“I struggle with making Centering Prayer a consistent practice.”
What are some things you do on a daily basis?
You consistently perform them.
Perhaps they are:
Brush your teeth.
Take a shower or bath.
Eat to nourish your body.
Work.
Take care of your children.
Watch your favorite show(s).
Spend time with friends and family.
Read.
Exercise.
Walk.
Centering Prayer can be just like one of these activities.
It starts with a decision.
Make a decision that you will make it part of your daily routine.
Do it the same time each day.
Perhaps it is the first thing you do as you begin your day.
I think you will find that it prepares you for the day and all the other consistent activities.
Soon it will become a habit.
You will not be able to imagine your life without it.
You might even share it with others and tell them how life giving it has been for you and you just cannot keep it to yourself.
Go Further:
Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition by Thomas Keating and Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening were the first two books I read as I began my Centering Prayer practice.
Be Still and Listen: Experience the Presence of God in Your Life by Amos Smith
The Path of Centering Prayer: Deepening Your Experience of God by David Frenette
The Soul of a Pilgrim: Eight Practices for the Journey Within by Christine Valters Paintner
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Enjoy my short Centering Prayer video: I did not have a good sit.
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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.
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Do you think sometimes Silence from God, when there are no answers, is a form of chaistisment? Or discipline? Or is He trying to correct the errors in us, or me. Wouldn’t He send someone to speak, in need? Or would be better just to wait and continue in prayer, and faith, despite failure? Like in the Book of Job? Or like in the Book of Psalms?
I do not believe God punishes us. I believe God gently nudges us, sends others to us and patiently sits with us in our events of life.