Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Inner Simplicity

In his book A Testament of Devotion, Thomas R. Kelly writes:

Deep within us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a divine center, a speaking voice, to which we may continuously return. Eternity is in our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives. . . . Life is meant to be lived from a center, a divine center. Our real problem, in failing to center down, is not a lack of time; it is, I fear, in too many of us, lack of joyful, enthusiastic delight toward God at every hour of the day and night.

Distracting inner junk departs from our minds when we choose to focus on, and be driven by, this divine center. A method the great vintage saints used for doing this is called "Centering Prayer"..... You may want to give it a crack.....

  • Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within. EG, Creator, Holy, Love, Abba, Jesus. Choose a word for you... you can be creative.
  • 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.
  • When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
  • At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.