Centering Prayer - The Prayer of the Heart
It is elegant in its simplicity: it involves perhaps as many as one prayer word, a space couched in silence, and participants eager to be quiet enough to be present to the Holy.
Basil Pennington wrote that: “centering prayer is an opening, a response, a putting aside of all
the debris that stands in the way of our being totally present to the present Lord so that he can be present to us. It is a laying aside of thoughts so that the heart can attend immediately to him.”
For the newcomer, it might seem rather empty at the beginning.
Where is the program, the sequence and the responses? No signals or cues?
Instead, there is space. There is encouragement to rest in that space, to release thoughts and anxieties and be available to God. Consider how you sit with a very dear friend...you make room to really hear and feel the friend’s presence. Consider doing that with the Holy. We are invited continually.
How will we respond?
For the more experienced, there will have been some dry periods and some very enlightening ones. There is an understanding that benefits may be more subtle than instantaneous. The experienced also will recognize how helpful sitting in a circle with others can be...the shared intention encourages each of us when we begin to drift, and gently returns us to a place of openness.
The circles will be guided by Megan Cochran, prayer leader and Sacred Ground mentor.
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