Centering prayer (/meditation)

[Ulax]

Centering prayer, as taught by Thomas Keating and the organization he
founded, Contemplative Outreach, is a very simple yet profound
contemplative practice that orients you on the path toward transformation in
Christ. The basic guidelines are:
1.  Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to
God’s presence and action within.
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 (which include body sensations,
feelings, images, and reflections), return ever so gently to the sacred
word.
4.  At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed
for a couple of minutes.

 

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In my opinion, this can also be seen as a type of non directive meditation. Also, you can use the breath, or an image instead of the sacred word too, i,e. sacred breath, or sacred image.

A good book on this type of prayer/ meditation seems to be: 'The path of centering prayer: deepening your experience of god', by David Frenette

Edited June 30, 2023 by Ulax

[Davino]

Prayer has to be done from the mature place of oneness.

In hinduism they call it Sohamasmi:

Sohamasmi is a mantra from the Upanishad, meaning : Even when I pray, I am You. Even when I am You, even when we are One, I pray to You.

https://nithyanandapedia.org/wiki/Sohamasmi 

From the place of Sohamasmi pray all that you want

[Ulax]

6 hours ago, Davino said:

Prayer has to be done from the mature place of oneness.

@Davino What do you actually mean by that practically, i.e. in terms of one's practice?

[Davino]

@Ulax I am God and I am praying to myself.

Do the same as you pray but not in a dualistic sense that me is separate than God, or the world is separate than God.

Just sit with the cognition: All that is going on now is God, all the experience and phenomena is God. What is seen, the seeing and the seer is God alone. God is all that I can hear, smell taste or touch. My mind and thoughts are God, all understanding or confusion is God, all pain and pleasure is God, all wanting or desirlessness is God. God pervades everything and is everything now. God is my very own self. I am conscious and consciousness is God. I am God and God is me. I am _____. I am. I. ____ . ∞ 

You take a deep inhale and relax. Then you pray. If there is any prayer left in you at this point altough the prayer may be silence itself, love itself, consciousness itself, oneness itself, infinity itself. Or just wanting a ferrari that is fine also, everything is God, you are asking for God when you want a ferrari for your human ego, which ego is also God. That is praying from the mature place of oneness or praying in Godhood. This is how realized beings pray by the way.

[Ulax]

@Davino I see. With the centering prayer practice, I think the 'prayer' terminology can be misleading. Its essentially a meditation practice, rather than what one would typically call a prayer practice.

[Ulax]

Here is, what I find to be, a useful audio course on the meditative practice: https://www.soundstrue.com/products/centering-prayer-meditations

 

[Ulax]

I think the following book is very helpful for bringing clarity to the technique as well. In contrast to other books on the technique, I find the writing much more down to earth and accessible in said book.

Book: "Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening", by Cynthia Bourgeault