Fr. Thomas has asked the Centering Prayer community to spend the next year going back to basics. For much of the past 12 years I have been revisiting Thomas‚Äô […]
The Difference Between Centering Prayer and Dom John Main’s Christian Meditation
Q: I'm a longtime meditator and student of contemplative practice traditions. As such I have maintained an interest in and appreciation of modern Christian approaches to meditation. In regard […]
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My Experience of the Contemplative Gathering in Snowmass
Last year, the founders of four contemporary Christian contemplative movements (Fr. Thomas Keating, of Contemplative Outreach; Fr. Laurence Freeman, of the World Community of Christian Meditation; Fr. Richard Rohr, […]
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How to Create a Weekly Intensive Retreat Experience: “The Mini Midweek Retreat”
For many years, the Phoenix Chapter of Contemplative Outreach has partnered with the Trappistine sisters at Santa Rita Abbey to use their retreat facilities for two, eight-day intensive retreats […]
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Back to Basics
Q: I heard at the CO September 2017 conference that Fr. Thomas is emphasizing a return to the basics. What does this mean in your view? A: Thomas is […]
A Contemplative Prayer Gathering In the Midst of Tragedy
[Editor's note: Since this invitation was originally sent by the Chicago CO chapter to their mailing list in early October, numerous other tragedies have occurred worldwide, making the message and invitation […]
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Your Table
YOUR TABLE I missed You yesterday‚Ķ.and the week before.The world‚Äôs things intervened: a computer snag,no time to have it fixed except on Sunday morning,the week before it was a […]
What Texts to Use With Lectio Divina
Q: I’ve been listening to The Spiritual Journey on CD’s and watching DVD’s to become thoroughly familiar with Centering Prayer. I am praying Lectio Divina, per Fr. Keating’s guidelines of […]
Seed of God
The Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways to build up the Body of Christ, using us in spite of ourselves. Beginning in the mid-eighties, after the death of my mother, I […]
Reflections on the September Conference
Greetings Contemplative Outreach Community, There is a new and powerful movement of the Spirit in our community. We are evolving toward a new level of consciousness ‚Äì not only as […]
Lectio Divina and Attuning to the Spirit
Q: Recently I attended a poetry gathering … The young man who teaches poetry used Lectio Divina as a method to find interpretation of the poetry and called it that. […]
Thomas Keating & The Three Biological Needs
Q: Thomas Keating identifies three essential biological needs for human beings: (1) Security & Survival, (2) Power & Control, and (3) Affection & Esteem. Can you please tell me if […]
The Four Consents: A Retreat Conducted by Mary Anne Best, Contemplative Outreach US
Fr. Thomas speaks to the different levels of awareness in his chapter on ‚ÄúThe Four Consents,‚Äù in Invitation to Love: ‚ÄúEach time one consents, one comes closer to transforming union […]
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New Contemplative Leaders Exchange
Last year, at the invitation of renowned Cistercian monk Fr. Thomas Keating, four of among the most prominent living western Christian contemplative teachers gathered in Snowmass at St. Benedict‚Äôs Monastery. […]
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Introduction to Conscious Work
Is prayer a retreat for you into a separate place where you find rest and peace? If so, why do you not find peace, wholeness and harmony in your […]
About Contemplative Outreach Dublin
Contemplative Outreach Dublin has been in existence for 10 years and currently has 11 active volunteers on the team. As autumn approaches it signals the time for preparing for […]
Welcoming & Security Issues
Q: I need help. Every day I pray the Welcoming Prayer. I trip up at “I let go my desire for security and survival.” I’m a mother. How can I […]
Reflections on San Antonio Board Meeting
When I lean into the first impressions I had of the meeting with the Board and the Transition Advisory Team in San Antonio this past May 2017, the words that […]
Proof of God’s Existence? Or the Experience of God’s Presence?
When I was a junior in high school I took a class on world literature. We read many great novels, such as Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, All Quiet on […]
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Praying to the Old Man on the Throne?
Q: Recently, when I concluded my session of Centering Prayer and recited the Lord's Prayer, as is my custom, I was struck by the disparity between the Trinity in Whom […]
I Am the Clay in the Potter’s Hand
“God loves me!” Father Tom began our eight-day silent retreat with Pope Francis’ request to Christians to reflect on this, and so we entered into silence at Mount St. Anne’s. […]
Distinguishing Awareness and Presence
Q: I was listening to this video of Fr. Keating: https://youtu.be/bcc5_R9415Q If a clearer or fuller context is required, it might be necessary to listen to a few minutes […]
Sacred Feeling as a Sacred Symbol
Q: I feel led towards using what I would call sacred ‚Äúfeeling‚Äù when doing Centering Prayer. My feeling is love for God that I feel in my heart. It seems […]
Placing Your Attention IN
Q: I have been doing Centering Prayer for 6+months now, and have hit a bit of a road block. In reading Cynthia Bourgeault’s book, The Heart of Centering Prayer, and […]
In The Silence
A nippy spring morning in May, Harsh winds and arc-like rains Finally subsided, Overdue cleanups, lengthy lawns, Untilled gardens and untold repairs await. 6 weeks ago we celebrated the Paschal […]
