ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
by contemplativeinquiry
I first registered Contemplative Inquiry on 28 August 2012 and WordPress have sent me 12th anniversary greetings. That’s a long-term project by my historic standards. True, the first two years were tentative and I took an 8 month break in 2018/9. But my contemplative inquiry, both as blog and as practice, now feels like a settled part of my life. I continue to ground it in a form of modern Druidry with, Janus-like, both pagan and universalist faces.
Through my inquiry, I came over the years to understand myself as, at heart, ‘living presence in a field of living presence in a more than human world’. This may sound like something of a formula, but it is at least my own formula, providing a compressed account of my experience and understanding, It is not connected to any particular belief system, and arose through a simple recognition of what seems to be given to us, in joy and sorrow alike.
When I open and deepen to living presence, a gestalt of self-and-world, not just self, reveals itself in a sometimes transfiguring way. It is not complicated to practice or experience. In consequence I have found myself nudged, however haltingly, towards a spirit of openness, an acceptance that nothing stays the same, an ethic of interdependence and a life of abundant simplicity.
I no longer think of the inquiry as a path or journey. It is more like a deepening, or maturation, in place. Looking back at early blog posts I find seeds of my current view right at the beginning of my inquiry. As early as 2 September 2012 I wrote about Satish Kumar’s experience (1,2) of outdoor walking meditation. It made a strong impression on me. The difference today is that I have internalised it and given it my own unique flavour. This year I celebrate a clearer understanding and a more confident voice. I am grateful both to influences like Satish Kumar and to the version of me who launched this inquiry twelve years ago..
(1) https://contemplativeinquiry.blog/2012/09/02/outdoor-walking-meditation/
(2) Satish Kumar You Are, Therefore I AM; A Declaration of Dependence Totnes, 2002: Green Books
Contemplative Inquiry 
One tends to want to make progress, but progress implies a journey with some kind of end or goal, something that will forever be illusive. So, your reference to maturation or deepening resonates well. Living Presence or The Eternal Now transcends time
Thanks for this comments John. That’s how I see it too.
Happy anniversary. I’ve been blogging since 2012 too and contrastingly have decided to stop at this point as the costs outweigh the benefits for me. It’s been lovely sharing your journey and thank you for sharing mine.
Thanks for you appreciative comment Sister Patience. I’m selfishly sorry that you won’t be continuing your own blog, though I also understand it. My best wishes to you for the coming stages of your journey.