Q: Fr Keating teaches that during Centering Prayer sessions, one may experience emotions for which there is no explanation and the way to deal with them is to sink […]
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Reflections on the Beginnings of Centering Prayer
“In the silence we are guided by the spirit.” Thomas Keating As I sit and think about my life’s journey, I am keenly aware of God’s presence and action […]
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About Prison Outreach Service Team (COPOST)
image: Lawrence Hamilton, Rita Weick and Stephen Cardoza We would like to introduce ourselves. We are the Contemplative Outreach Prison Outreach Service Team, or COPOST. We were founded in 2022. […]
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How do we “seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God”?
Q: Theravada monks from Thailand are marching for peace from Texas to Washington DC. Where are our own spiritual and faith leaders during this [chaotic] time? Where are the members […]
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Praying in Tongues to Avoid Thoughts in Centering Prayer
Q: To avoid ‘thoughts’ during Centering Prayer, I find it helpful to pray in tongues, but I have never heard this mentioned in this connection. St. Paul says: ‘If […]
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Centering Prayer and the Noting Technique of Mindfulness
Q: I’m a Catholic and I am most interested in developing my relationship with God through contemplation. I have become acquainted with Centering Prayer but I am also practicing […]
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Extending Time in Centering Prayer
Q: Our group had a discussion about increasing one’s practice to two to three hours per day. What insight does Contemplative Outreach have in regards to this type of extended […]
Seeing with the Eye of the Heart: The Practice of Visio Divina
By Ingrid Forsberg St. Paul, Minnesota (reprinted with permission from Ingrid and Contemplative Outreach of Chicago) “Within my darkest times, you kindled an awakening in me” -Taizé Community In […]
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Is Centering Prayer Just for Christians?
Q: I thought Centering Prayer was just for Christians. When reviewing your website, it seems that Buddhist, Sufi and others can use it to get close to God. But isn’t […]
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Letters from Thomas Keating
Note: To improve the contents of the Thomas Keating archive at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the Contemplative Outreach global community has been encouraged to send in any personal […]
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Zen in a Christian Monastery – Fertile Ground, Open Mind
By Ron Barnett, Ph.D. Germantown, Maryland, USA What did Fr. Thomas Keating learn from Zen? My contemplative teacher, Fr. Thomas Keating (1923-2018), learned from many sources – Indigenous American […]
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Telephone Conversations between Thomas Keating and Isabel Castellanos, April 7, 2015 – October 31, 2018
The following is a collection of some of the notes I took after speaking with Father Thomas on the phone during the last three years of his life. They […]
Centering Prayer and Use of White Noise
Q: I have practiced Centering Prayer in the past to good effect, but then years ago I had heart surgery and got a mechanical aortic valve. Staying alive as […]
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Experiences of Divine Therapy in Centering Prayer
Q: I have been practicing Centering Prayer for almost a year now and have gradually moved to twice daily, twenty minutes each time. I have experienced interior disturbances sometimes […]
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A Word from the Contemplative Outreach Prison Outreach Service Team
We’d like to introduce ourselves to you, especially if you’ve never heard of us before. We are the Prison Outreach Service Team. Our goal is to bring Centering Prayer […]
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Suggested Guidelines for Intensive Retreat Videos
CO Retreats Team 2025 Suggested Guidelines for Intensive Retreat Videos by Leslee Terpay The Contemplative Outreach Retreats Service team is responsible for the guidelines that cover content for the […]
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How to Start a Centering Prayer Group
Q: I’d like to start a Centering Prayer group and would appreciate guidance on how to do this. A: Thank you so much for your interest in starting a […]
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An Experience of the Living Flame of Love Within
Q: This is pretty out of sorts for me, but something happened in the past few weeks, and I ended up googling a term that seemed to match the experience: […]
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Settling into Centering Prayer and Working with Thoughts
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 […]
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An Interspiritual Experience with Charis Circles
by Ronald Barnett, PhD, [email protected] Germantown, Maryland, USA Something is happening here, but you don’t know what it is do you, Mr. Jones? – Bob Dylan, Ballad of a […]
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Centering Prayer and the Sense of Dying
Q: While practicing Centering Prayer I suddenly had a very intense feeling of terror come and a sense that I was dying and losing all my loved ones and things […]
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Contemplative Practice with Parkinson’s Disease
Q: I am a long-time traveler on the contemplative and eco-spirituality path. I recently was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and find the tremors to be disruptive to Centering […]
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Chapter Simplicity
“Leadership is an ambiguous term in the Christian situation where everyone is equal at the most fundamental level which is the essence of our being. Everyone is designed […]
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Getting other prisoners to join in practicing Centering Prayer
Q: Thank you all for your support and prayers, for your hard work and commitment. I am practicing Centering Prayer for over two years. I started with a group […]
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Do I have to be a Christian or have a religious belief to practice Centering Prayer?
Q: Do I have to be a Christian or have a religious belief to practice Centering Prayer? A: Thank you for this beautiful question. Centering Prayer is a spacious […]
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