Recently I attended a weekend retreat in Three Rivers, California. It was a beginners retreat for those interested in learning about and
practicing Centering Prayer from the christian contemplative tradition.
Synopsis of how to do it:
1) Find 20 minutes once or twice per day to set aside from your
routine.
2) Pick a "sacred word' to use during the silence such as "peace,"
"thank you," or "Jesus."
3) Set a timer for 20 minutes (there are cool iphone aps for this:
search "meditation timer").
4) Sit up straight but in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and
silently say your sacred word as a symbol of your consent to allow
God's presence and action in your life.
5) When you find yourself engaged in your thoughts, gently return to
your sacred word.
6) When the timer goes off at the end, sit with your eyes closed for a
few moments, then gently return to your day.
More Info
The contemplatives were individuals or groups throughout christian
history who sought to experience and learn about God directly, in
addition to just thinking about or reading about God.
They realized that our thoughts and actions cannot by themselves lead
us closer to God, but rather God is already inside us. And in fact, our
usually incessant thoughts and actions can often distract us from God's
continual presence.
Many contemplatives practiced a type of meditation whereby they would
stop everything for a few minutes each day and just acknowledge and be
with God. This included temporarily moving their attention away from
their continuous internal stream of thoughts for the purpose of giving
God 100% of their attention. In other words, they sat in deep silence,
resting in God.
At the retreat, we practiced sitting in silence several times over the
weekend. Each time we sat for 20 minutes. The first thing I noticed was
how many thoughts and ideas filled my head constantly during the 20
minutes. The harder I tried to get rid of them, the more intense the
thoughts became.
As the weekend progressed they taught us that thoughts were an integral
part of this silent prayer experience, so it's okay to let them be
there, to acknowledge them with thanks, but just don't “engage” in the
thoughts that come during this time. These instructions helped me to
relax more and so the 20 minutes meditations became more enjoyable and
more restful for me.
Other things to watch for:
From my chiropractor's perspective, I saw that the difficulty each
participant (including me) described in keeping their attention focused
on the inner silence of God's presence was a mild form of Attention
Deficit Disorder (ADD). By practicing this difficult task of focusing
on nothing except silence, my mental strength is improving. I'm getting
more centered and less distractable.
How easily is your mind distracted by what other people say or do
around you? Can you stay focused easily? Can you observe and listen to
what others do and say around you in a silent pause before returning to
your previous task? Or do you often find yourself being led by your
surroundings, rather than staying centered?
Besides the positive spiritual benefits reported by people who keep a
regular meditation practice, centering prayer can also sharpen and calm
your mind. Having a healthy, nimble, relaxed mind has profound positive
effects on your overall physical health.
What else can I do?
To learn more about Centering Prayer go to :
http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/
Father Thomas Keating helped found modern day Contemplative Prayer and
he has several books, tapes, and videos for you to learn how to deepen
your spiritual life as well as better understand the human condition in
which we all find ourselves.
So try it out and let me know what you think!
Looking forward!
Yours in health,
Dr. Campise :)
No comments:
Post a Comment