by Cissy Eyre Milford, Ohio “I said, and said, and said those words. I said them but I lied them.” ~Dr. Seuss I’m sitting snug on the couch early […]
Read More… from The Facilitator, the Judge and the Three-Year Old
by Cissy Eyre Milford, Ohio “I said, and said, and said those words. I said them but I lied them.” ~Dr. Seuss I’m sitting snug on the couch early […]
Read More… from The Facilitator, the Judge and the Three-Year Old
Q: I’ve been doing Centering Prayer for eight years now. I do two sessions of 20 minutes nearly every day. Sometimes I miss the 2nd sit, but that is […]
Read More… from Judging our Practice
Q: I have been spending time with the Spiritual Journey program, and I just watched the video ‘Frustrations Caused by the Emotional Programs’ (from Part 2 of the ‘Human […]
Read More… from The Experience of Apathy
Q: Can I practice Centering Prayer as my main prayer (morning and afternoon) and during the day practice the Jesus prayer? Am I using two practices with different meanings and […]
Read More… from Centering Prayer, Jesus Prayer, Welcoming Prayer
Q: I would like to ask about the connection between Centering Prayer and Yoga Nidra. I once went on a three-day silent retreat where we did Centering Prayer three times a […]
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Q: I’m a practitioner of “A Course in Miracles” and other non-religious pathways. Can I or anyone that is not a traditional Christian practice Centering Prayer? Is Centering Prayer for […]
Read More… from Is Centering Prayer for the Non-Religious?
by Tom Agness New York, USA My thanks to Richard Rohr, one of my hero theologians, who has suggested we all develop our own personal creed. This is mine. […]
Read More… from The Agnesian Creed
Q: I’ve been practising Centering Prayer for many years now and I still get very distracted and my mind is very busy and I rarely feel rested at the […]
Read More… from Centering Prayer, Distractions and Discouragement
Q: A very seminal moment/question for me. I have been in contemplative prayer practice daily for almost 10 years. I understand the “falling away” of the false self with devotion […]
Read More… from Centering Prayer and Mental Health Challenges
Q: What articles and resources are available about Centering Prayer and mental health? A: We have a number of published Q&A’s that relate to this topic: Centering Prayer and Mental […]
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by Sue Fox McGovern The members of a Centering Prayer group in Park Ridge, Illinois, USA say they have never felt closer to one another. Perhaps it’s because some […]
Read More… from Cultivating a ‘Contemplative Life’
Q: I’ve been meditating for about 10 years every day three or four times for about 30 minutes each. I’ve practiced mantra and just sitting or Shikantaza, Later on I’ve […]
Read More… from Can I Practice More Than One Form of Meditative Prayer?
Q: Why is 20 minutes the suggested time for contemplation? Historically has that always been the length? Any particular reason for 20 minutes? Can it be shorter? A: I answer […]
Read More… from Why is 20 Minutes Recommended for Centering Prayer?
by Richard M. Dell’Orfano, California, USA Excerpt from Book 1, Chapter 27: Regarding my arrival in 1968 at St Joseph’s Abbey, meeting Fr Thomas, and my near-death experience. Route 9 […]
Read More… from 1968: St. Joseph’s Abbey, Conversations with Fr. Thomas and My Near Death Experience
a reflection on the 2023 United in Prayer Day event by Sue Kenney, California, USA Each hour a miracle. A miracle of technology and of silent prayer. Together they create […]
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Q: I am 83. At the age of about 70 I began practicing Centering Prayer. To my great surprise, I found it easy. I say this because previous attempts […]
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Q: I am having a problem falling asleep during Centering Prayer. It may be attributable to age, but I am almost always dozing off, even in the mornings after […]
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Q: I’ve been practicing Zen meditation with a Christian group for 18 years. What is your view with respect to how Zen contemplation relates to Centering Prayer? The principles […]
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OUR GOD WITHIN TOWARD PERFECTION January, 2023 Message Ruby M. Shelton 01/27/23 In the book, “The Power of Now,” p. 01, Eckhart Tolle quotes Russell E. Dicarlo, […]
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Toward Perfection
By Benedicte Vibe Christensen In June 2018 Pat Johnston, the interim administrator of Contemplative Outreach, asked me to mentor Brother Columba, a young monk (then 26) in a monastery in […]
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by Cherry Haisten member of Welcoming Prayer service team At the end of early editions of Open Mind, Open Heart appears a list Thomas Keating calls “Means of Extending the […]
Read More… from “Deliberately dismantle the emotional programming of the false self”
Q: Over the last few months I’ve been experiencing a lot of deep grief during Centering Prayer periods followed by understandings outside of prayer into trauma that occurred when […]
Read More… from Dealing with the Unloading of Trauma and Grief
Q: Prior to discovering Centering Prayer I practiced meditation using a mantra. Somewhere along the way I found myself inside a space like the cleft of a rock, which I […]
Read More… from Practicing from a sacred space within
Q: There is a small creek in our backyard and I enjoy practicing Centering Prayer while sitting on the back porch or opening a window so I can hear […]
Read More… from Sounds of Nature and Centering Prayer