Q: Throughout the year we have opportunities to attend days of prayer. What do extended retreats add to the spiritual journey that reading books, attending Centering Prayer groups and workshops don’t? […]
Blending Prayer Practices
Q: I’ve practiced Centering Prayer on and off for years. Same with Lectio Divina and the Liturgy of the Hours. Now I’m trying to blend them into an integrate […]
The Sacred Word in Centering Prayer
Q: I have found it difficult to use just one word as I meditate. A simple 3-word phrase – that resonates strongly with me – is most comfortable for me. […]
Centering Prayer and Disabled Adults
Q: I have a 50 year old sister with Williams’ Syndrome (similar to Downs Syndrome – different chromosome). My mother and father cared for her, until my mother recently died. […]
Regarding Prayers of Petition
Q: If I pray to remove sickness or pain, am I refusing God? If I am to offer up my pain, how can I pray that it go away? Or […]
Abiding with Unloading
Q: From a prisoner in minimum isolation: “I have been working on Centering Prayer. It started off easy. For about three months it was happening with no mental or physical […]
About the Intensive Retreat
This article contains information about the Centering Prayer Intensive Retreat format, which is also one of the requirements of the commissioning process to become a Centering Prayer Presenter. Thomas […]
Letting God Lead the Relationship
Q: My attempts at Centering Prayer have not been particularly good. Though I do believe that any attempts to connect with God are honoured and I know at times I […]
Practical Steps for Self-Knowledge
Q: Our Centering Prayer group has been studying The Cloud of Unknowing translated by Carmen Acevedo Butcher. In chapter 14, pg 42, we are told to “Get to know […]
Contemplative Outreach Q&A’s Contributors
Fr. Carl J. Arico is a founding member of Contemplative Outreach, and honored to have known Fr. Keating since 1969. He was present for the first intensive Centering Prayer retreat that Fr. […]
Centering Prayer and Posture
Q: Can you lie down in Centering Prayer? A: Thank you for your question. At some point, we all wonder if it is okay to lay down during Centering Prayer. Centering […]
Pray As You Can
Q: Is it ok to do the Centering Prayer just before bed? A: I decided to consult with our ecumenical Centering Prayer group at Saint Vincent’s church, Bayonne New Jersey, […]
Dark Night of the Soul and Clinical Depression
Q: I’d like to know more about the dark night of the soul and how it differentiates from clinical depression. A: Thank you so much for asking this question. Many […]
There is No Other
Q: I have received and seen the DVD “God is All in All“. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you! However I have a question. Thomas Keating talks a lot […]
The Difference Between Centering Prayer and Contemplation — And Why It Matters
Q: I have a question about Centering Prayer, that has come to me after rereading David Frenette’s book about Centering Prayer. He talks as though Centering Prayer may, and sometimes […]
How Does God Work in Centering Prayer?
Q: My problem is in understanding in what way and how God works in me in Centering Prayer. I know that to enter in Centering Prayer is to let […]
Spiritual Depression or Clinical Depression?
Q: Can a spiritual depression turn into a clinical depression in the spiritual journey? According to Fr. Keating there is a period during the spiritual journey that all is obscure, confused […]
Is Charisma a Gift or a Curse?
Q: I have a question about charisma – I heard it can be a gift of the Spirit but I also know it can be a serious ego trap […]
Is The Welcoming Prayer a Prayer?
Q: Do you consider Welcoming Prayer a prayer? I recently presented Welcoming Prayer to the Centering Prayer group I attend … and a member asked this question. She listened […]
TM, Centering Prayer and the Sacred Word
Q: I have a question regarding the sacred word. Before coming to Centering Prayer I had been practicing Transcendental Meditation. As long as I maintain the intention of Centering Prayer, […]
Where Should the Attention Be in Centering Prayer?
Q: First, let me send you my sincerest gratitude for all that Contemplative Outreach does. After several years of Buddhist meditation, I have found my home in the teachings […]
Guard of the Heart and Welcoming Prayer Practices
Q: Bob Mischke writes this about Guard of the Heart , from Fr Keating: “The following are three ways of keeping yourself on course in everyday affairs. The first […]
Welcoming Prayer and Onset of Mania or Depression
Q: Firstly, I am very thankful for the teaching on Centering Prayer and have been practicing it for about two years. (The mobile app is really helpful too.) Though […]
The Real Welcoming Prayer Practice
Q: I have a question about Welcoming Prayer. I saw some website posting Father Thomas Keating’s poem： Welcome, welcome, welcome. I welcome everything that comes to me today, because […]
Perception Through Levels of Consciousness
Q: I’m a practitioner of Centering Prayer for about 15 years. I started after reading Cynthia Bourgeault’s and Thomas Keating’s introductions to Centering Prayer. Their later works have me […]
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