Q: I have a 30-year daily contemplative practice with numerous multi-day, self-directed silent sitting retreats and long, intensive Zen retreats. I’d like to do a self-guided, multi-day Centering Prayer intensive retreat. What resources are available that guide one through the typical format/schedule for a Centering Prayer Intensive?
A: Thank you for saying yes to the prompting of the Spirit to spend time home in silence and solitude on your personal Centering Prayer retreat.
What I’ll share with you here for an individual, inhouse retreat is what I would tell you if we were in a soul friending relationship. I leave it to you to incorporate the differences between Centering Prayer and Zen retreats. I’ve only been on one Zen retreat but have experienced over 20 years of Centering Prayer retreats. I answer from that experience. I would also like to encourage you to consider a Contemplative Outreach group retreat as the there is so much combined Presence in a silent room of people praying together, especially for long periods of time. It also gives you a rest from hosting the retreat for yourself as the retreat team takes care of so many details.
I like to call the guidelines for a group retreat “pray, eat, learn, repeat,” interspersed with rest, gazing, walking, spiritual reading, and support for the journey, such as soul friending and other contemplative practices unique to each person. Let’s look at each part of the retreat to put an experience together that meets your own needs.
Centering Prayer: three to four times a day
The Centering Prayer Intensive consists of three or four periods of prayer. One in early morning, one in late morning, one in afternoon and one in late afternoon. A prayer period consists of about 1.25 hours with:
- Three chimes of a gong as a call to prayer followed by a vestibule time of short reading to help one transition from ordinary awareness to spiritual level of awareness.
- 30 minutes of silent prayer, ending with one chime and a few minutes or transition honoring the Centering Prayer fourth guideline (At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.).
- A contemplative walk perhaps praying one’s active prayer sentence. Coming back after 5-7 minutes to the prayer chair or mat.
- One gong to begin the second 30-minute silent prayer time.
- Finishing prayer time with three chimes
- A final time of the fourth guideline to bring the gifts of the prayer into your ordinary experiences.
Eating Plan simple meals which can be prepared easily.
- Be mindful of what is being prepared by paying attention to the action of cutting and cooking.
- Notice if your mind is wandering. Remember you are in God’s presence. This is also a good time for your active prayer sentence.
Learning twice a day for 1.25 hours each
- Choose what learning inputs will be included in your retreat time. Consider morning and afternoon lessons.
- Learning can best be experienced with a Lectio Divina attitude. View the teachings, listening with an open mind and open heart. At the beginning of the lesson, you might ask the Spirit to make you aware of what it is you are to learn about yourself, your God, others and the cosmos. Notice what touches your heart.
- Many of Fr. Keating’s video teachings can be accessed through his 100-lesson program “The Spiritual Journey – Formation in the Christian Contemplative Life” which can be found here:
https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/the-spiritual-journey-series/ - If this is your first Centering Prayer Intensive with the lessons from the Spiritual Journey series, you are invited to sit with several lessons which are normally viewed and discussed on an 8-day Intensive retreat. You’ll want to make video choices according to the days you have available. You can start at the beginning and continue on after the retreat as you can. They are:
- Session 3: The Method of Centering Prayer
- Optional session that gives background for upcoming videos
Session 17 & 19: Formation of the Homemade Self: The Existential Model - Sessions 21 & 23: The Pre-rational Energy Centers
- Sessions 7 & 27: Attitudes Toward God & Frustrations Caused by the Emotional Programs
- Session 29 & 31: Dismantling the Emotional Programs
- Sessions 33 & 35: The False Self in Action
- Sessions 43 & 98: The Four Consents & A Word about Service
- Sessions 47, 48 & 49: The Psychological Experience of Centering Prayer
- Sessions 61 & 63: The Beatitudes
- Session 68: The Present Moment and all that Is
- Don’t worry about taking copious notes; a transcript is available for each lesson, if desired.
- After a lesson, before moving to your next activity, take time to reset yourself into interior silence by sitting silently for 2-5 minutes.
Resting
In the early afternoon allow yourself to rest as needed. Sometimes you’ll find your body is more tired than you realize. Listen to it. You may also find that since you are resting with God during prayer for 3 to 4 hours a day that your normal sleep may be disturbed. This is normal. Be with whatever rest is needed during your retreat time.
Gazing
There are so many lovely things around you to gaze upon – icons, trees, flowers, water, beloved family or animals. Open your heart and sit with whatever is in front of you remembering God’s Presence within them.
Walking
It is wise to take walks after meals and other times during the day. It gives you a wider place to gaze, and the physical activity helps with the unloading process that may occur during long periods of silence and solitude. Notice your steps, planting your feet on the soil and how you are moving about in the world. Slow is good.
Spiritual reading
You may choose to read small parts of a book or scripture. If you have four books to read in four days that is too much! Read a little bit, notice how the words are informing your Journey to Love and then be with what you hear.
Support for the journey (Soul friending)
It is usually a good idea to have someone to touch base with as you experience unloading and find out new things about yourself on a retreat. If you have a spiritual director or spiritual friend, you may want to schedule a very short daily check in – no more than 15 to 20 minutes. You may or may not need this faith sharing time, but it is important to have someone as a soul friend if you need it.
Other contemplative practices
Incorporate other contemplative practices as you are called in the moment. A retreat is a great time for practicing remembering God with you and for you in each moment of the day. If you journal – journal. If you paint – paint. If you play an instrument – play. If you laugh – laugh. Follow the lead of the Spirit.
Fast from personal electronic devices.
You will know if you are using electronics to distract you from the silence and retreat time. If you use one for medical purposes that is okay. If you use it to journal, that is okay. If you use it for spiritual reading, that is okay. If you use it for timing prayer sessions, that is okay.
Relationships
One last consideration when planning an in-home retreat is to talk with anyone who lives with you and set guidelines for how you will interact with each other during the retreat time. It may be impossible for no verbal communication for several days. Think about and agree to when you will talk. For instance, once a day in the morning. Or only for emergencies, which means you’ll have to agree on what defines an emergency. If there is someone who really needs to converse with you once a day, keep it to a minimum. For instance, when my dad was in the last stages of life, he really needed to hear from me once a day even while I was serving a retreat. So, I would call him to talk and let him know I was there for him and loved him and would catch up again the next day.
Have a blessed retreat and please let me know how your in-home retreat experience goes. It’s okay to write well after your retreat. Just like in our Centering Prayer practice sometimes our greatest learnings happen as we are living ordinary life.
Peace and Love,
Leslee Terpay
