by Jan Reed Austin, Texas USA At University United Methodist Church in Austin, for the last nine years, I have been teaching Centering Prayer at Vacation Church Camp for children, ages 4 – 11.  Although the idea may sound extremely daunting, I have developed an approach and curriculum that has been very effective.  Here is my approach: Make a Sacred Space – My space is usually a children’s Sunday school classroom, so I start with a rug in the center and an “altar” in the center of the rug. The “altar” is a small table, about 1.5 feet tall, covered with a cloth.  In ..read more

  Q: I find it difficult to endure an hour of Sunday Mass, unless the priest happens to be an involving speaker. Many years ago, I effectively left the Catholic Church for that reason. I came back few years ago because of Fr Keating’s teaching and do go to church every now and then. Today, I left the Sunday Mass half way through, unable to listen to dull humdrum. I know that the Eucharist is not about being entertained but I find it close to impossible (with my ADHD) to sit through. Western churches have become rather sterile (compared to orthodox Christianity, for example) and have ..read more

  Q: My experience with Centering Prayer in the last few years is that often when I sit down and close my eyes,  sexual thoughts and images come in that very moment. Since it has been going on for years I am becoming suspicious that I must be doing something wrong. Since I don’t repress these thoughts, sometimes I am just sitting there thinking about sex because I don’t want to strengthen them. But sometimes I wonder if it is a prayer at all, especially because I have never experienced the unloading of the unconscious. In the first few years sometimes it was hard to sit for the whole ..read more

  by Suzi Kindervatter Centering Prayer has been my core spiritual practice for a more than twenty years.  But over the past decade or so, I’ve also been drawn a practice of embodied prayer called Sacred Circle Dance.  For me, this practice is like Centering Prayer with music and motion. Sacred Circle Dance grew out of the folk-dance traditions of Greece and the Baltics.  Many of the dances were developed in Findhorn, a spiritual community in Scotland from the 1960s to the present.  Today, there are groups around world, from Korea to South Africa to Brazil, and across ..read more

  Q: Can fears, anxiety etc. occur during sleep or just during the sit time? I have been practicing Centering Prayer about two years. I often wake in the middle of night with fear and anxiety and cannot think of a specific reason why. I try to relax and just let it pass. I also stopped drinking all alcohol about two years ago. I lived with an alcoholic father and feared his anger. Could this all be related? A: Thanks for reaching out regarding the anxiety and fear during the night. Yes, I do believe it is all part of this healing journey Centering Prayer is in the service of. Fr. Tho ..read more

  by Mary Jane Yates, Alberta, Canada I have heard from those who knew him that Fr. Thomas was fond of using the word “experiment” when it came to discerning how best to fulfill CO’s vision of sharing the practice of Centering Prayer and its contemplative vision as widely as possible. Such ‘experiments’ in teaching and practice were important especially in the early days of CO, before the Introductory Workshop and format for intensive retreats was developed.  And perhaps as we reach our 40th year in a world that has changed and continues to change so quickly, new ways of sharing the ..read more

  by Teresie Viera Hašanová, CO Czechia-Slovakia I think there was no better way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Contemplative Outreach community and honour Fr. Thomas Keating´s birthday (March 7) than to introduce the method of Centering Prayer to more than 60 newcomers, exactly on United in Prayer Saturday 2024. Most of them joined 127 participants on our Czech-Slovak Zoom hour, to pray and to watch the video “A Life Surrendered to Love.” I must say they were really lucky to have such a great experience of being a part of the whole Contemplative Outreach community on ..read more

  Q: For my sacred word is it okay to use the four words QUE QUE SERA QUORA? This has helped me get through many confusing stresses and uncertainty. I need help; sometime I lose my faith and get overwhelmed. A: You can use whatever sacred word you choose; the shorter the better. It is a symbol of your renewed consent to the presence and action of the Divine Indwelling, and is offered just as that; confident that the Divine accompanies you in absolutely everything. I’m fond of James Finley’s words: “If we are absolutely grounded in the absolute love of God that protects us from n ..read more

  by Bob Brown Thousand Oaks, California, USA For the past 73 years, I’ve been a participant in the human condition, both as recipient and contributor. In 1997, a woman addressed a church gathering in Santa Barbara, California, and spoke of Fr. Thomas Keating and Centering Prayer. I said to myself, “This is what I’ve been looking for.” I bought Open Mind, Open Heart. Looking back, that was the day, by God’s grace, I intentionally added my footsteps to those of so many others on the spiritual journey. A number of years later, I contacted Contemplative Outreach, asking for a recommendation ..read more

  by the Contemplative Outreach Board As members of the Contemplative Outreach Board, we are volunteers who offer our time and service in an effort to support and advocate for the vision of Contemplative Outreach. We oversee the business aspects and financial integrity of the nonprofit status of Contemplative Outreach. In these services, we are guided by the Theological Principles and Guidelines for Service (scroll down the page) that Fr. Thomas laid out for our organism, summarized in the opening statement: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all ..read more