Practice Soul Friending, Be a Soul Friend (via Zoom)

Practice Soul Friending, Be a Soul Friend
with Cherry Haisten
Wednesday May 13, 2026 via Zoom
2-3pm Eastern Time (7pm UTC+1, 1pm Central, noon Mountain, 11am Pacific)
Free; suggested donation $25
This event will be recorded

When it’s hard to know where we are on the spiritual journey, hard to hear the still small voice, hard to consent to God’s presence and action, a companion—a soul friend—can help. In the Contemplative Outreach community and in small groups of Centering Prayer practitioners, soul friending has always played a role.

Thomas Keating hoped that all Centering Prayer groups would evolve into soul friending groups in which participants could experience friendship as “a step toward the love and knowledge of God.” Aelred of Rievaulx called this kind of companioning “spiritual friendship.” In a developing relationship, friendship may lead to intimacy, to the deep knowledge of the Divine at the center of all creation. The practice of Centering Prayer opens us to a deeper awareness of the Divine through our repeated consent; in a group we can practice consenting to the presence and action of God in each other. The fruit of this practice may be an increased ability to see through the surface to the Christ within our companions and ultimately within each human being.

“[T]he awareness of the deepest level in us is also an awareness of the deepest level in everyone else,” wrote Thomas Keating in Open Mind, Open Heart. “The insight into Christ dwelling in every other person enables one to express charity toward others . . . . Instead of seeing only someone’s personality, race, nationality, gender, status, or characteristics (which you like or do not like), you see what is deepest—one’s union . . . with Christ” (103).

During  this hour,  we will explore a method for practicing soul friending, the important roles of both speaker and listener in a group, and the fruits that ripple out from our practice. There will also be a time for questions and comments. There is much to explore about soul friending beyond this brief time, but may you leave inspired to practice soul friending on your own and to share the practice with companions.

“Every particular thou is a glimpse through to the eternal Thou.”            
– Martin Buber

Please register below.

About Cherry Haisten

Cherry is a longtime presenter of workshops on Centering Prayer and Welcoming Prayer, which she has regularly practiced for over three decades. She has led workshops and retreats in many places around the U.S. and in British Columbia. With her colleagues on the Welcoming Prayer Service Team, she worked to compose materials for the Spirituality and Practice online Welcoming Prayer courses and contributes to the Welcoming Prayer team’s writing projects.

An English major and former writing instructor, Cherry went back to school in middle age for a Master of Arts in Transforming Spirituality at Seattle University School of Theology and Ministry. At this Jesuit school, her program included an emphasis on Ignatian direction and discernment. Combining this training with her study of the contemplative dimension of the Gospel and Benedictine spirituality has been a joy. Through Living Flame and other programs, Cherry is delighted to pass on to other seekers something of what she has been blessed to receive.

image credit: mbolina/Getty Images