SUMEDHA OUTREACH TO THE BRAHMAPUTRA

Jose Parappully, Director of Sumedha Centre, was invited to facilitate a workshop for the Major Superiors of religious congregations – Provincials and Generals – of the North Eastern region.

The theme of the two-day workshop was “A Mature Spirituality of Today.” The workshop was held at Don Bosco Institute on the banks of the Brahmaputra river in Guwahati on 14-15 May. Thirty four Major Superiors participated.

The keynote address at the workshop was delivered by Most Rev. Thomas Menamparambil, Archbishop Emeritus of Guwhati. He spoke of a Missionary Spirituality of Involvement and Encounter.

Parappully took three sessions of 90 minutes each on the two days. He traced the development and shifts in paradigms, from Dualistic-Mechanistic to the Holistic-Ecological and their impact on spirituality.

The Dualistic-Mechanistic paradigm dominated during the Modern Period, roughly from 1600 to 1950. This is the period in which most currently surviving Catholic religious orders and congregations were founded. He showed how the spirituality of these orders and congregations were influenced by the Dualistic-Mechanistic paradigm prevalent during that period.

Parappully went on the describe the developments in the sciences, especially in Quantum Physics, that undermined the Dualistic-Mechanistic paradigm and which led to the emergence of a new paradigm, namely, the Holistic-Ecological, which is influencing every sphere of life today.

He described 17 characteristics of a spirituality that the changed paradigm calls for. He presented solidarity and communion as the heart of this holistic-ecological-cosmic spirituality.

Participants observed that the workshop had helped to clarify, deepen and expand their understanding of spirituality. It provided them, they said, practical tools to incorporate this new spirituality into their daily lives. They also commented on the excellent quality of the inputs as well as the tools and techniques used in the workshop which made it a very meaningful and exciting experience for them.

The workshop was organised by VM Thomas, the National President of the Conference of Religious of India with the help of the Executive members of the Regional Conference of Religious of the North East.

Parappully will be facilitating another workshop – on Revitalization of Religious Life – for the Major Superiors of the region in September this year.

22nd SUMEDHA SADHANA – AN APPRECIATION

The two month’s “Sumedha Sadhana: A Psychospritual Wholeness Journey” (March 12- May 10) was a wonderfully integrated programme of spirituality and psychology which has enriched and strengthened each member of the group.

The programme brought together the best resource persons. We gained so much from the Stages of psychological development, basic psychological needs, attachment theory, process spirituality, Centering prayer facilitated by Jose Parappully; Jungian Perspectives on Self-Awareness by Ajoy Fernandes; Stories: Ours, Jesus’ and the Universe’s by Gerard Alwarez; and Sexuality, Celibacy and Intimacy by Joe Mannath.

The highlights of the whole programme were Group Therapy, facilitated by Jose Parappully and Peter Lourdes and the spiritual retreat which Parappully guided.

The outings, both the tea by the stream and the picnic to the lakes, were also among the high points of our stay at Sumedha.

We appreciate the thoughtfully prepared and exhaustive handouts that each one of us received which contain a wealth of information which we not only used while at Sumedha but which we can continue to use in future. Besides we were also provided carefully selected books which we could read in order to supplement both the class inputs as well as the reading material we had received. Reflection on movies screened helped us to understand the inputs received in class better.

The liturgies were made prayerful, meaningful, creative and alive through careful preparation. The psychosomatic and dynamic meditations helped integrate body, mind and spirit.

The welcome we received and the care with which our every need was attended to, the minute attention given to things needed in the rooms were remarkable.

With gratitude and love,

The Sumedha Sadhana Group (March 12-May 10, 2013)

GROUP THERAPY, PICNIC AND RETREAT

Group Therapy, one of the most important modules of Sumedha Sadhana, was conducted for 10 consecutive days between April 22 and May 1.

Three 90-minute sessions were held each day. Participants were divided into two groups. One group was led by Peter Lourdes PhD, a psychotherapist based in Kolkata. The other was led by Jose Parappully PhD, the Programme Director at Sumedha Centre.

The day following conclusion of group therapy, participants went together on a picnic to the lakes. They visited three of the famous lakes in the neighbourhood of Sumedha Centre, namely, Naukuchiatal, Bhimtal and Sattal and had great fun.

On May 4 begins the concluding module and the integrative climax of Sumedha Sadhana, namely, the 6-day Spiritual Retreat. It will be facilitated by Jose Parappully.

The next Sumedha Sadhana begins on May 20th an concludes on June 30th.