New Resources

Centering Prayer
and
Inner Awakening

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is a complete guidebook for those who wish to learn about the practice of Centering Prayer. Cynthia Bourgeault goes further than offering an introduction, however. She examines how the practice is related to the classic tradition of Christian contemplation, looks at the distinct nuances of its method, and explores its revolutionary potential to transform Christian life. 
(# B-40 $13.95)  Available in July 2004

The Daily Reader in Contemplative Living: Excerpts from the Works of 
Fr. Thomas Keating 

If a word could characterize the world today, the word chosen would be crisis. We are involved in all manners of crisis: family, institutional, economic, social, values... The Dominican Republic is no exception. The different shades of the crisis in our country take a particular turn. Sadness and despair seem to claim the heart of each Dominican. For many there is nothing to do. However, the resonance of these troubled times finds diverse expressions in the hearts of Christians. “I am the door,” says the Word of the Lord in John 10:7. Seizing this promise we have raised our cry to God with all our might. Just like the Ninivites, we have looked for the solution to our tribulations in the merciful innermost recesses of our Creator.

In Gratitude I am the Door New Resources 
Contemplative Outreach Study Program 40 Day Contemplative Living Experience

Contemplative Outreach
Study Program
Bonnie J. Shimizu

This little program involves the participants in comparing the insights from their own practice of Centering Prayer and the spiritual journey with the living contemplative tradition as it is today and as it was in the life of the Desert Monks of the first centuries of Christianity. The Study Program is now 11 years old. It was a pilot program whose first participants in April of 1993 were the members of the Board of Trustees and the Faculty of Contemplative Outreach. They mentored each other through the experience and found it not just a duty, but a real avenue of exploration and growth in their spiritual lives.

After that successful beginning, the program was offered twice a year to those in the Contemplative Outreach Network who had an established practice of Centering Prayer. Several hundred people have since signed up in the United States and in many other countries. From the beginning, one of the goals of the program was to make it available to people who could not easily attend other workshops and retreats of Contemplative Outreach. The mentoring system is uniquely suited to this goal as it allows people to connect personally with someone who has taken the course and walks with them through the material as well as acts as a point of accountability for the assigned written reflections. Some have even developed on-going spiritual friendships.

At first, most of the communications between the participants and mentors was through phone, mail, or fax, but as email developed and became almost universal, the speed and immediacy of contact has given a great gift to participants and mentors alike. 

The Study Program continues quietly today and offers what we have found over the years to be another avenue of spiritual insight and growth complementary to the main offerings of Contemplative Outreach, and adds a unique dimension of spiritual exploration to those who feel attracted to it. For information call (970) 945-5612 or email me at bjs@rof.net.

40 Day Contemplative 
Living Experience 
Beury Simons

When I saw the description of the 40-Day Contemplative Living Experience at St. Andrew’s Retreat House I knew it was what I wanted! Over the past year I had been looking for some type of contemplative activity that had more interaction and lasted longer than the 10-Day Post Intensive retreat. After about eight years of doing Centering Prayer I felt like I was “treading water” and needed a more clearly defined focus. This experience far exceeded any expectations. 

The Organization and planning were exceptional. Cathy McCarthy and David Frenette put together a schedule around the framework of three daily Centering Prayer periods that provided just the right balance between prayer, instruction, meditations and solitude. Sisters Martha and Catherine and two volunteers, Dolores and Alfreda, took care of our comfort needs and also provided us with well-balanced, delicious meals. Once a week, we were blessed to have Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler spend time with us using art as a medium for working with community process.

I returned home two weeks ago and am just beginning to realize some of the effects of this community living experience. In community, with 16 others, we soon discovered which people “pushed our buttons” and, living in community, we didn’t have the luxury of being able to avoid them. Dealing with our “afflictive emotions” was a growing process as many of us became aware of our dominant energy centers. Just being aware of my unconscious programs for happiness gave me an amazing feeling of freedom. I spent much less time worrying about what “others” thought about my actions and was free to discern God’s will for me.

We arrived on October 9th, with the fall colors just beginning and by our last day, November 17th, the trees were bare. It occurred to me that when I arrived I was feeling  pretty good about myself, maybe even a little virtuous, and my defenses were solidly in place. As the days passed, and as we spent between two and three hours a day in Centering Prayer, I repeated my active prayer sentence, "Lord, I open to your loving presence within." My defense Physician was transforming me. I began to experience my “dark side”; the judgmental attitudes, the need to be in control and my basic selfishness. My “tree” lost its leaves and I could no longer cover up my brokenness. This would have been devastating without the continual, loving presence of God, who was present in Centering, in Lectio, in daily meditations and in the faces and lives of my 16 companions.

This 40-day contemplative living experience has already been life changing for me and I highly recommend it for your consideration. This may be “the” opportunity of your lifetime!

Centering Prayer and the 12 Steps Proposed Formation Retreat

Contemplative Outreach is planning a formation retreat/workshop for qualified people interested in becoming certified as presenters of the Introductory “Centering Prayer and the 12 Steps” Workshop. Those who successfully complete this formation will then be able to present it under the auspices of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.