by Matt Scrimgeour
Ballycastle, Antrim, Ireland
At the start of 2026 during a Living Flame retreat day, I was listening to Sr Fionnuala Quinn share on the topic of “Deepening Our Centering Prayer Practice” and I heard something “new.” I’ve heard or read about choosing your sacred symbol many times since first learning the method some 15 years ago. On that day, something stirred in me and I was drawn to make a shift to using my breath rather than a sacred word as the symbol of my intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
Quickly I began to notice that this subtle change, whilst new and unfamiliar, seemed to activate my thoughts in a different way, which are usually like bees in a bag. I have not tested this widely, but my experience inspired curiosity got me wondering: Does ever-so-gently returning to my breath activate my mind and thoughts in ways that are different to when I was using a sacred word as the symbol of my intention to consent?
I do not know the answer to my question and I believe it does not matter. We know thoughts are inevitable and that the fruit of our practice is unrelated to the absence or presence of thoughts during time invested in our relationship with God, expressed in Centering Prayer. Occasionally I might inadvertently default to using my old sacred word but after more than six months this change of symbol is established.
An unexpected injury has recently given me the opportunity to spend more time resting physically, which has facilitated more time reading, and so I have returned to Open Mind, Open Heart. In doing so, I heard these words for the first time ever: “choose a sacred word that expresses your intention of opening, consenting and surrendering to God. Do not form it with your lips or vocal chords.”
I learned Centering Prayer in isolation. I rarely experience Centering Prayer in an in-person group. I have witnessed introductory workshops whilst serving in a technical capacity but I have not been taught the method of Centering Prayer directly by another human person. These facts may well explain my lack of understanding but I have never heard, until reading these words the other day, “Do not form it with your lips or vocal chords.”
Immediately I began to wonder whether my experience of breath as a symbol might have been less of a transition if my use of my sacred word had never been “formed with my lips or vocal chords”? I am certain that at times it may have been spoken silently in my mind but my recollection is that I did form it with my lips and that I often whispered my sacred word, usually in exasperation at noticing that yet again I had been carried away by thoughts. I now realise that for almost 15 years I have been doing Centering Prayer differently to the instruction provided by Fr. Thomas in that chapter entitled “First Steps in Centering Prayer”, in Open Mind, Open Heart.
A practitioner’s sacred symbol path might be marked by any of the stepping stones David Frenette details in his book on this practice (The Path of Centering Prayer), sacred word, breath, glance and nothing but God’s silence, stillness and spaciousness. I imagine there being no right way for a human to be in relationship with God. I find myself wondering: might the energy of a spoken word disrupt one’s experience of going deeper in practice that is open, spacious and receptive to experiences of pure contemplation?
I am not qualified to do more than live my questions but I share all of this in the likelihood that if I have managed to miss the subtlety of this nuance in my use of the sacred word perhaps others in our community have too?
I’d welcome the opportunity to correspond with you on this subject or perhaps you might enjoy exploring this with a friend who you practice with? Let the road rise to meet your feet and may the wind be at your back as you return again to your practice today.
Matt currently serves as contractor on the Contemplative Outreach staff team, with a role and responsibilities in the area of technology and he is also a voluntary member of the Living Flame Service Team.
