Centering prayer teaches me to be present.
Centering prayer teaches me to be present and enjoy life.
Life is now!
Centering prayer teaches me to be grateful.
When I become frustrated, annoyed, angry, disappointed, sad, I shift my mood with a dose of gratitude.
I ask myself what am I grateful for.
Here are some examples that immediately come to mind.
Wife
Dates with my wife!
Children
Nala and Sandy (our golden doodles:)
House
Coffee (French press)
Books (I love to read!)
Job (I love working remote!)
Walks
Family
Friends
Gym
Outdoors
I will stop here as I can keep going.
My mood instantly shifts!
I am also grateful for new things that will happen in my life.
When I set goals, I tell myself I am grateful for their completion.
Here are a few:
I am grateful for the second book I now write. (500-1000 words per sit)
I look forward to its publication in the future!
I am grateful for the monthly zoom centering prayer gathering that Brian Russell and I facilitate.
I am grateful for upcoming speaking events.
I am grateful for upcoming podcasts.
I am grateful for new coaching clients.
I am grateful for new friends I meet in the contemplative space.
I love to end the day with gratitude.
Before I go to bed I drop to my knees.
I thank God for all the small, medium and large things that happened today.
Gratitude is powerful!
Gratitude is empowering!
Gratitude is life changing!
Reach out if you want to explore the power of gratitude and how it can transform you.
Here are three centering prayer courses I recommend. I have listened to all three, multiple times.
Closer Than Breath is a 6-week, Centering Prayer course grounded in opening to God who is closer to us than the air we breathe. Keith Kristich is the instructor of this self-paced course that will help you discover greater peace of mind and the divine Presence within. It also offers support from a community.
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.
CENTERING PRAYER MEDITATIONS: Effortless Contemplation to Deepen Your Experience of God: Essential principles and guided practices of Centering Prayer, taught by David Frenette.
“You need a simple practice to help you, a way of opening to the gift of God. A good contemplative practice makes you more present to the divine presence in you and aligns your actions with the divine action in you.”
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