Forums > Tunbridge Wells > Experiment with Light Invitation
by Elizabeth Ann Raymond (Betty)

Elizabeth Ann Raymond (Betty)	What is the Experiment with Light?   Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:02:53 GMT
	The Experiment with Light is a movement within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) that aims at putting our lives under the guidance of the Light. (The word experiment is used in its 17th century sense as in “this I know experimentally” - in other words “from experience”.) It is based on extensive work by Rex Ambler, who has made a detailed study of the Works of George Fox. Rex discerned what he thinks drew people into and kept them in Quakerism: experience of the Light, not only as guiding one in his or her life, but as revealing one's own condition. Rex has devised a guided process, based on early Friends’ writings, that takes us step by step through a process of self-discovery, helping us to see ourselves in a new way. As we learn to wait in the Light It simply shows us what is true about ourselves and our situation, and prevents us from self-deception. The Light does not judge or condemn; It reveals reality and as we continue to be still and wait in the Light we will hear the insights which the Spirit can give us, and know what steps to take in order to act effectively and find peace of mind. The guided meditation takes about thirty-five minutes using brief prompts with five minutes of silence between each. The prompts are to centre down, let the issues of your life arise, select one, and hold it in the Light. Without thinking about it and trying to solve it, you wait to discover what the Light will reveal about it. Images may come; words may be whispered; new insight or new angles may present themselves; nothing may happen. All of these have happened in the experience of those in Light groups. At the end of the meditation each member of the group spends a short time in solitude to reflect on her or his experience, and then the group comes together to share, as much or as little as each one chooses, about what has happened. Rosemary and Betty spent a weekend at Charney Manor where they learned experientially about the Experiment with Light and became aware of how important all the elements of it are. Insights deepened for them in the solitary period after the meditation and even more in the time with the group. Betty says: “What the Experiment has done for me is that it has made the early Quaker experience real for me – the discovery of One who “speaks to my condition” in a very real and practical way. I have also come to the understanding that I have to act on what I am shown or I will stay “stuck”! “ But the Experiment is not simply about the individual spiritual life – it is a process whereby those in the group truly do begin to know one another more deeply in the things which are eternal, and as we share we discover how much we enable one another’s spiritual understanding to deepen. There is no doubt that the Experiment is a disciplined activity which requires commitment and perseverance if those who take part in it are to continue to grow in the Spirit. Essentially it is about rediscovering what the early Quakers knew which gave them the strength and courage to follow the Quaker way despite all there was to hinder them.
Elizabeth Ann Raymond (Betty)	Two groups to start in October   Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:08:20 GMT
	Following our meeting on Sunday last we have agreed to start two groups, which will each meet once per month. A daytime group will meet on the second Tuesday of each month from 2 - 5 p.m., commencing on Tuesday 13th October. An evening group will meet on the fourth Thursday of each month from 7.30p.m. to 10p.m.. commencing on Thursday 22nd October. Subject to confirmation the venue will be the middle floor room in the Tunbridge Wells Meeting House.
Betty Raymond	Change of arrangements   Sun, 25 Oct 2009 16:08:26 GMT
	We now hope to meet on a regular basis, normally from 7.30p.m. - 10p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month, and from 2.15p.m. to 4.45p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month. We will meet in the main Meeting Room whenever possible.