Hello and welcome to this practice.
In this meditation I will briefly share the four guidelines of the Christian contemplative practice of Centering Prayer.
Then I will share a reading from author and mystic Mirabai Starr to begin the practice.
After the reading you'll hear one chime to indicate the beginning of 20 minutes of silent meditation practice and then you'll hear the chime again at the end of 20 minutes.
After the second chime I will leave a small amount of silence and then repeat the reading from the beginning.
You can learn more about Centering Prayer on my website.
Before we go into our Centering Prayer the four guidelines of Centering Prayer are as follows.
Number one,
Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within.
This could be a word like love,
Peace,
Trust,
Etc.
Number two,
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.
Number three,
When engaged with your thoughts or a bodily sensation an emotion or a memory return ever so gently to the sacred word and repeat it silently.
And number four,
At the end of the prayer period remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.
So again I will begin the Centering Prayer practice with a reading.
You'll hear the chime to start the 20 minutes and you'll hear the chime to end the 20 minutes and then I will repeat the reading and close our time together.
This is why you cultivate contemplative practice.
The more intentionally you turn inward the more available the sacred becomes.
You sit down to meditate not only because it helps you find rest in the arms of the formless beloved but also because it increases your chances of being stunned by beauty when you get back up.
Mirabai Star.
This is why you cultivate contemplative practice.
The more intentionally you turn inward the more available the sacred becomes.
You sit down to meditate not only because it helps you find rest in the arms of the formless beloved but also because it increases your chances of being stunned by beauty when you get back up.
Mirabai Star.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
May your time and meditation bear fruit for the rest of your day.
