Who do you Trust Talk 1 JIM GREEN

We are living in a world which is now routinely described as “Post-Truth”. Many institutions and figures in whom we have traditionally “believed” and relied upon have been revealed as deeply compromised. In the personal sphere, many of us have experienced such profound betrayals - sometimes at a very early stage in our lives - that the possibility of establishing trusting relationships can seem permanently beyond us. John Main says that the central point of Christian education – any education – is to prepare us for the experience of betrayal. The Buddha is reported to have discouraged his listeners from following a teaching simply because it sounds convincing and is delivered with authority. What, and who, can we rely on? What is there within the contemplative experience that can help to make trust a reality in our own lives? During our time together we will explore these questions, listening to each other’s words and sharing times of silence. Jim is an oblate of WCCM and a writer who worked for over thirty years in the mental health field with organisations such as Mind, the BBC and the Open University.