By Nicholas Tangen

I discovered Centering Prayer almost a decade ago from a Spiritual Director who invited me to explore the contemplative dimensions of the Christian tradition and embrace meditation as a counterbalance to the busyness of full-time work and school. Centering Prayer is a practice that invites us to rest in God, to set an intention to be open, and to keep opening to God’s loving embrace. There are four (seemingly simple) steps:

 

  1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within. This sacred word represents your intention to sit with God, to remain open, and to let go of the many things racing across your consciousness during the sit.
  2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
  3. When engaged with your thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word. This is where the rubber hits the road. Thoughts, in Centering Prayer, are not bad; they are inevitable and integral. Thoughts will come, but when they do during this practice, we return to the sacred word, reaffirming our intention to sit with God.
  4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

“I discovered the value and rhythm of stillness in my daily life.”

I’ll admit, it took me a while to fall in love with this silent method of prayer. The first few times I sat for the practice my mind raced with anxiety and checklists and memories and a song I heard on the radio last week. I’d wonder, “What was that sound?” Or, “What am I supposed to be doing again?”

I would open my eyes, certain the prescribed 20 minutes was closing in, only to find I had been sitting for five. I wasn’t sure I could keep this practice up.

 

BUT SLOWLY, AS I continued to set the intention to rest in God daily and remain open to God’s presence and action within, I began to encounter the moments of peace, gratitude, and healing that are the fruits of the practice. During my day, as troubling or frustrating thoughts and experiences occurred, I found myself more and more able to let go of my emotional attachments to them, to let them pass by like the many other thoughts cruising down my stream of consciousness. I found a little more patience, a little more compassion, and a little more grace.

I also discovered the value and rhythm of stillness in my daily life. The culture we live in attaches so much value to things like busyness, speed, consumption, and accumulation that to stop, to rest, or to just be still can feel like death.

“Centering Prayer has been such a healing balm amid the destructive and toxic habits present in the cult of busyness.”

But in Centering Prayer I have learned to savor those spaces of quiet and stillness in between sprints of frenetic energy. I’ve learned the value of being present to the moment, to the presence of God, and to the presence of my neighbor. And I’ve learned to listen with the ear of my heart, as St. Benedict would say.

Centering Prayer has been such a blessing in my relationship with God, and such a healing balm amid the destructive and toxic habits present in the cult of busyness. I crave the deep breathes I can take when I sit with my sacred word for those 20 minutes, and I’m grateful to be held by the God who values me for who I am, not what I can produce.

What are the practices and postures that create space for rest, breath, and presence in your own life?

If you would like to learn more about Centering Prayer, visit www.contemplativeoutreach.org.