeling brutalised by the tradition they were part of.

In 2014 I co-founded the Otautahi Urban Monastery as a safe space for men with similar experiences to recover their spiritual selves in community with other men.

During this same period I have worked as a sustainability professional, spending fifteen years co-designing and implementing sustainability strategy and practice at the University of Canterbury. This work has highlighted that a key driver of the current ecological crisis is a spiritual disconnect. How else could such poor decisions about our future be made? I believe that this same disconnect is part of the reason we also see such a crisis in mental health, with men’s mental health being particularly challenged.

For this reason, I have pivoted from a purely ‘environmentally sustainable’ focus in my work towards what I call ‘spiritual recovery’ work. This is still evolving for me and I’m keen to hear from others on this topic. My idea is to offer my services as a spiritual companion to journey with those who want to connect or reconnect with their spiritual selves, recovering this critical part of human wellbeing.

This process is sometimes called ‘the inner path’ or ‘the soul’s way’ or even simply ‘The Way’.

I am not trying to proselytise or convert anyone to any faith. I am curious not so much about religious orthodoxies, but about the living stream of divine fire at YOUR core. I'm looking forward to journeying with you.