Old drawing of Quaker Friends being taken prisoners.
‘Experiment with Light’ is a Quaker practice which is based on early Friends’ discoveries.
It was devised in 1996 by Quaker and theologian Rex Ambler following his study of early Friends’ writings. He wanted to discover what it was that made them so sure, so centred, so willing to suffer privations to keep alive their faith.
He discovered a process by which the Light may be accessed.
The Experiment with Light process can be separated into four main steps, once you have accepted an invitation to be still:
- Mind the Light (pay attention to what’s going on inside you, particularly where there’s something that makes you feel uncomfortable)
- Open your heart to the truth (don’t run away from anything that’s difficult or that you don’t want to face, but keep a little distance from it: ‘be still and cool in thy mind’)
- Wait in the Light (be patient, let the Light show you what is really going on, ask questions if what is being offered to you isn’t clear or you want to know more, and wait for the answers to come, don’t try to explain)
Submit (accept and welcome the information or images, and the insights, dreams and perceptions that may come later, and allow them to show the truth) - Trying this for himself, Rex found ways to move forward on his own issues and gain the inner peace he was looking for. So, as a personal experiment, it definitely worked! Trying it on a group of others there were similar breakthroughs and expressions of wonder and gratitude for this simple practice which can bring such profound change. Since then Experiment with Light has found ready participants both in the UK and throughout the world.
If you’re interested in learning more, you can subscribe to the Journal. You can also watch the video where Rex Ambler, in conversation with Craig Barnett, explains the meditation in more detail.