Q: Is it beneficial for two practicing Centering Prayer together?
A: Thank you for this important question. There are many benefits, joys and learning experiences to be found in practicing Centering Prayer in a group of two or more.
At the most basic level, practicing with a group can help with motivation. It can be challenging to find the discipline to practice Centering Prayer twice every day, day after day, week after week. It can be motivating to know that others are looking forward to sharing the practice with you. Those who practice regularly together often develop a strong bond even without talking much and say they feel the energy of the other members of the group supporting them in their practice even at times when they are practicing alone.
When it is difficult for us to pray, the presence of others can sustain and strengthen us. I have a chronic illness that sometimes makes me so physically uncomfortable during Centering Prayer that I feel unable to do anything more than inwardly declare my intention to consent to the action and presence of God and then just be present there in all my discomfort. When I am in that state while I am practicing in a group, I feel the group’s energy, like a healing balm, holding and supporting me. Even though the group may not know what is going on with me, they are enfolding me with their loving prayer, helping me to trust that I can rest in the presence of God as I rest in the group’s presence. Conversely, it is comforting to think that my own presence may be supporting others in the group in ways that I don’t even know about. It is deeply moving and transformational to feel that my silent prayerful presence can have value.
What is in your heart when you ask this question about two practicing together? Do you have in mind another person with whom you would like to practice in a way that will bring your friendship into a new realm? You could set up a weekly appointment to practice together and share with each other your questions and concerns about the practice.
Would you like to join a group? Contemplative Outreach’s website offers a large directory of in person groups in the USA and all around the world. Through the Meditation Chapel, among other resources, there is a huge selection of online groups available, which many people find just as satisfying as in person groups, and which make it easy to find a group that meets at a convenient time.
We can learn an enormous amount about Centering Prayer from participating in different kinds of groups, which vary widely in terms of size, length, and amount of sharing. Many contemplative prayer groups include discussion of the practice. Some read passages from books about Centering Prayer such as Open Mind Open Heart and participants are invited to offer reflections on how the readings relate to their practices and lives. Others show a video each week of Thomas Keating exploring an aspect of Centering Prayer, followed by reflections from the group. These more conversational formats would allow you to share your own questions, doubts and experiences while getting to know more about others’ journeys. As we listen to the experience of other practitioners we may hear things about the practice that we understand but have not yet been able to articulate for ourselves. Talking about your practice with others helps you to hear yourself clearly, work out your thoughts and questions more thoroughly, and feel supported at difficult times.
Some groups are more silence oriented. Though we associate intimacy with talking and getting to know each other, there’s also great intimacy to be found in silence. Silence in Centering Prayer is not just an absence of talking but a nourishing food that we can share with others. When we practice Centering Prayer by ourselves we learn about what silence can bring forth from within us. When we practice in a group we learn about what silence can bring forth in community, strengthening our connections with each other in surprising and Spirit-filled ways.
By experimenting with different groups, you will be able to find one that has the right balance of silence and sharing for you at this stage in your journey. Or, stick with one that makes you uncomfortable and feel yourself being gathered into community in ways that help you to learn and grow.
Centering Prayer groups often use ritual as a doorway to enter sacred space together while synchronizing the rhythms of participants’ bodies and practice with each other. At one weekly group I attend we use a kind of a liturgy, repeated every week, to welcome everyone into the group, invite intercessory prayer, and review the basic guidelines of Centering Prayer. The lulling of this repetition gives us time before the Centering Prayer period to settle into our bodies and create together a sacred container for our prayer. A review of the basic guidelines supports both newcomers and more experienced practitioners, grounding us in the fundamentals of the practice. We also include a period of Lectio Divina, a way of reading a spiritual passage with the ear of the heart, which is a common feature of Centering Prayer groups.
Jesus promised that when two or three are gathered together in his name, he is there. However you choose to practice Centering Prayer, alone or in a group, you can trust that by doing so you are entering into a deeper relationship with God that will slowly transform your human relationships. Centering Prayer with a group is an opportunity to explore together what it means to be loving, uncovering new layers of tenderness and surrender. Your question suggests you have a yearning to practice with others that may lead you into new encounters with kindred spirits. I wish you joy in your explorations!
Warm regards,
Lindsay Boyer
