The Story of the Centre
The Centre began in 1998 with the renovation of a Sunday schoolroom in the village of Dent. At the time it was falling into a state of disrepair, but Eliza was captivated by the place as it held an extraordinary quality of silence.
Eliza had taught meditation since 1973 alongside her other pursuits, photography and writing. In 1995 she documented different ways in which people seek spiritual fulfilment today in a photographic essay The Light Within – A Celebration of the Spiritual Path. The following year she wrote the story of her own spiritual journey In Search of Freedom – One Woman’s Journey. She described how meditation had helped carry her through so many challenging times and this story brought more and more people to learn to meditate. Her cottage in Dent was too small to accommodate the numbers and hence the need for a larger place in which she could teach.
With the encouragement of the United Reformed Church who then owned the building, funds were raised to refurbish the Sunday school room so that it could be used for teaching meditation and the Centre became a registered charity. The trustees took responsibility for holding the vision of the Centre as being a place that was open to all for quiet reflection or meditation. However, only two years later, the URC decided to sell the chapel along with the school room as they could not afford the radical building repairs that were needed at the time. This meant that the Meditation Centre would also close unless sufficient funds were found to buy it.
An appeal was launched, fundraising events were held, and the money was raised with the help of generous supporters. As the chapel needed complete renovation and refurbishment, Eliza applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund for help. They were intrigued by the project of turning a former chapel into a Meditation Centre and as it was a heritage site, a grant was offered. During 2003 the former chapel was renovated and transformed into the place it is today.
And so the Meditation Centre came into being. Its foundation rests in history. It embodies an age-old wisdom that has been passed down through the generations and it is this heritage that inspires and sustains the teaching. It is a place where there are no boundaries and each person is able to become who they truly aspire to be.
If you would like to find out more, you are welcome to get in touch.
