A Path in God

         In contemplative practice we often get trapped in the “practicing,” bothered by thoughts, anxiously seeking the God we are already in.  In searching so hard for love we miss the utter gift of God’s life, the most extraordinary love imaginable. 

       The greatest breakthrough in prayer comes from awakening to contemplation in a way that connects us to God’s constant presence, thereby releasing our efforts to find God outside ourselves.  This awakening brings us closer to the ultimate mystery of God.

       Contemplative teachers throughout the ages have always pointed to the ultimate mystery as the origin, value and reason for prayer.  Thomas Keating teaches that God’s mystery is beyond our subjective experience, yet still dwells within our experience, and -- even more -- is the ground of all experiencing.

        This branch of the Path of Centering Prayer identifies the attitudes that let you awaken to God’s life more easily.  Learning what God’s indwelling nature is, what the subtle life of God is within our own consciousness, helps you begin to recognize God’s presence -- the Logos: the Mind of Christ, the Body of Christ, the Sacred Heart of Christ.  The attitudes of Contemplation in God help you better perceive these presences of Christ in you at all times.

        Yet the fullness of God is like a rose.  A rose has petals that flower, giving off aroma, presence, and beauty.  But a rose  is also made of a stem system that animates it, and unseen roots that support it.  Petals cut off from the rest of the rose are beautiful, but passing. 

        Like a rose, the attitudes of Contemplation in God are oriented not only to God’s manifest presence in Christ, but also to God’s unseen animation and source.  This means that you can stabilize your contemplative prayer even when you do not feel the presence of Christ. 

        By exploring this path, you can extend your ability to see deeper into the Trinity, learning to recognize the unmanifest energy of God -- the Spirit -- and the unseen source of the Logos and the Spirit -- the Father.  One of the greatest challenges in prayer, persevering when you do not feel God’s presence, is then enfolded in your broadened understanding of who and what God is. 

       By pursuing the gifts of this branch, Contemplation in God, you can realize that all of ordinary life is discovered in grace.  The greatest “practice” is being in contemplation, receiving God’s nature.  Then, the Spirit lives and prays in us as God awakens in us as our source, so what we do in prayer and life is an expression of God’s life in us.  As we are more centered in God’s expressive life in prayer, contemplative service to others blossoms more freely in us.