“The Naked Now” by Richard Rohr is a gold mine. I had just begun to practice silent prayer when I first read it two years ago. I recently decided to take a second run through this marvelous book. To be honest, this is the type of book that you need to read over and over again. You will see things that were hidden the previous time.
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Both-And
“I knew early on that there were different kinds of knowings. Words divided reality between either and or, but my living experience was always both-and.” This book will reveal how you can change the way you see from either and or to both-and.
Contemplation
One way to learn to see both-and is the practice of contemplation. “Contemplation is an exercise in keeping your heart and mind spaces open long enough for turning to see other hidden material.” Just as Jesus did, we need to enter the prayer of quiet (contemplative prayer).
“No”
Another way to learn to see both-and is by following the advice of the great teachers. “The great teachers are saying that you cannot start seeing or understanding anything if you start with “No.”
Love and Suffering
I will make one final point regarding how you can learn to see both-and. “Love and suffering are the main portals this open up the mind space and the heart space…..” These are our greatest teachers. As I look back at my life I completely agree!
Next Steps
Now that I have made my second run through this book, I will let what I read soak in. I am certain this will not be the last time I pick up this wonderful book.
Read this book slowly and with a highlighter in hand. Go back and re read the highlighted parts. You will learn how to see the naked now.
Go Further
Richard Rohr, The Naked Now: Learning To See As the Mystics See
Richard Rohr, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation
Richard Rohr, Immortal Diamond: The Search for Our True Self
Richard Rohr, Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer
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I am currently taking on clients for Centering Prayer One on One Coaching sessions. I am happy to setup weekly, bi-weekly or monthly sessions with you over the phone or skype to help you go deeper into your centering prayer practice and integrate it into your daily life. Contact me for more information. The first session is 1/2 off.
Are you in the Philadelphia PA area? Invite me to speak or teach Centering Prayer at your church or community gathering. Feel free to contact Rich to obtain more information.
I am currently reading The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind – a New Perspective on Christ and His Message by Cynthia Bourgeault and Contemplative Living: An Invitation to a Deepening Journey by .
The Way of the Wisdom Jesus: Going Beyond the Mind to the Heart of His Teaching – If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus and approach the Gospels as though for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. In this online course, Episcopal priest, teacher, and retreat and conference leader Cynthia Bourgeault serves as a masterful guide to Jesus’s vision and to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teaching for yourself.
Our friends at Contemplative Light are offering Contemplative Practices. This course examines in-depth traditional practices of the Christian mystics, including: The Examen, Centering Prayer, Lectio Divina, The Jesus Prayer and Christian Meditation.
Contemplative Perspectives: Frameworks for the Divine: With the historic practice of The Jesus Prayer as a jumping off point, we explore the experiential aspects of the Purgation/Illumination/Union path of Christian Mysticism.
Prepare to be immersed in the 1st Century A.D. context of the life, work, teachings, and actions of Jesus. Check out Simply Jesus by N. T. Wright. It is based on his book Simply Jesus. Enjoy an article I wrote about one of the lectures on the Beatitudes.
This course is a short course based on Prof. N.T. Wright’s latest book, Simply Good News. Tom Wright will guide you through the chapters of his book through videos that suggest what some of the main points are. You will instantly get into the heart of the idea of ‘good news’ as it was understood by the 1st Century writers of the New Testament. You will be brought into their world in order to make more sense of what ‘good news’ means in our world.
Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks – This is a great way to listen to books with your cell phone while you drive, walk or relax at home. I frequently listen in my car during my commute to and from work. I’m a proud affiliate.
David Frenette’s book The Path of Centering Prayer reenergized the Centering Prayer tradition with its fresh insights and teachings. Centering Prayer Meditations: Effortless Contemplation to Deepen Your Experience of God is a wonderful companion audio program created to be equally rewarding as a stand-alone guide – gives listeners an immersive resource to learn contemplative prayer, step by step and in the moment. With clarity and compassionate presence, Frenette explains the essential principles of this contemplative practice for both new and seasoned practitioners.
Centering Prayer is a silent prayer practice that can move you toward a profound relationship with the Spirit of God within. It is a way of praying that opens the door to the Divine Indwelling—the ground of our being. With Centering Prayer, Father Thomas Keating and his colleagues Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler and Father Carl Arico present the first online course in this method for deepening your intimacy with God and ultimately consenting to the presence and action of the Divine in all aspects of your life.
Since the time of the Desert Fathers in the third century, Finley begins, Christian mystics have practiced meditation as a way of opening to the direct presence of God in daily life. Legendary seekers such as Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila, and Meister Eckhart explored how meditation can lead us beyond the closed horizon of the ego, to an interior and holy refuge that is always available to us. On Christian Meditation, James Finley offers a gentle introduction to this all-transforming way of life, and the ever-deepening realization of oneness with Christ it leads us to. (Based upon his book, Christian Meditation.)
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