WAKING UP TO THE NOW – INSPIRED BY ANTHONY DE MELLO

I used to be stone deaf. I would see people stand up and go through all kinds of gyrations. They called it dancing. It looked absurd to me – until one day I heard the music.

From The Song of the Bird

As Anthony de Mello used to say – he discovered something that turned his life upside down. It revolutionised his life. He became a new man.

This is what I will be sharing with you during this retreat.  Maybe ten days will be enough to see what he saw. After all he claims it is so simple to understand that a seven-year old child could understand. He often was asked: “You’re a priest, aren’t you? How come you discovered this so late? Hadn’t you read the Gospels?”  - And he would answer: “Of course I had read the Gospels but I hadn’t seen it. It was right there, but I hadn’t seen it. Later, having discovered it, I found it in all the major religious writings, and I was amazed. I wished to God I’d found this when I was younger. Oh, what a difference it would have made.”

Will you be open to his guidance and allow yourself to enter into his way of looking at the world? In silence and reflection and contemplative sharing we will explore some of Anthony de Mello’s writings, and in prayer and worship we will deepen our awareness of the One who holds us in loving providence as we venture into the mystery of life.

I look forward to sharing this exciting retreat time with you at the beautiful St. Lucia Center.

Fr Chris Schönenberger is the founder and director of Ha-Phororo retreat centre in Gauteng. He is part of the family of regular retreat leaders here at the centre. His retreats appeal to a broad range of people from many different backgrounds, faiths and spiritual practices.

Register your interest here:

An adventure in curating your world through images

This is for everybody, especially those with a passion for creative expression.

It's a light hearted journey of personal discovery through your images. We live in a world where some 5.3 billion new images are generated every day. Some believe a picture takes a part of your soul. No doubt soul is there in abundance if we care to find it.

This is less about technique and technology than seeing, celebrating light and immersing yourself in a world of yours and other’s visual stories. On this journey you will find inspiration, kindred souls and new ideas about how to live your best life.

We want all of you - seasoned professionals to startup doodlers and selfie shooters; all together.

Here are some aspects that will be woven together in your 3 days and 4 nights here.   

Meet and peep  | Technical corner | About light | About sight | The ruthless edit | The camera points backwards | Intent - razor sharp and none at all | Mark making - an added layer | The all important metaphor | A possible visit to the lost cathedral | Comfort zones

Who knows what else might pop up?

COST R4300, all in. Please let us have your details if you are interested, even if you can't make it. There may be another or an online component.

Your conductor and accompanist is none other than Cedric Nunn. With a successful internationally respected career in social documentary photography, film, and teaching. He remains one of the most important figures in the narratives of contemporary art practice on the continent.

- 4th-generation hybridised, born, raised and based in South Africa. He began making photographs in 1982, joining the Johannesburg based photographic association and agency Afrapix in the same year and was a member until it closed in 1990. He has continued to work independently as a documentary photographer and artist, showing his work in galleries and museums in South Africa and abroad. 

In 2011, he won the inaugural FNB Joburg Art Fair Prize, and was awarded the eThekwini Living Legends Award in 2016. 

He has published two monographs, “Call and Response” and “Unsettled: 100 Years War of Xhosa Resistance Against Boer and British”. 

He also conceived and directed two video documentaries, “Blood Relatives” and “In the Shadow of Isandlwana: The Rorke’s Drift Arts Centre Story”. 

Cedric now lives in Mangethe, on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast.

Rob Mills, is your stage manager, contributor and host. He started out life as an engineer in the electronic media industry. He has since worked with some of South Africa's most respected dance companies and choreographers, making a name for himself with his photographic and video work in theatres over the past two decades. Rob's work has been exhibited and published locally and internationally.

Rob now runs a retreat centre in St Lucia with Pam his wife.