The Practice of Centering Prayer

The Guidelines for Centering Prayer:

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within.

2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly, and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God's presence and action within.

3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.

4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

For me, beginning Centering Prayer was a “coming home" experience "to a place I should never have left" (see Thomas Keating's Meditation below). I only wish someone had told me 15 years ago contemplative prayer was for everyone and introduced me then to Centering Prayer.

Centering Prayer is normally practiced for 20 minutes twice a day, usually after rising in the morning and again before the evening meal at the end of the day.

"Centering prayer is a method designed to deepen the relationship with Christ begun, for example, in lectio divina and to facilitate the development of contemplative prayer by preparing our faculties to cooperate with this gift. It is an attempt to present the teaching of earlier times (e.g. the Cloud of Unknowing) in an updated form and to put a certain order and regularity into it. It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer; it simply puts other kinds of prayer into a new and fuller perspective. During the time of prayer, we consent to Cod's presence and action within. At other times our attention moves outward to discover God's presence everywhere else." (Thomas Keating, Open Mind, Open Heart, p.139)

-http://www.kyrie.com/cp/guidelines_for_centering_prayer.htm

Biblical Mantras

Sometimes, I think it would be good to borrow methods from other faith traditions in the ways of spiritual discipline. I live in Korea, and am surrounded by many Buddhist co-workers. On a recent visit to a Buddhist temple, I was drawn into the chants of the monks, though I had no idea what they were actually saying. What drew me were not the words, but the rhythm and level of concentration. From that experience, I have developed a method of scriptural meditation that works really well for me - I call it "Biblical Meditation." There are some methods, such as Lectio Divina, that implement certain scriptural meditation practices along with other personal or communal rituals. The type of biblical mantra ritual I have developed consists solely of breathing techniques for relaxation and repeating a certain scriptural passage out loud in a "Buddhist"-type tone.

As an example, today I took the biblical reference, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will receive the kingdom of God." I developed a personal sing-song tone and rhythm, and after practicing controlled breathing for about 5 minutes, I simply chanted that passage for about 15 minutes. Why do I practice this type of biblical meditation rather than simply reading the Bible as a daily routine?

There are two reasons I do this: (1) in my experience, repeating a scriptural passage over and over again allows the meaning of that passage to seep deep into my subconscious, so that I continually think about that meaning throughout the day without consciously calling it to remembrance; (2) concentrating on a single, simple passage of scripture instead of an entire chapter, allows a powerful point to make mental and spiritual impact on me, rather than trying to receive many useful points within a wider, longer passage.

If you are interested in trying this form of biblical meditation, here's how I do it. I hope you can get some ideas here and re-arrange them to your circumstances for maximum effect:

1. I always do the meditation at a particular time of the day at which I am most aware and awake.
2. The environment must be comfortable and quiet. No disturbances should interrupt this time of meditation.
3. I choose a short passage (no more than 15 words) concerning something I want to improve in my life, or something God has moved me to implement.
4. Before the meditation, I develop a chant rhythm and tone, so that I do not have to experiment with this during the actual meditation time.
5. After I am ready to begin, I take 5 minutes to breathe in and out deeply, calming the mind, and attempting to empty it as much as possible.
6. When I feel relaxed and receptive, I begin chanting the scripture I chose beforehand.
7. I stop chanting whenever the Spirit moves me, or lacking that feeling, whenever I feel the passage is sufficiently implanted into my subconscious mind.

I would encourage you to try this type of scriptural meditation. It may feel strange at first, as most of us are not used to treating scripture in this way. However, I assure you the effects from this spiritual exercise will bless and strengthen you.

Peace & Blessings.