Q: I am a meditation instructor for health and a secular Carmelite. I have difficulty with the Centering meditation technique and I am asking for help. I have understood that whenever I get carried away by a sequence of thoughts I should return to the sacred word. When I begin the Centering Prayer, what should be my anchor during the prayer period? Contemplation of the presence of God? When I simply remain silent I am easily taken over by thoughts. To avoid this I end up simply repeating the sacred word.
A: Thank you for your question on what to do with thoughts during a Centering Prayer period. Shortly before I got your email, I had just finished sharing the method of Centering Prayer at an intensive retreat. We talked about the four guidelines and when to use our sacred symbol. I thought–I have many thoughts on thoughts to share with you. I will start with your question on what to do to prepare our faculties to begin the prayer period.
Before your prayer time, you may want to take time to prepare for the silence with verbal prayer, breathing techniques, or even body movement. As a secular Carmelite there may be verbal unspoken prayers that are part of your charism that can be prayed before your Centering Prayer. I recommend to folks who pray the Divine Office to begin with their office prayer which will prepare them to slowly enter into silent prayer. It’s a way of not only praying but giving our human brains the time it needs to put away thoughts that may arise during silence. When I pray the divine office, it is usually about 15 minutes, then I can enter silence so much more easily than sitting down after an email. I have found that email would come visit me during the silence.
For the people who have secular breathing meditation practice for health reasons, I usually ask them to spend their vestibule time with their breathing meditations. They may not consider their breath meditation to be prayer so after their 5 to 20 minutes of this kind of meditation, I advise them to transition by saying a short verbal prayer and then settling into the silence.
For those people who have a body movement practice such as stretching, or walking or yoga, I also ask them to combine their movement practice with their Centering Prayer time. The body movement practice not only calms the body but also human thoughts. Afterward, begin your silent time with a short verbal prayer, settle and begin with your sacred symbol.
There are other vestibules methods like listening to nature or soft music, gazing upon an icon or reading a scripture passage. Try one or try them all to see what helps to calm your thoughts before prayer time.
As we sit in silence, we don’t have a goal other than to stay in our prayer for the entire time we’ve committed to. For instance, if you plan to pray for 20 minutes, pray for 20 minutes. If you plan to pray for 10 minutes pray for 10 minutes, etc. During the prayer time we are consenting to God’s presence and action within us. It is you surrendering to God, letting God be God and you be you no matter what comes up during the prayer time. It’s important not to judge our thoughts or our prayer periods; they are all perfect no matter the psychological content.
Thomas Keating teaches that most things that happens during the prayer are a thought. That thoughts are inevitable, integral and normal. And that when we notice we are engaged with any of these thoughts to gently return to our sacred symbol which can be a word, noticing of our breath or an inward glance. (FYI: if you choose to notice the breath be aware that you are not following your breath but noticing it in an instant.)
Yes, our sacred symbol is only said if we are engaged with our thoughts NOT if we are having thoughts. What does that mean? When you find yourself having a conversation with your thoughts, you are spending time with yourself not with God! So, our invitation is once we notice we are engaged with our self to return to God. Think about having coffee or tea with a friend. You are having a heart-to-heart conversation then noticing all of a sudden that you are thinking of the children running through your backyard from the school down the road. (This happens to me often). Then, I notice I was in an intimate conversation and return my face to my friend. If I was praying Centering Prayer, and the children ran by, I would eventually notice I’ve left the “conversation” no matter that it is without words and return my whole being to God.
Another reassurance about thoughts is that Fr. Thomas teaches that thoughts contain what needs to be healed, and the silence creates a space for the healing to take place. That healing can take place without us thinking about why this or that thought came up.
Remember Thomas’ 4 Rs: Resist no thought. Retain no thought. React emotionally to no thought. And in all instances, Return ever so gently to the sacred symbol without due judgment or undue energy.
And finally, remember the story Fr. Thomas tells about someone who learns and experiences Centering Prayer for the first time and admits “I’ve said my sacred word 10,000 times in 20 minutes!” Thomas responds, “That’s 10,000 times you’ve returned to God.” That sums up the whole of our contemplative life: Returning to God each time we notice we are spending more time with our thoughts instead of experiencing ourselves walking in the Presence of God in the land of the living.
I hope this helps you settle into your Centering Prayer time. If you have further questions or thoughts, please email back.
Peace and joy,
Leslee Terpay
