London: Christian meditation centre to hold seminar on justice

A former criminal who discovered meditation during a ten year prison sentence; leading law-makers, law reformers and mediation teachers will be taking part in a two day seminar beginning tomorrow (Tuesday) to explore the spiritual dimension of justice and the ways the teaching of meditation in prison can assist people in their personal growth.

In a society that is increasingly dependent on legislation to define its values and run its institutions, what is happening to justice? How do we know what is the 'right' thing to do? How do we handle conflict with those who think differently from ourselves? How do we deal with people who do 'wrong' things? The answers to these questions not only take us to the heart of our legal and social systems but to the heart of our very selves. This Meditatio Seminar will explore the spiritual dimension of justice revealed in all these responses.

The first day will consist of dialogue with three law-makers, lawyers and judges all of whom have a spiritual dimension to their personal lives: Helena Kennedy - a leading Human Rights lawyer and member of the House of Lords; Richard Cogswell - an Australian judge with experience of teaching meditation in socially deprived areas and Sean Hagan - an international lawyer and General Counsel of the IMF Andrew Phillips - a lawmaker in the House of Lords and Founder of the Citizenship Foundation.

The second day will focus on prisons and how meditation can transform an otherwise destructive experience into one of spiritual growth. The dialogue will be led by: Paul Myners CBE - Lord Myners is President of The Howard League for Penal Reform; James Bishop - who found meditation during a ten year sentence in a Californian prison and later wrote 'A Way in the Wilderness'; Sam Settle - Director of The Prison Phoenix Trust that brings meditation and spiritual practice into prisons and Allison Waterhouse - Methodist Minister and Resettlement Chaplain HMP Wandsworth.

The day will be chaired by Laurence Freeman, Benedictine monk and Director of The World Community for Christian Meditation.

The seminar takes place at Tthe Meditatio Centre, St Marks, Myddelton Square, London EC1R 1XX. Cost £50 each day or £80 for both days. Concessions available.
Online booking at: www.wccmmeditatio.org/events-meditatio-seminar-justice
For further enquiries e-mail: meditatio@wccm.org or call 020 7278 2070