Q: This is pretty out of sorts for me, but something happened in the past few weeks, and I ended up googling a term that seemed to match the experience: “living flame.” Your site was one of the few things that popped up that felt even remotely related, so I started reading some of the FAQs. I was honestly impressed by the depth in a lot of the responses. I’ve never heard of contemplative prayer; I don’t pretend to practice it; I’m not even sure I want to. But, I have to ask – do you know something about carrying a living, almost breathing fire or flame in your chest?
A: Thank you so much for writing to us! It sounds like you had a deeply moving spiritual experience. These things can be tender, and I pray you find all the guidance you need.
The name of the Living Flame program comes from the poem “Living Flame of Love,” by the sixteenth century Christian mystic, St. John of the Cross. It is a deeply passionate poem about his intimate relationship with God within the flame of his heart. As most mystics do, he senses God within, as integral to his being rather than separate and removed. He opens his poem with ”Oh, living flame of love, That tenderly woundest my soul in its deepest centre, Since thou art no longer oppressive, perfect me now if it be thy will.” In the last stanza he writes, “How gently and lovingly you wake in my heart, Where in secret you dwell alone; And in your sweet breathing, Filled with good and glory, How tenderly You swell my heart with love.” He expresses this living flame in the heart as one way of experiencing a highly interwoven, intimate relationship with the Divine Indwelling. I wonder if you are feeling invited to participate more deeply in something along these lines, if that resonates with you.
I could say a little bit about contemplative prayer, which has been a foundational human practice for millennia. Jesus may even have been doing this when he retired to the hills to pray. Thomas Keating, a gifted modern mystic (1923-2018), spent his life helping people learn to cultivate contemplative practices that help us attune to Ultimate Reality, to discover and deepen this relationship. In God is All in All he wrote, “You do not have to do anything but be still and let your mind be quiet. Know that God’s word is spoken fully only in silence. Be still, and you will know, not by the knowledge of the mind, but by the knowledge of the heart, who God is and who you are.” In other words, contemplative practices can encourage us to find out more about who we are, and who we are in God. (Incidentally, Father Thomas was one of the co-founders of Contemplative Outreach, Ltd., where you found reference to the Living Flame program, and brought its foundational practices, especially Centering Prayer, to many people.)
I’d like to say one more thing about the flame, and share a tiny piece of scripture that deeply touches me. Jesus said “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you” (John 15:9). When we look at this phrase in Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke, the word he uses for love is chav. Chav means to kindle, be dear, love, or to cherish: as between God and people, people and God, and people with each other. It’s a very active word, meaning to incite to love. Chav comes from a Semitic root meaning to breathe upon; or a warming, burning heat especially as raised by blowing. It also means to hide in the bosom, to caress. For me, as I look into the nuances of the word chav in Aramaic, this is very evocative of the living flame within the heart. It connects us with the Divine Indwelling, and with one another.
I hope this is helpful. Please let us know if your have more thoughts and questions, we would love to hear from you.
Blessings on your journey!
Joy Andrews Hayter
