We spend so much of our adult energies thinking, planning, worrying, trying to get ahead or stay afloat, that we lose touch with that natural intimacy with God deep within us.
Why do we practice silent prayer?
A silent prayer practice can help us reclaim our natural intimacy with God that often hides deep within us.
When we were children we had no worries. We enjoyed life. We were spontaneous. We saw things as if it were the first time. We walked with a sparkle and wonder in our eyes. Each day was new and full of adventure and discovery.
As adults we have many responsibilities. There are bills to pay. We must earn a living. If we have children, we take care of them, love them, play with them, enjoy their presence, teach them how to become responsible adults and eventually let go as they make their own way into the world.
We often seem to lose our innate ability to once again act like a spontaneous child. We let go of our natural wonder and joy for life. We sometimes lose our natural intimacy with God because we have too many duties, responsibilities and things that we feel we must do.
Centering prayer reconnects us to the Divine. God loves us more than we can even imagine. The Divine wants to rekindle our joy for life. The Divine wants us to once again greet each day with curiosity, wonder and joy.
A daily silent prayer practice will reconnect us to God and help rekindle the child within that allows us to have fun, relax and enjoy life.
Silent prayer is our portal to the Divine where we can feel free to release our inner child and let him or her come out and play.
Go further:
Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening was the first book I read as I began my Centering Prayer practice. I have read it numerous times. Here is my review of it.
Books and e-courses by Cynthia Bourgeault:
The Heart of Centering Prayer: Nondual Christianity in Theory and Practice
(Listen to The Heart of Centering Prayer for Free when you try Audible with a 30-day free trial.)
The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind–A New Perspective on Christ and His Message
Love is Stronger than Death: The Mystical Union of Two Souls
The early Christians, teaches the Reverend Cynthia Bourgeault, were afire with the spirit of Jesus, inspired fully by his teaching of a total transformation of consciousness. How do we reclaim that fire today? On Encountering the Wisdom Jesus, this brilliant author and dynamic Episcopalian priest presents her first full-length audio course about rediscovering the Master of Wisdom. Twelve immersive sessions cover: the parables as wisdom tools; Jesus’s teachings about kenosis (or self-emptying: a path as radical today as it was 2,000 years ago); Jesus as tantric master; Centering Prayer, an approach to meditation as Jesus lived it, and much more. (Based upon her book, The Wisdom Jesus.)
Centering Prayer by Cynthia Bourgeault: Centering Prayer is a simple, no-frills form of meditation in the Christian tradition. Since it was first developed by Christian contemplative monks in the 1970s, it has allowed tens of thousands of practitioners worldwide to “return home,” developing an authentically Christian meditation practice which not only delivers the healing and quieting of the mind typical of all meditation paths, but also reconnects directly to Christianity’s hidden treasury of mystical and transformational wisdom.
The Gospel of Thomas by Cynthia Bourgeault: This e-course, “The Gospel of Thomas with Cynthia Bourgeault,” is a complete “Thomas starter kit”: everything you need to know to get you up and running with this remarkable text, plus a generous sampling of its most important sayings, arranged thematically so that they speak to issues that contemporary spiritual seekers are actually dealing with.
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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.
Holy Silence: The Quaker Way by J. Brent Bill: Quaker silence is not about stillness, as such, but rather about encountering God in a living and vital holy hush. This e-course encourages women and men to undertake a journey of spiritual silence. The destination is a quiet inner place where God teaches us directly. Friends (as Quakers are formally known) have been honing their take on silence for more than 350 years. It’s a silence that invites us to an immediate and personal encounter with God. That’s because Quakers believe that when we are silent, then the Spirit of God grants us insights, guidance, and understanding of spiritual truth.
The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers by Christine Valters Paintner: The Wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers with Christine Valters Paintner” is an Online Retreat that enables you to explore and engage with the insights of the desert mothers and fathers of fourth and fifth century Egypt. These men and women of God went to the desert to live out a simple but challenging spirituality that still resonates strongly for us today.
Ignatian Spirituality for Everyday Life by Margaret Silf: This e-course invites you into a journey of exploration into this practical, real-world approach to Christian spirituality. Discover something of the real Ignatius. Let him guide you into the creative power of your own desires and offer you tools for making wiser choices. Try out some of the methods of prayer and reflection that he suggests, and engage with the power of scriptural meditation. Learn to notice what is moving in your heart, and discern which movements are coming from the deepest core of your being, where God is indwelling.
Authentic Orthodox prayer ropes and bracelets are handmade by monks in the Orthodox monastaries reciting a prayer for every knot they tie.
Contemplative Light offers courses on contemplative practices (Christian Meditation, Centering Prayer, The Examen, Lectio Divina, The Jesus Prayer), the Christian mystics (ancient and current) and spiritual writing. Peruse their wonderful offerings.
Drawing from the wisdom of monastic life, modern psychology and best practices in personal productivity, the Monk Manual provides a daily system that will help you find clarity, purpose, wisdom, and peace in the moments that make up your life.
