The Desert Mystics
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Originating from the early days of Christianity, Centering Prayer is a method of meditation used by Christians placing a strong emphasis on interior silence with the goal of expanding or deepening the awareness of the practitioner. Soon after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity as the religion of the Roman empire, the desert monastic movement grew as they moved from urban areas to the wilderness of the desert. In her book, The Forgotten Desert Mothers, Laura Swan discusses the significance of silence in the spiritual practice of desert monastics. She writes:
Drawn deeper into the desert, they are drawn deeper into solitude, deeper into themselves and at the same time deeper into community and deeper into God the ground of being, and thus closer to the ground of being within us, for the depth of being of each of us is as strange and alien, yet hauntingly as familiar, as the desert solitude.
The desert ascetic pursued and cultivated silence. This was a silence pregnant with the presence of the Divine, the womb where the world grew. The goal of silence was the inner quiet of strength, not the total absence of words. Silence was deemed intrinsic to the desert journey as prayer. This silence was inner calm and serenity grounded in strength. As for us today, silence calms the inner spirit to allow the words to permeate to the inner heart. Purifying and nurturing silence supports the intentional inner journey.
Silence helps us begin the pilgrimage within and better discern the sacred. Silence helps us cultivate and deepen our passionate love for God because it provides the atmosphere of true and authentic communication with God. Silence teaches us to speak simply, directly, compassionately, and honestly. Kenneth Leech reminds us that "the protest of the solitary is not against human companionship as such, but against the evasion of self which can easily occur when involvement with people obscures and prevents any real encounter with one's own identity. Only in stillness can the truth be seen."
Drawn deeper into the desert, they are drawn deeper into solitude, deeper into themselves and at the same time deeper into community and deeper into God the ground of being, and thus closer to the ground of being within us, for the depth of being of each of us is as strange and alien, yet hauntingly as familiar, as the desert solitude.
The desert ascetic pursued and cultivated silence. This was a silence pregnant with the presence of the Divine, the womb where the world grew. The goal of silence was the inner quiet of strength, not the total absence of words. Silence was deemed intrinsic to the desert journey as prayer. This silence was inner calm and serenity grounded in strength. As for us today, silence calms the inner spirit to allow the words to permeate to the inner heart. Purifying and nurturing silence supports the intentional inner journey.
Silence helps us begin the pilgrimage within and better discern the sacred. Silence helps us cultivate and deepen our passionate love for God because it provides the atmosphere of true and authentic communication with God. Silence teaches us to speak simply, directly, compassionately, and honestly. Kenneth Leech reminds us that "the protest of the solitary is not against human companionship as such, but against the evasion of self which can easily occur when involvement with people obscures and prevents any real encounter with one's own identity. Only in stillness can the truth be seen."
Entering into silence is not easy. To risk encountering our fullest and truest self, and to meet God as God is requires courage and the freedom to risk. Silence invites us to meet and discover our truest selves - with masks, illusions, and public personae removed. Self-image is stripped and realigned: We begin to put on the mind of Christ. Silence, therefore, invites us to change, to grow toward the fullness of life. Silence helps us cultivate a healthy detachment from reputation, thwarted desires and plans, and anything that keeps us distracted from God.
The ascetic strove to sit silently, attune her attention fully to the silence, and allow silence to speak its wisdom. As the psalmist tells us, " But I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me" (Ps 131:2). For the desert dweller, "silence itself was layered, having depth and texture, and that to learn to be attentive to the varied qualities of the layers was to begin to discern the presence of the Spirit of God." Silence is essentially listening.
The ascetic strove to sit silently, attune her attention fully to the silence, and allow silence to speak its wisdom. As the psalmist tells us, " But I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me" (Ps 131:2). For the desert dweller, "silence itself was layered, having depth and texture, and that to learn to be attentive to the varied qualities of the layers was to begin to discern the presence of the Spirit of God." Silence is essentially listening.
Centering Prayer Groups / Locations
Eastern Meditation
Eastern Meditation
Introduction to Centering Prayer
Cynthia Bourgeault
Thomas Keating
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