Divine Therapy | Healing The False Self Through Centering Prayer - by Nicholas Fournie

COURSE

Divine Therapy | Healing The False Self Through Centering Prayer

With Nicholas Fournie

Divine Therapy | Healing the False Self through Centering Prayer, guides you through Thomas Keating's transformative model, where Centering Prayer acts as "apophatic psychotherapy", surfacing unconscious emotional wounds for healing. This 6-session audio course moves from understanding the false self's emotional programs (security, affection, control), to meeting God as Divine Therapist, mastering the prayer method, navigating somatic unloading, learning Welcoming Practice for daily life, and resting in true self emergence. Experience guided Centering Prayer sits (12–20 minutes), somatic body scans, and reflective probing: no prior experience needed. Perfect for practitioners feeling emotional "sweat" after prayer or anyone seeking Christian contemplative healing tools. 20–30 minutes daily yields profound integration over weeks. Course Image: Dmitry Goronkov by Nicholas Fournie, 2025

Divine ConnectionHealingPresenceChristianityNon-DualitySpiritualRecovery & HealingHealth & HappinessReligionSelf-Observation

Meet your Teacher

Nicholas Fournie
Calgary, AB, Canada

Nicholas Fournie holds a Master of Theological Studies from the University of Toronto, specializing in psychospiritual practices and transformative contemplative traditions. He works with The Contemplative Society, founded in 1997 by teacher Cynthia Bourgeault to share Centering Prayer and related Christian contemplative practices. As a longtime practitioner himself, Nicholas leads local Centering Prayer circles and brings this direct experience to guiding others through Divine Therapy.

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6 Days

0 students

No ratings

17 min / day

Divine Connection

English

Lesson 1

The False Self

Uncover how micro-traumas and social conditioning form the false self's emotional programs for security, affection, and control, as taught by Thomas Keating. Through somatic body scan, Merton's wisdom, Buddhism's anatta, Sufism's nafs, and gentle probing practice, begin the "archaeological dig" revealing your true essence beneath overactive mind masks, introducing the sacred word as symbol of consent to God's healing presence.

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Lesson 2

God The Therapist

Discover God as Divine Therapist, not harsh judge, but intimate presence affirming your core goodness while gently purifying false self attachments through intention and consent. Explore Keating's relational healing model, somatic softening of resistance, twin movements of heart-orientation toward divine union, and Cynthia Bourgeault's insight that silence itself becomes God's encounter, preparing your sacred word for Centering Prayer's full method.

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Lesson 3

The Basics Of Centering Prayer

Enter into the radically receptive, silent and relational method of Centering Prayer, inviting the Holy Spirit's presence into your moments of stillness. This unique practice is not a concentrative technique; it is a communion. This lesson will help you master Thomas Keating's four guidelines: distinguishing sacred word as intention/consent symbol, comfortable posture, 20-minute timing, and gentle returns from all engagements (thoughts, emotions, external noises). Experience your first 12 minutes of silence, as you prepare for a daily 20-minute sit.

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Lesson 4

Stillness Surfaces Somatic Baggage

Explore Thomas Keating's "archaeological dig" and spiral staircase models explaining how Centering Prayer's stillness loosens psychological "sweat"... traumas stored in muscles/nervous system surfacing as emotions/sensations. This guided somatic noticing reveals the four moments of unloading (sacred word, rest, release, integration), with an anonymized example of jaw/shoulder tension thawing, normalizing overwhelm, and compassionate boundaries.

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Lesson 5

Welcoming Practice

Learn the 60-second Welcoming Practice companion to Centering Prayer for daily life: three somatic steps (feel/sink into sensation, welcome it by name, let go of false self attachments to security/affection/control), bringing intention and consent into conflict, anxiety, and reactivity. Guided practice integrates Keating/Mrozowski prayer, welcoming all inner experience for divine transformation.

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Lesson 6

Walking Toward The True Self

Celebrate Divine Therapy's fruits as false self-attachments dissolve, revealing the true self and your deepest center of "okayness" in God. Recognize healing signs (less reactivity, softer body, deeper compassion), sense Divine Indwelling across all creation, and complete the journey through guided probing practice, noticing freedom, somatic softening, emerging spark, and presence touches. Overview of Centering Prayer's seven movements offers roadmap for ongoing transformation.

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