2017 TAO EXPERIENCE - MT ARCHER

Post date: Aug 24, 2017 10:10:59 AM

Week One

Six participating Brothers all arrived at The Archer Spirituality Centre on the 13th August from as far south as Tasmania, as far North as Papua New Guinea and as far West as Western Australia. The first day was spent quietly orientating ourselves to our new surroundings. Tony Hempenstall, Peter Harney and Mercy Sr. Val Dickinson are our companions on the journey and, judging from our first week’s experience, it should prove to be a wonderful time. We will be spending seven weeks in a beautiful part of Queensland overlooking the Glass House Mountains. As a bonus we are experiencing early summer weather conditions which suit most of us very well indeed.

The week began with the Welcoming Ritual led by the Team and assisted by members of the wider Archer community- Mary & Daryl Nelson, Di and Paul Harney. It concluded with the Labyrinth Walk. The rest of the week was spent sharing our personal stories. Val, Peter and Tony introduced themselves and shared their own stories which helped in putting us at ease with the process. We were stunned by the extraordinary openness shown in the sharing of each Brother’s life journey. Other highlights were the gentle easing us into the TAO rhythm as well as the visit of Gerard Brady and Bernard Gartland from the Leadership Team. We thank the OLT for this opportunity and ask everyone for their prayerful support so that it will be an enjoyable and transformative experience for us all.

A regular newsletter will try to capture some of the events as well as a few photos to help share our reflections on the experiences. The photos below might give those who have never been to the Archer an idea of our ideal surroundings as well as the names of the participants.

(Peter Thrupp & Jim Darcy)