Last night at the "Bite of St. A's" we had a workshop on Centering Prayer. Our teacher was Cherry Haisten, program director of The Center of St. Andrew's, Seattle.
Cherry has been doing centering prayer for nearly twenty years and has studied with some the big names in centering prayer, especially Fr. Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk who is responsible for the introduction and growth of centering prayer in our country.
Cherry briefly outlined the background to centering prayer by showing how prayer is opening ourselves to God. Sometimes we use words to pray; other times we simply sit in silence and wait for God. Centering prayer is a method to help us pray without words.
The Christian tradition has a long history of contemplative prayer practice, and centering prayer is an attempt to recover that tradition and make it available for people today. In the 1970's Fr. Thomas Keating noticed that many young people were drawn to eastern meditation practices, and he wanted to show them that meditation is not just confined to eastern religions. Many people today are finding that centering prayer is a deeply fulfilling practice.
The method of centering prayer is very simple. Each person chooses a "sacred word" - something simple and short - that is a sign of one's intention to consent to God's presence and action within. The sacred word can be God, Jesus, love, peace, listen, or some other word. The meaning of the word isn't what's important, but the intention is what matters.
Centering prayer is usually practiced for twenty minutes while sitting quietly in a comfortable chair. The idea is to let the mind "rest in God." When thoughts arise, as they always do, we simply let them go, say the sacred word, and return to silence. The "letting-go" process is the valuable part of centering prayer.
Cherry led us in twenty minutes of centering prayer, which I found very peaceful and soothing. In fact, after a busy day, I think I dozed off during the prayer! It was a wonderful workshop and I think all of us learned a lot.
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