Centering Prayer
Christian
Thomas Keating
Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating (Continuum, 1986)
Centering Prayer is a receptive method of Christian silent prayer that deepens relationship with God, the Indwelling Presence. Developed in the 1970s at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts by Trappist monks including Thomas Keating, it draws on The Cloud of Unknowing and the Desert Fathers. Keating described it as both a relationship with God and a discipline to deepen that relationship.
Thomas Keating (1923-2018) was a Trappist monk and abbot who co-founded Contemplative Outreach, which has introduced Centering Prayer to practitioners in over 40 countries. The practice is grounded in Matthew 6:6 and the 14th-century text The Cloud of Unknowing.
Tips
- Keating recommends a minimum of 20 minutes, ideally twice each day. - The sacred word is not repeated constantly like a mantra -- it is introduced gently whenever you notice you have been engaged with thoughts. - You may also use a sacred breath (gently attending to the breath as the symbol of consent) instead of a word. - Keating teaches: resist no thought, retain no thought, react to no thought. Simply return.