Today, I’m going to talk about one of my dirty little secrets: Affirmations. For several years off and on, I have been experimenting with developing a spiritual practice using affirmations. If you are unfamiliar with the use of affirmations, there is a significant body of literature, particularly originating from psychology, concerning their use. Suffice it Read More …
Mindfulness. That’s a great word, isn’t it? I was recently giving a presentation on Mindfulness to the Catechumenate program at the University of the South. After a brief introduction, we broke up into small groups, and each group went through the basic method that I’ve written about here and in my book, Just Begin. In Read More …
It has been a long time since I have written here! While I don’t think I can promise that posts will be quite as regular as they used to be, I have finished the major projects that have taken up the last 6-9 months. If you are interested in reading them, then they will be Read More …
It may come as no surprise to anyone who has browsed around this website that my two favorite spiritual practices are centering prayer and mindfulness meditation. While I use a variety of practices, these two speak to me personally in such a deep and resonant way. A significant reason that I like them is that Read More …
During this second week of Advent, we look to John the Baptist. I’ve always thought he was such an interesting figure. Not quite an Old Testament prophet. Not quite a New Testament apostle. He’s a very in-between man, isn’t he? He’s the forerunner, the voice in the wilderness, the first candle in the darkness… That’s Read More …
While the basics of centering prayer can be learned and put into practice in less than an hour, this practice is always capable of presenting a new facet – a different nuance – a fresh variation of practice. So, what about this one? Most variations of a centering prayer practice have the participant close his/her Read More …
Ambitious title, right? Well, let me explain what I mean. Recently, I was going back through some of my older centering prayer journals, and I found plenty of entries of things that came up in my prayer time — images, words, intuitions, inklings, etc. In the midst of centering prayer, it is possible that you Read More …
There are times in centering prayer when I sense, whether in reality or only in the eye of my imagination, that the distinct separateness of all things is breached, and I am one with all things, radiating out from where I physically sit. This feeling does not destroy the uniqueness of anything, even myself; rather, Read More …
Here are some brief points outlined by Father Thomas Keating (cf. Open Mind, Open Heart) which can help structure one’s understanding and practice of centering prayer. If you are curious about any particular point, please post a comment, and I’ll do my best to clarify/explain in greater detail — During the prayer period various kinds Read More …
“The false self is the self that we set up that tells us we need to satisfy the energy centers through a program for happiness that involves acquiring symbols of worth” (Paul Lawson, “Systems Theory and Centering Prayer,” in Centering Prayer in Daily Life and Ministry, ed. Gustave Reininger, p. 85, emphasis added). It is Read More …
