“[L]et no one who has cultivated the practice of contemplative prayer grow discouraged and say, ‘If I end up reverting to my old ways, it would be better for me to give up prayer altogether.’ I believe things will get worse if the person abandons prayer and refuses to quit his bad habits. But if he stays the course, prayer will carry him into the harbor of light.” Teresa of Avila, The Book of My Life (1562)
When I started The Wisdom Project, my intention was to increase the regularity of my contemplative prayer life. If you follow the Friday Prayer Reports, you will see that I have been able to keep close to my goal of four or five centering prayer sits every week. These last six weeks have been a blessing to me, and I have seen many positive effects from regular contemplative prayer. I am free to pray other prayers during the day, but for twenty minutes before 8:30 a.m. I am committed to centering prayer.
During the 20 minutes of centering prayer, I open myself to God’s love (presence and action) in my life. Instead of making plans and considering the day to come, I focus on a sacred word and soak myself in divine grace. Many days I spend much of the prayer gently moving myself out of my thoughts and back to the soaking word without ever leaving the world as I know it; however, I have experienced times when the world has melted away and I find myself bathed in the presence of the Unseen One. Even then, I am still sitting in the prayer chair (no levitating to report).
The first time I did centering prayer was in October of 1997 at an all-day workshop with New Jersey’s Contemplative Outreach sponsored by St. Scholastica Monastery in Duluth. We did three or four twenty-minute sits in a dark room, and I remember enjoying the experience very much. That night I slept better than I had in years. When I woke up, I told my husband, Brad—“I feel like I was getting all healed up and I didn’t even know I was sick!”
Teresa writes, “If [we] stay the course, prayer will carry [us] into the harbor of light.” Whenever we move off course, we will feel discouraged but we do not need to give up. We can steer ourselves right back to the harbor again. The harbor is close to us, as close as our heartbeat, as close as our breath, and we are always invited to soak in God’s love, peace and presence.
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Lezlie you are such an example of discipline and spirituality for all of us, especially me. I am growing spiritually because of you and your writings. You are such an inspiration. You make contemplative prayer so beautifully easy "focusing on a sacred word...soak myself in divine grace...resulting in finding myself bathed in the presence of the Unseen One." How beautifully put. You may not be levitating as yet, but your spirit is soaring with the angels! Keep up the good work and I look forward to your entries.
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