Q: I know that the mind should be quiet, relaxed and empty during centering prayer, but I unsure of what our state of mind should be like. Should the mind […]
An Awakening Mystic
Q: My major spiritual awakening happened in August 2012, I’ve seen many signs and messages from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit moved me to become Catholic that year too and […]
Sounds and Centering Prayer
Q: Sometimes as I am entering into Centering Prayer and settling into stillness, I hear an external sound–such as the purring of my cat or birdsong through an open window–and […]
Chanting and Centering Prayer
Q: Is it a good idea to listen to soft Gregorian Chant while engaged in Centering Prayer? A: Let me share with you what many practitioners of Centering Prayer do: […]
Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina
Q: Hello from Malaysia! Our group has been practising twenty minutes of Centering Prayer followed by Lectio Divina ( with the 4 movements – Read, Reflect, Response and Rest) for […]
Praying the Rosary and Centering Prayer
Q: Is there a way to pray the rosary simultaneously with Centering Prayer? A: I am not aware of how you would pray the rosary simultaneously with centering prayer. However […]
Centering Prayer and Young Children
Q: I am based in the U.K. and about to launch Centering Prayer into the local junior school (children aged 4-11). The school head and deputy head are very keen […]
On Use of the Sacred Word
Q: I have found that saying my sacred word continuously throughout Centering Prayer works better for me than only when thoughts come in. Is this all right also, or what […]
Crises and the Prayer of Jabez
Q: My question is regarding grief. Actually I suppose it is regarding prayer in any form of strain or fear, but grief especially. If God is, as we believe, a […]
Centering Prayer and Biofeedback
Q: What do you think about doing Centering Prayer while wearing a biofeedback device such as an emWave? I have been doing this for about 2 years now and it […]
The Sacred Word
Q: I know my sacred word is not a mantra. It is for me to use to express my intention of attending during my prayer time and I am to […]
Intention, Mindfulness, and Centering Prayer
Q: Our Centering Prayer group got into a discussion about ‘mindfulness,’ which I understand to have to do with attentive presence, awareness, being in the present, etc. The question arose, […]
Read More… from Intention, Mindfulness, and Centering Prayer
Centering Prayer and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Q: I have been doing active mediation for some years. I have found great satisfaction in applying Centering Prayer in my daily prayer practice. However: I have been suffering from […]
Read More… from Centering Prayer and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
A Shift in Centering Prayer
Q: I have been doing Centering Prayer for many years. Have found it useful at 3:00AM when St. Teresa of Avila says Imagination is the fool of the House. This […]
The Difference Between Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, and Meditation
Q: Please advise on the different between Centering Prayer, contemplative prayer and meditation. A: There are many levels of relation with God that can be manifested by the way we […]
Read More… from The Difference Between Centering Prayer, Contemplative Prayer, and Meditation
Contrition
Q: On a recent Contemplative Outreach silent retreat I had my first encounter with the theme of contrition. I felt a little tickled because I knew that I was being […]
Centering Prayer and Speaking in Tongues
Q: Please help me understand how Centering Prayer and the charismatic or Pentecostal belief in speaking in tongues as a sign on baptism in the Spirit are related? Can they […]
False Self and Personality
Q: I read the other day about a study of the prophets in the Old Testament, where one of the conclusions was that in their contact with God, they never […]
A State of Contemplation?
Q: I’ve been practicing Centering Prayer for a while now, and also sometimes practice Lectio Divina either on its own, or after my Centering Prayer time in the morning, but […]
Unloading and Evacuation of Emotions
Q: There is a female inmate in a weekly Centering Prayer group I facilitate who is afraid of doing Centering Prayer on a daily basis because she believes she would […]
Is a Centering Prayer support group needed?
Q: I have a long practice of Centering Prayer, having begun sometime in the late 1980s with a group that met weekly for about 12 years when our facilitator, a […]
The Role of Purgatory
Q: I have a question on Purgatory……my hope has always been that to suffer here and experience death is enough … however our Church teaches differently. I would like to […]
Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity
Q: I have just turned 73 and for most of 50 years I have practiced Buddhism ‚Äì Zen, later Vajrayana, and more recently Theravada (Vipassana meditation), although I was briefly […]
Centering Prayer and Brainwave Entrainment Products
Q: For the past 6 months I have been using a brainwave entrainment product (developed by people associated with the Integral Movement and Ken Wilber) with my Centering Prayer practice. […]
Read More… from Centering Prayer and Brainwave Entrainment Products
What is “My Shadow Self”
Q. I am quite new to practicing Centering Prayer and entering into the contemplative life, and I am craving it more and more. I am an avid reader and have […]
