body sensations – Contemplative Outreach, Ltd.

Centering Prayer and Startle Reflex

Posted on April 19, 2026 by pbegeman

Tags: body sensations, Centering Prayer, welcoming prayer

Q: I experience an exaggerated startle reflex during Centering Prayer. The physical jolt in response to any sound, including the concluding bell, is distracting and distressing. I realize that simply […]

Emotions during Centering Prayer

Posted on February 17, 2026 by pbegeman

Tags: body sensations, Centering Prayer, Divine Indwelling, Divine Therapy, Thomas Keating, welcoming prayer

Q: Fr Keating teaches that during Centering Prayer sessions, one may experience emotions for which there is no explanation and the way to deal with them is to sink […]

Centering Prayer and Sexual Thoughts

Posted on June 17, 2024 (June 18, 2024) by pbegeman

Tags: body sensations, Centering Prayer, centering prayer group, Meditation Chapel, sexuality

Q: My experience with Centering Prayer in the last few years is that often when I sit down and close my eyes, sexual thoughts and images come in that […]

The Body’s Bridge to the Experience of Living in God: Exploring BioSpiritual Focusing in Context of BioSpirituality – in person and online

Posted on June 12, 2024 by msmoolca

Tags: body practice, body sensations, Centering Prayer, contemplative spirituality, energy, trauma

Two Jesuits, Fr. Edwin McMahon and Fr. Peter Campbell, incorporated the embodied practice of Focusing into the larger context of BioSpirituality. Their work opens us to know ourselves as living […]

God in Nature practices Welcoming Prayer – ONLINE

Posted on January 22, 2024 (December 17, 2025) by Ruthmar1e

Tags: 11th-step, 12-step recovery, body practice, body sensations, breath, Centering Prayer, contemplative walk, visio divina, welcoming prayer

God in Nature is the focus for this online half day Centering Prayer/Welcoming Prayer mini-retreat via Hawaiʻi (1st Saturday of every month) @ 9:00 am – 11:30 am UTC-10 FREE […]

Thomas Keating’s Call to Wisdom

Posted on October 18, 2023 (October 18, 2023) by pbegeman

Tags: attention, body practice, body sensations, Centering Prayer, chanting, Cynthia Bourgeault, Divine Indwelling, heartfulness, Lectio Divina, retreats, Thomas Keating, welcoming prayer

“ May the next years see the increase of Centering Prayer, and the creative addition of other Wisdom aspects that might enhance what we are doing, or at least […]

Spiritual Experiences in Centering Prayer

Posted on October 18, 2023 by pbegeman

Tags: body sensations, Centering Prayer, consolations, Divine Indwelling, thoughts

Q: I would like clarification of what appears to be a contradiction in Thomas Keating’s teaching. On the one hand, he says that perceptions are thoughts and therefore, to be […]

Welcoming Prayer Introductory Workshop

Posted on August 4, 2023 by msmoolca

Tags: body practice, body sensations, contemplative spirituality, false self, human condition, trauma, true self, welcoming prayer, Zoom

According to Fr. Thomas Keating, “Welcoming Prayer is the practice that actively lets go of thoughts and feelings that support the false-self system. It embraces painful emotions experienced in the […]

BioSpiritual Focusing: Welcoming an Embodied Experience of Grace

Posted on August 3, 2023 (August 3, 2023) by msmoolca

Tags: body practice, body sensations, Centering Prayer, consciousness, contemplative spirituality, trauma, welcoming prayer, Zoom

Contemplative Enrichment Day with Donna O’Connor and Mike Smoolca Deep wisdom and healing are accessible within us waiting for discovery. BioSpiritual Focusing offers access to the causal point for change, […]

Body Sensations and Unloading

Posted on November 15, 2022 (November 15, 2022) by pbegeman

Tags: body sensations, Centering Prayer, Gift of tears, unloading

Q: I haven’t been a practitioner of Centering Prayer very long; or rather, I haven’t been as disciplined as I sometimes desire. However, I want to ask about my body’s […]

Tag: body sensations