For those familiar with Centering Prayer, developed by Father Thomas Keating, it basically combines Eastern traditions of meditation with Christian prayer. I did a retreat a number of years ago at Snowmass in Colorado where Keating was a monk. Now the beautiful land and monastery have been sold to a tech giant. Hopefully it will all be preserved and not developed.
If you want to read how to do centering prayer, Father Keating describes the practice of Centering Prayer in his book “Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel.” I did read this and recommend it. It explains how to use a word to center yourself. You get to choose the word. I change mine from time to time. Having a word to come back to again and again really helps focus the monkey mind.
If you do a search you can probably find centering prayer groups in your area. They are often at Episcopal churches but many other denominations as well.
From wikipedia:
Keating was one of three principal developers of centering prayer, a contemporary method of contemplative prayer that emerged from St. Joseph’s Abbey in 1975. William Meninger and Basil Pennington, also Trappist monks, were the method’s other principal developers. When the concept was first proposed by Keating, Meninger started teaching a method based on the 14th-century spiritual classic The Cloud of Unknowing. Meninger referred to this as the “Prayer of the Cloud” and taught it to priests at the retreat house. Pennington gave the first retreat to a lay audience in Connecticut where the participants suggested the term “centering prayer”. Since Thomas Merton had been known to use the term prior to this, it has been suggested the phrase may have originated from him.
I decided to visit a centering prayer group last week and they told me about the app that has been set up for a centering prayer practice. I installed it and am very pleased. It is simple and easy to use and personalize. Whatever your meditation practice may be, it is a good way to time it.
Here is how I set mine up:
- Opening prayer (there are many to pick from). My choice is “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” 1 Samuel 3:10.
- Beginning sound: Singing Bowl I.
- Silence Duration: 19 minutes . Note that Keating recommends doing centering prayer for 35 minutes twice a day. I did that for about a year but now only meditate 19 minutes each morning. It is very easy to pick any length of time you wish on this app.
- Ending sound: Singing Bowl II.
- Final prayer (again many to pick from): Isaiah 30. By waiting and by calm you shall be saved, in quiet and in trust your strength lies.
- Background: Winter (I like the blue)
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