Welcome to this guided practice of the Welcoming Prayer.
The Welcoming Prayer is a practice of recognizing what is arising in the present moment as a way of opening to the presence and action of God,
A means of saying yes to Divine Grace in every circumstance and situation.
It is a helpful addition to a regular meditation or contemplative prayer practice that brings an active willingness to consent into daily life.
The first step is to feel and sink into what you are experiencing this moment in your body.
Begin by pausing to take three slow,
Deep breaths,
Focusing especially on emptying all the way out on your exhale so that your body is naturally compelled to take that next breath in.
Now,
Allow your awareness to drop down from your head into your heart center,
Expanding out from your heart center to the entire body.
As you do this,
The next step is to welcome what you are experiencing this moment in your body as an opportunity to consent to the Divine Indwelling.
Explore the full range of your body's awareness like a curious explorer,
Noting what you are feeling and where you are feeling it without adding any resistance or judgment,
Without any need to change or to fix anything.
Finally,
Let go by saying,
I let go of my desire for security,
Affection,
And control,
And I embrace this moment as it is.
I let go of my desire for security,
Affection,
And control,
And I embrace this moment as it is.
And we'll conclude with words from Denise Levertov in her poem,
The Oval.
As swimmers dare to lie face to the sky,
And water bears them up,
As hawks rest upon air and air sustains them,
So would I learn to attain,
Free fall,
And float into Creator Spirit's deep embrace,
Knowing no effort earns that all surrounding grace.
