Meditations

An abundance of different meditations has been developed since the Experiment with Light was first presented to a Quaker Meeting in late 1996. Rex Ambler's book Light to live by (see Resources page) contains as an appendix five Light meditations in modern language (two of which are reproduced on this Web site). These meditations deal with the individual, other people, the Quaker Meeting, the group and the world, respectively.

All Light meditations follow more or less the same pattern. A paragraph is read, followed by about four to seven minutes of silence. Then the next paragraph is read, followed by about the same time of silence, and so on. A meditation may be preceded by a few minutes of silence to give people the chance to 'center down'. The timing can be varied, depending on practitioners' preferences. However, the paragraphs need to be read (or played from tape/CD/audio file) in the correct succession, as they have been arranged in a particular way to enable meditators to go through exactly the same process as early Quakers went through on their discovery of the Light.

A word of caution needs to be said before you start practising. Please note that any Light meditation may trigger insights that can be very disturbing. The Light meditation is best practised within a group of friends who can provide each other emotional support when needed. If you do decide to practise it on your own, speaking from my own experience, it helps a great deal if you don't take yourself too serious.

Meditation on the individual (modern language) Download PDF
For newcomers to Experiment with Light, this is an ideal starting point. Written by Rex Ambler and later revised with help from Catherine King Ambler and Helen Meads, published in 2008 in Seeing, Hearing, Knowing (see Resources page). More advanced Light meditators may find it a bit wordy, and for them, Diana Lampen has produced a version with more concise introductions to the meditation's steps.
Play original meditation (39 minutes including long passages of silence)
Play meditation with concise introductions (39 minutes including long passages of silence)

Meditation on the world (modern language) Download PDF
Principally the same meditation as above, but this time focusing on the state of the world (or a particular issue in this context) rather than one's own individual situation. Written by Rex Ambler, published in Light to live by (see Resources page).

Old Fox-based version Download PDF
A nine-step meditation from early 1997, using quotations by George Fox and other early Friends, selected and arranged by Rex Ambler. This meditation incorporates the aspects of the individual, the group and the world. If you are interested in the sources of the quotations used, please click here for an annotated version of this meditation.

Newer Fox-based version Download PDF
A six-step meditation on the individual, using fairly short quotations by George Fox, selected, edited and arranged by Klaus Huber.
Play meditation (30 minutes including long passages of silence)

Fox-based version in modern language
A six-step meditation on the individual, using short quotations by George Fox in modernised language, taken from Rex Ambler's Fox anthology Truth of the Heart (see Resources page), selected and arranged by Diana Lampen.
Play meditation (41 minutes including long passages of silence)

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This page was last updated on 14 March 2011.