Secret Garden Practices

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Centering and Welcoming Prayer

“So contemplation, then, is simple. It embraces, includes and embodies everything that is. All dimensions of reality. All points of view. All the sources of wisdom. All cultures. All faiths. God is One.”

LAURENCE FREEMAN OSB, SOURCES OF WISDOM

Welcome to the Secret Garden Practices Online Community.

We invite contemplatives from all faith or spiritual traditions to participate in any of our group practices. We hope you find here a loving and compassionate online sanctuary for spiritual connection and companionship in stillness.

The only technical requirement is a computer or telephone and an internet connection. The more important requirement is a desire to be more centered in the Divine (however you understand that) and a willingness to support and be supported by an online contemplative community. You can participate in as many online groups as you like and you can leave at any time.

Email Sylvia with questions or to register

Join the In-Person Contemplative Practices Community Anytime.

If you’re unfamiliar with either the Welcoming or Centering Prayer practice, please contact Sylvia in advance of the meeting for a brief overview.

Helpful Information:

Welcoming Prayer is a method of consenting to God’s presence and action in our physical and emotional reactions to events and situations in daily life. The purpose of the Welcoming Prayer is to deepen our relationship with God through consenting in the ordinary activities of our day — “consent-on-the-go.” We are currently discussing Anthony de Mello’s book, Awareness.

Centering Prayer is a a receptive method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer, prayer in which we experience God’s presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. Our practice is guided by the Contemplative Outreach model, using poems for our pre-silence Lectio Divina.

Links:

Contemplative Outreach Northwest
The Contemplative Society: Home
WCCM | The World Community for Christian Meditation
A Borderless Practice: The Interspiritual Invitation of Centering Prayer – Article by Keith Kristich, a commissioned presenter of Centering Prayer as well as a certified teacher of meditation and the Enneagram.

For Welcoming Prayer:
Contemplative Outreach Welcoming Prayer Method
Contemplative Outreach Welcome Prayer Youtube Playlist
Contemplative Outreach Body Scan One, Body Scan Two (audio only)

For Centering Prayer:
Contemplative Outreach Centering Prayer Method
CO Centering Prayer Introductory Program – five-video playlist, watch one per week.
Lectio Divina Brochure from Contemplative Outreach