The Healing Power of Centering Prayer

Presented by the Rev. Tim Grayson

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”
– St. Augustine

Thomas Keating, one of the founders of the modern Centering Prayer movement, popularized the Centering Prayer process as “divine therapy” because it enables the healing of deep psychological wounds and promotes spiritual growth. According to Keating, this therapy leads to the “purification and healing of the unconscious, thus deepening the practitioner’s relationship with God.” Acknowledging and releasing troubling thoughts that bubble up from deep within helps deconstruct the false self that emerges in childhood from our efforts to find security amid damaging societal and familial influences.

In this retreat, Tim Grayson, a member of COMW’s coordinating team and an Episcopal priest, will review the work of renowned spiritual guides such as Keating, Basil Pennington, Thomas Merton, Cynthia Bourgeault, and James Finley, who have written extensively on the healing properties of Centering Prayer. The program will include three Centering Prayer sessions and ample time for discussion.

Tim is a longtime board member of Listening Hearts Ministries, which is dedicated to teaching the practice of spiritual discernment, and is an authorized Listening Hearts trainer. He also has a burgeoning interest in Christian mysticism.