I love sharing what I learn as you may well know. In my last post I was talking about some of the changes taking place in consciousness; there seems to be so much going on it’s hard to express in some ways. It is certainly not about one thing, one process, one idea but many ideas and practices I’ve adopted over the years. I am noticing however that the process of Centering prayer which I began practicing several weeks ago seems to be having a remarkable cumulative effect already. I shared the process with my Sacred Soul Circles, but it is so rich I thought I’d shared it here in my blog as well.
If you are interested, there is a lot about Centering Prayer on the internet but one book that is part of our Contemplative Practices course I am finding extremely valuable is ‘Centering Prayer, Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice’ by Cynthia Bourgeault. It dispels a lot of this misinformation there is out there about the practice, and I am finding it not only informative but centering as well.
In a nutshell this is what the process entails:
Centering Prayer
This is more of an intentional prayer/meditation than it is about focusing on something like the breath or a mantra. It is a prayer of surrender because what you are doing throughout the process is letting go of any thoughts, images, sensations, objects that may arise, and returning again and again to objectless awareness. It’s a bit tricky and you generally can’t stay in that state for more than a few seconds at a time but that’s ok. It’s the nature of the mind to think or get distracted and it does like to think it’s in control, but this practice is about letting that go and returning to the intention of opening to the presence and activity of the Divine (God/Awareness).
To get started take some time to prayerfully consider a sacred word or very short phrase you will use in this process, something that will bring you back to objectless awareness when your mind wanders off. This is not a mantra that you focus on as such but rather a reminder to return to that clear open space. It can be a name or symbol for the Divine i.e. Abba, Father, Yahweh, Jesu, Mary, Amma, etc. or it could be a state of consciousness such as peace, love, joy, surrender, be still… Whatever word you choose, use it for the entire time you sit for a practice session. You can change it in another session if you choose.
The recommended time for a sit is 20-30 minutes but of course you may want to start with 5 or 10 and work your way up. It is also recommended to do it twice a day, which I am doing and find greatly beneficial.
The process:
- Sit quietly and enter a prayerful state.
- Close your eyes and allow your heart to open toward that invisible but always present Origin of all that exists.
- Whenever you become aware of any thought, no matter what its nature (even the good stuff), let it go. One metaphor is like putting the thought, image, etc. in a boat and let it float away down the river of consciousness.
- Use your sacred word to remind you of your intention to remain open and receptive in objectless awareness.
The ‘R’s of Centering Prayer (the last 2 are my additions)
Resist no thought.
Retain no thought.
React to no thought.
Return ever so gently to the sacred word.
Rest in objectless awareness.
Repeat…
I have to say that there is sometimes resistance that comes up for me to even sit and get into the process, but I find that moving through that and doing it anyway is essential. Otherwise, you can bet you won’t even get into it.
This isn’t a technique for relaxing or reducing stress, it is about relating to the Divine in a receptive and quiet way so that one can be centered more in True Self (Soul). It isn’t so much about doing it right as setting the intention, practicing and showing up again and again.
One of the things I am noticing as a benefit of this practice is that I am more readily able to let go of thoughts that are taking me into old patterns and shift into pure awareness as I go about my day. It didn’t happen right away, but I have noticed it more and more lately. I am so grateful for that!
This is a Christian contemplative practice that most Christians actually know nothing about, but I am finding it to be a wonderful gift in my life so, as I said, I just wanted to share it with whoever happens to read this blog and might be interested in developing a contemplative practice for themselves.
If there is interest, I’d be happy to lead some shared practice via Zoom. Just let me know!
Namaste
