As I wrote this book, my father passed away.
My first centering-prayer session after his death was very powerful.
I will never forget it.
The morning after he passed, I turned on my prayer app on my iPad.
The opening bell chimed and I began.
I immediately began to cry.
I visualized my sacred icon.
I cried again.
Again, I visualized the icon. Again, I cried.
I do not recall how many times I repeated this cycle.
Each time I cried, I let go more deeply as I consented to God’s presence.
Eventually, the tears stopped, and I was at peace.
Then I let go of the peace. I just was.
I was in the spaces between my thoughts.
I was with God and God was with me.
True peace, even in the midst of my grief!
The closing bell chimed, and I returned to my life, strengthened.
I still grieved my father, but now I had let him go, knowing that he was in God’s hands.
This was the most powerful centering prayer session I have ever experienced.
Centering prayer teaches us to strengthen the reflex of letting go, which is a wonderful training for life.
As we stop compulsively holding on to thoughts during prayer, we build the spiritual “muscle” that allows us to let go even of the people and things in our lives that we love most.
We give it all to God—thoughts, worries, loved ones, and all.
Read more in Sitting with God.
Join me on Saturday, April 24 from 1-2 pm ET for my first Virtual Book Study of my new book, Sitting with God: A Journey to Your True Self Through Centering Prayer. We will discuss Chapter 1. You can use this link to join: https://teams.live.com/meet/93369773689404 or click here.
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