Path of Centering Prayer

The Contemplative Path

I. An Evolving Tradition

How did the modern contemplative Christian tradition originate? During the 1950’s and 60’s, a time when many people found Christianity spiritually empty, teachers such as the Trappist monk Thomas Merton helped bring forth its inner riches. Through his writings and his life Merton expressed the message of Christian contemplation in a way that brought it to life for seekers in the rapidly-changing contemporary world.

A generation later, other contemplatives, notably Father Thomas Keating, have taught practices such as Centering Prayer as a way of practicing what Merton pointed to. Thomas Keating has developed a modern psychology of the interior life, a support structure of prayer groups, and brought his insights as an abbot and wisdom teacher to the development of Centering Prayer practice.

Most of the people who now practice Centering Prayer live in very different worlds than the earlier monastery-based teachers, and often struggle to integrate contemplative practice with the pressured demands of modern life. God, acting through the deepening experience of a new generation of Christian contemplatives, is now bringing a new level of advanced teachings and practices to life. This third generation of renewal in Christian contemplation, designed to take Centering Prayer to the next level of insight and effectiveness, is built upon the solid foundation of the first two generations of experience, community and teaching.

II. The Treasure of Centering Prayer

Many followers of Centering Prayer are not aware of the fact that their practice has great potential to take them far beyond its introductory guidelines. In fact, there are eight rich branches to The Path of Centering Prayer. Understanding these teachings helps you on your spiritual journey. Each branch, representing different perspectives, brings you to an easier and more meaningful practice, to deeper relationship with God, greater freedom, ability to serve others, and joy for the life you are discovering in God.

These eight branches of the path are actually found in Thomas Keating’s mature teaching on Centering Prayer. Like treasure hidden in plain sight, a wealth of resources are imbedded in his written and oral teachings that – when developed – provide practical help to both beginning and maturing students.

“Incarnational Centering Prayer” is the name of the system developed by David Frenette to provide practical guidance on applying these teachings. It unearths these hidden treasures so that you can better recognize them as God brings them to life in your own practice. You can work with the teachings of Incarnational Centering Prayer in two ways:

III. Attitudes and Practices

First, you can learn how the eight branches of the Path of Centering Prayer apply to your own contemplative life. This is done informally in one-one-one contemplative spiritual direction where you bring forth your own issues and see how the attitudes and perspectives of the eight branches of the Path of Centering Prayer can help you. Your own practice is then strengthened and solidified.

Secondly, you can translate the attitudes into embodied practice through the methodology of Incarnational Centering Prayer. Its other levels of teaching apply the perspectives and attitudes of The Path of Centering Prayer into more developed contemplative practices that you can learn. This formal Training Process begins with Deepening Centering Prayer.

Incarnational Centering Prayer offers The Path of Centering Prayer and Training in Deepening Centering Prayer to help people practice contemplation in ordinary life. It hopes to contribute to the ongoing renewal of the Christian contemplative tradition.

It is a narrow gate and a hard path that leads to life, and only a few take it. Mt 7: 14

The first part of the Christian journey is to realize that there is an Other. The second part is to become the Other. The third and greatest part is to realize that there is no Other. Thomas Keating

How to Participate

on the Path

The eight branches of The Path of Centering Prayer are introduced here for you to explore. You can investigate them by:

(1) Visiting the webpage that introduce each branch, Click on the branches of the path above, take the material in, consider it against your own experience and - if you like - join an online discussion at centeringprayer.zaadz.com

(2) Go further and get assistance with your contemplative practice. David Frenette offers Contemplative Spiritual Direction on how to apply the perspectives and attitudes of all eight branches to your own practice in a personalized way.

(3) Be trained in Deepening Centering Prayer. This is the formal way of being trained in the advanced practices of Incarnational Centering Prayer. Training begins with the first branch of the Path of Centering Prayer, the foundation from which formal training in all the other branches arise. Go to Deepening Centering Prayer for a description of the training.

If you have practiced Centering Prayer, as developed by Fr. Thomas Keating, you may have gotten to a point where you feel stuck in your practice, or where you need help integrating your practice into your daily life. The Path of Centering Prayer is a transformative eight-branch system of practical guidance and insight designed to take your Centering Prayer practice to the next level of effectiveness and spiritual integration.

When you include all eight branches of this path in your contemplative life you are on a complete path to union with Christ and unity in God.

Scroll down to learn more about The Path of Centering Prayer. Then, scroll back up and click on one of the eight links around the blue cross above to explore each of the eight branches of the Path of Centering Prayer. To visit the other sections of the website, click on the links around the symbol of the Trinity above, left.

Click Here to go to a special page to download an interview with David Frenette on the Path and Incarnational Centering Prayer

Integrating

Introduction