The integrity of the teaching of the Centering Prayer method is presented in the four guidelines and its conceptual background as described in the Method of Centering Prayer brochure.
Additional practices offered by Contemplative Outreach are skillful means to bring the fruits of Centering Prayer into daily life, but are not part of the integrity of the teaching. Similarly, resources such as books, tapes, and articles are not part of the integrity, but provide vital support for the ongoing practice of Centering Prayer.
Guidelines for particular programs are most helpful when they are seen not as rules but simply as guides. They are designed to work well in most situations, but leave room for exceptions which particular circumstances may require.
Servant-leaders may notice that a certain spiritual transmission takes place during presentations of the introductory and formation workshops, and especially during retreats. The depth of one’s personal commitment to God, is the basis of this transmission. It is not so much the letter of the teaching, as the being of the one who teaches that is most important.
Fr. Thomas Keating
December 7, 2016