Centering Prayer

SELECT OFFERING of WORKSHOPS / RETREATS

CENTERING PRAYER: THE PRACTICE OF CONTEMPLATION
Facilitator : Meath Conlan, PhD

This is a full day (or weekend) seminar format that seeks to convey specific theory and practical training in the art of ‘Centering Prayer’ – a recovery of a traditional Christian form of contemplation.

CENTERING PRAYER RETREAT / WORKSHOP OVERVIEW

Background

Centering Prayer is a method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship.

Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it can add depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer — verbal or mental prayer — into a receptive prayer of simply resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God, and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion.

The source of Centering Prayer, as in all methods leading to contemplative prayer, is the Indwelling Ground of Being – God. The focus of Centering Prayer is the deepening of our relationship with the living Christ (Christ-consciousness etc.). The effects of Centering Prayer tend to build communities and bond the members together in mutual friendship and love.

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina, literally meaning “divine reading,” is an ancient practice of praying the scriptures (scriptures may come from any tradition). During Lectio Divina, the practitioner listens to the text with the “ear of the heart,” as if he or she is in conversation with God, and God is suggesting the topics for discussion. The method of Lectio Divina includes moments of reading (lectio), reflecting on (meditatio), responding to (oratio) and resting in (contemplatio) the inner Word with the aim of nourishing and deepening one’s relationship with the Divine.

Like Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina cultivates contemplative prayer. Unlike Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina is a participatory, active practice that uses thoughts, images and insights to enter into a conversation with God.

History of Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina is an ancient practice from the Western Spiritual Heritage. It was made a regular practice in monasteries by the time of St. Benedict in the 6^th century. The monastic form of Lectio Divina is an ancient method in which reading, reflecting, responding and resting are experienced as moments rather than steps in a process. In this form, the interaction among the moments is dynamic and the movement through the moments follows the spontaneous prompting of the Holy Spirit. To allow for this spontaneity, Lectio Divina was originally practiced in private.

The current resurgence of Lectio Divina owes much to the revival of the contemplative dimension in the Western world. Though the method of Lectio Divina has taken slightly different forms throughout the centuries, the purpose has remained the same: to enter into a conversation with God and cultivate the gift of contemplation.

Welcoming Prayer

The “Welcoming Prayer” is a method of actively letting go of thoughts and feelings that support the false-self system. It helps to dismantle the emotional programs of the false-self system and to heal the wounds of a lifetime by addressing them where they are stored – in the body. The method of the Welcoming Prayer includes noticing the feelings, emotions, thoughts and sensations in your body, welcoming them, and then letting them go; surrendering them. Practicing the Welcoming Prayer offers one the opportunity to make choices free of the false-self system — responding instead of reacting to the present moment.

The purpose of the Welcoming Prayer is to deepen one’s relationship with God through consenting to God’s presence and action in the ordinary activities of daily life. In this way, the Welcoming Prayer supports all forms of prayer, like Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina, which share the purpose of growing in relationship with God through consenting to His presence and action.

The Welcoming Prayer is based on the 17th-century French spiritual classic Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean-Pierre de Caussade as well as the experience of a general underlying attitude of surrender. Those who may have some experience of Buddhist vipassana practice will be familiar with this approach to surrender in and to the present moment.

Contemplative Prayer

Contemplative Prayer is not a technique, although it makes use of methods as starting points to awaken spiritual attentiveness. Contemplative Prayer is a gift of the Spirit. A basic tenet of the Christian Contemplative Tradition is that this gift cannot be earned, but it is freely given by God. Centering Prayer is not that gift, or even a way to make Contemplative Prayer happen. Rather, it is a means of preparing to receive it by opening the mind and heart to God’s presence and action within. Contemplative Prayer is a process of interior purification leading, if we consent, to divine union.

The Method of Centering / Contemplative Prayer

Centering Prayer is a method designed to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our faculties to cooperate with this gift. It is an attempt to present the teaching of earlier times (e.g. The Cloud of Unknowing ) in an updated form and to put a certain order and regularity into it. It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer or meditation; it simply puts other kinds of prayer into a new and fuller perspective. During the time of prayer we consent to God’s presence and action within. At other times our attention moves outward to discover God’s presence everywhere.

Explanation of the Guidelines

Choose a sacred (or ‘special’) word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.

• The sacred word expresses our intention to be in God’s presence and to surrender to the divine action.
• The sacred word should be chosen during a brief period of prayer asking the Spirit to inspire us with one that is especially suitable for us.
• Examples: (for Christians) Lord, Jesus, Abba, Amma, OM …
• Other possibilities: Love, Peace, Shalom, etc.

• Having chosen a sacred word, we do not change it during the prayer period, for that would be to start thinking again.
• A simple inward gaze upon God may be more suitable for some persons than the sacred word. In this case, one consents to God’s presence and action by turning inwardly toward God as if gazing upon him. The same guidelines apply to the sacred gaze as to the sacred word.

Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.

• By “sitting comfortably” is meant relatively comfortably; not so comfortably that we encourage sleep, but sitting comfortably enough to avoid thinking about the discomfort of our bodies during this time of prayer.
• Whatever sitting position we choose, we keep the back straight.
• If we fall asleep, we continue the prayer for a few minutes upon awakening if we can spare the time.
• Praying in this way after a main meal encourages drowsiness. Better to wait an hour at least before Centering Prayer. Praying in this way just before retiring may disturb one’s sleep pattern.
• We close our eyes to let go of what is going on around and within us.
• We introduce the sacred word inwardly and as gently.

When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.

• “Thoughts” is an umbrella term for every perception including sense perceptions, feelings, images, memories, reflections, and commentaries.
• Thoughts are a normal part of Centering Prayer.
• By “returning ever-so-gently to the sacred word”, a minimum of effort is indicated. This is the only activity we initiate during the time of Centering Prayer.
• During the course of our prayer, the sacred word may become vague or even disappear.

At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

• If this prayer is done in a group, the leader may slowly recite a prayer or poem during the additional 2 or 3 minutes, while the others listen.
• The additional 2 or 3 minutes give the psyche time to readjust to the external senses and enable us to bring the atmosphere of silence into daily life.

Some Practical Points

• The minimum time suggested for this prayer is 20 minutes. Two periods are recommended each day, one first thing in the morning, and one in the afternoon or early evening.
• The end of the prayer period can be indicated by a timer, providing it does not have an audible tick or loud sound when it goes off
• The principal effects of Centering Prayer are experienced in daily life, not in the period of Centering Prayer itself.
• Physical Symptoms:
• We may notice slight pains, itches, or twitches in various parts of the body or a generalized restlessness. These are usually due to the untying of emotional knots in the body.
• We may also notice heaviness or lightness in the extremities. This is usually due to a deep level of spiritual attentiveness.
• In either case, we pay no attention, or we allow the mind to rest briefly in the sensation, and then return to the sacred word.

• Lectio Divina provides the conceptual background for the development of Centering Prayer.
• A support group praying and sharing together once a week helps maintain one’s commitment to the prayer.

Points for Further Development

• During the prayer period various kinds of thoughts may be distinguished.
• Ordinary wanderings of the imagination or memory.
• Thoughts that give rise to attractions or aversions.
• Insights and psychological breakthroughs.
• Self-reflections such as, “How am I doing?” or, “This peace is just great!”
• Thoughts that arise from the unloading of the unconscious.

• During this prayer, we avoid analyzing our experience, harboring expectations or aiming at some specific goal such as:
• Repeating the sacred word continuously
• Having no thoughts.
• Making the mind a blank.
• Feeling peaceful or consoled.
• Achieving a spiritual experience.

• What Centering Prayer is not:
• It is not a technique.
• It is not a relaxation exercise.
• It is not a form of self-hypnosis.
• It is not a charismatic gift.
• It is not a para-psychological phenomenon.
• It is not limited to the “felt” presence of God.
• It is not discursive meditation or affective prayer.

To discuss organising a workshop or retreat in your area or at your venue, please contact: meath@diversejourneys.com