Q: I’ve been practicing meditation/contemplation for more than twenty years. As of late, I am periodically troubled by the question “why am I doing this, i.e., contemplation?” The question is in […]
Ego Elimination?
Q: What Centering Prayer method is used to eliminate the ego? The Buddhist method is to meditate on emptiness. A: Thank you for your question. In truth all our contemplative practices are […]
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Centering Prayer and Trauma
Q: I have been practicing Centering Prayer for 12 years, and recently I have been praying for the transformation process to hurry up. To put it more politely, for […]
In Memory of Ilse Reissner (English & Español)
1929 – 2021 HER HISTORY IN EXTENSION CONTEMPLATIVA INTERNACIONAL The history of the Spanish Centering Prayer Groups in Central Florida starts in 1991, when Ilse Reissner moved to Altamonte […]
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Governing Board Member Selection Process & Call For Applications
Description of the Governing Board The Governing Board of Contemplative Outreach is a volunteer group of Centering Prayer practitioners entrusted to serve the community at large, discern the call […]
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Our Contemplative Practices Move to Zambia
by Fionnuala Quinn O.P. Dublin, Ireland During this time of pandemic, when globally the life of every citizen has been disrupted and our personal connections with people very much […]
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Monkey Mind on Steroids
Q: I have been doing Centering Prayer for about 7 years, and I have changed in positive ways that my wife, some others in the CP group, and even […]
Background Noise
Q: When doing my Centering Prayer and after settling in to “find my sweet spot” I find that despite the quiet of prayer, there always seems to be noise […]
Centering Prayer and Tinnitus
Q: I was meditating/doing Centering Prayer for many years. However, about three years ago I got pretty sick. A result of that illness is now severe tinnitus or ringing […]
Guard of Heart
Guard of Heart By Bob Mischke “If you do Centering Prayer and don’t bring it into active life – like the active prayer phrase, the Welcoming Prayer, and Guard of […]
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What is Being “Welcomed” in the Practice of the Welcoming Prayer?
Q: On the Welcoming Prayer practice, what is being welcomed? What if I don’t feel “welcoming”? It seems like I can’t even “feel and sink into” the sensation if I’m […]
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Father Thomas: Gently Waiting for the Beginning
For most of the last 30 years, our abba, Father Thomas, has been an indefatigable whirlwind jetting around the world teaching, leading retreats, writing books and preaching the good news […]
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The Accelerated Course for Those Over 80
Q: In the book, The Human Condition, it mentions an accelerated course for people over 80. I am looking for information on that program. A: I am unaware of any […]
The Unitive Way: Seeing Creation from God’s Perspective
by George R. Gerardi “A new period in evolutionary history seems to be emerging that calls us to transcend our rational powers with their desires for security and survival, power […]
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A Closer Walk with God during Lockdown
Q: I have one – desperate – question. In the current lockdown I am led to believe from the book 40 Days to a Closer Walk with God [by David Muyskens] […]
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The Practice of Forgiveness
Q: Forgiveness is one of the highest expressions of love and love without forgiveness is no love at all. Jesus’ emphasis on the absolute necessity to forgive repeatedly and from […]
Some Gleanings from Survey Results – Contemplative Outreach Prison Outreach
At a Glance: A rich, diverse and exuberant response 88 respondents from 30 different U.S. states, Canada and Mexico. From both men’s and women’s facilities; From volunteers outside and chaplain/staff […]
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Praying Holy Scripture in the Lectio Divina Method as Part of the Centering Prayer Support Group
The Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina prayer practices complement each other. Fr. Thomas Keating called this a “Liturgy of Lectio Divina.” In his article “The Four Approaches to the Practice […]
Remembering Therese Saulnier
“She got a little too good at welcoming!” So Thomas Keating said about his dear friend and colleague Mary Mrozowski after her death in 1993. We might say the same […]
A Meditation on Centering Prayer and Poverty of Spirit
Fr. Keating recommends studying the beatitudes. The beatitudes, especially poverty of spirit, seem to stand out in the heart of his writing. It seems to me I can take satisfaction […]
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Moving Through Discouragement
Q: I pray Centering Prayer two-three times daily for an hour each. I started two years ago but I didn’t take it seriously until last year. I am currently going through […]
Confirming Direction
Q: I’ve been reading the books and practicing Centering Prayer on and off for about three years. Going from yoga to meditation, and now being called back to the […]
What a Difference a Word Makes
“Consent” or “surrender-accept.” “Consent to God’s presence and action within.” Sometimes I hear something so often that I cease to actually hear what it says. Consent, surrender, and accept have […]
Renewing Our Understanding of the Contemplative Tradition
As the New Year unfolds it is a good time to renew our understanding of the richness of Contemplative Prayer, Centering Prayer and the role of Contemplative Outreach. What is Contemplative […]
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The Contemplative Dimension of Pilgrimage: “Solutio in eundo” — The solution is in the walking
by Thomas Hall (this article first appeared in the December 2015 issue of Contemplative Outreach News) Burgos slept as I slipped passed the Catedral de Santa Maria and […]
