Centering Prayer.

I Invite you to unbind yourself from the distractions, chatter, and seemingly constant demands of the day-to-day existence of our modern world. I'm about to share with you a time-honored and ancient way of "apophatic" meditation and prayer.

If you find yourself asking: "why would I do this?" "What are the benefits?" Please see my explanation of how a basic understanding of the brain chemical myelin interacts with behavior, habit, and practice.

Some Context

"Apophatic" prayer is a contemplative practice that, in contrast to its counterpart "kataphatic" prayer, gives the practitioner a chance to invite, allow, and consent to a divine presence in their inward being. Where the usual kind of prayer we think of is full of praise and petition, Centering Prayer (also known as "The Prayer of Consent") invites us to truly and silently give our time to the divine presence we honor in our spiritual walk.

The process of Centering Prayer is simple. All you need is a quiet space, and 20 minutes or more to truly engage the practice. Yes, 20 minutes can feel like a long time, especially when you're not writing, recording, planning, or "do-ing" of any kind. I do assure you though that both the tangible and intangible benefits of this type of prayer or meditation are absolutely worth it.

You'll want a "sacred word" (usually a virtue word like "love," "acceptance," "forgiveness," or "transformation"), which is like a mantra in that you'll use it regularly, and keep it to yourself. It is unlike a mantra, in that you don't repeat it indefinitely during the prayer. Instead, it has a specific purpose, and you'll also find that the meaning of that word grows and evolves as you contemplate it in your "waking life."

Here is the process

First, be still, comfortable, and close your eyes.

Second, imagine yourself in SCUBA gear, at the bottom of a large body of water. Picture the surface of the water as very far away, with the sun's rays cutting through and shining all around you. Now, you'll notice the great shadow-silhouettes of ships, moving slowly or quickly, on the surface overhead. The temptation is to swim up to the surface, and somehow interact with or learn more about the ships. If you notice yourself doing this (sometimes I'm all the way aboard the ship and rifling through the contents of a closet in one of the cabins before I even notice), silently invoke your sacred word in thought, give praise for your ability to notice the diversion, and let yourself gently return to the bottom of the water.

Finally, repeat this process for 20 minutes.

The objective is not to "empty" your mind of thoughts, instead it is to quiet the mind. The idea here is that the ships from the meditation represent the thoughts, feelings, ideas, dreams, criticism, self-doubt, and any other distraction you might face from simply "be-ing you" in your day-to-day life. You'll find that over time, you will have more mental focus and less internal distraction, far less needless busyness, and far, far less negative self-talk happening (again, see my post about myelin to learn more about this).

You may find that it feels like every 2 seconds you're distracted by some thought in the form of a ship overhead. Don't be discouraged by this, but instead celebrate the practice you're getting at not engaging distraction. Celebrate yourself and the powerful mind and heart that you've been given, in this newfound spaciousness.

An Anecdotal Example

Once while I was washing dishes at home, I was very angry. The suds and warm water and dishes were, instead of a calming reminder that I have access to food and good company, an irritant. I fumed as each dish represented the last thing my spouse did that got on my nerves, etc. etc. We've all been there, angrily washing dishes. However, as I continued to wash them and let my anger fly, something marvelous happened.

My sacred word occurred to me, as if out of nowhere. And with it, it brought all the calm, peace, and spaciousness from my Centering Prayer practice. I let my eyes close and literally felt the tension and frustration leave my body through my fingertips. I almost completely forgot what I was upset about in the first place, except for the fact that it might benefit my marriage to discuss the topic briefly with my wife.

Overall, this has happened many, many times since I began the prayer practice, and about half the time at present, I am the one remembering to invoke my sacred word when I get too tied up in the anxieties, frustrations, anxieities, and even excess ambitions of life.

To me, this is a miraculous example of why Centering Prayer is an excellent addition to anyone's spiritual practice repertoire.