I remember being a toddler, holding onto the coffee table, and then letting go and trying to walk! OK, so I don't really remember that but I have seen enough children go through that process that I assume that I experienced something very similar. There is a beautiful life and adventure that we get to enjoy if we can ever get the courage to just "let go".
Letting go and learning how to better do that is the primary focus of the practice of centering prayer that we began discussing yesterday. For the last several months I have made this practice a part of my life. There are some simple elements to centering prayer that I want to share with you.
1) Start by finding a quiet place where you will be free from distractions and disruptions
2) Take a deep breath, let it out and settle into the moment
3) Set aside 15-20 minutes to just sit in total silence and stillness
The goal of this time is to just "let go"of all of the thoughts you have as they begin to arise. This will be no easy task but try and not give any attention to the thoughts that come up in your mind. Simply let them go. In order to better help with this you may choose a sacred word to focus on during your time. A word like, love, grace, peace or even Jesus!
If we could tap into the benefits of this practice then we would be better suited to "let go" of our negative emotions when something goes wrong in our lives or people hurt us.
As I shared with you yesterday, Father Thomas Keating is a great voice of learning for me on this practice. If you notice below you can watch an 8 minute video of him introducing the practice of centering prayer.
This coming Wednesday, September 3, we will be experiencing Night of Worship at LifePoint Church. The subject of my conversation will be cenetering prayer and we will even spend a few minutes in practice together.
My challenge for you today is to just begin thinking about this practice and make yourslef ready to start walking in it. Here's one thing that I know, life happens wether we are ready or not and if we could walk in peace and learn to let go of all the emotions and hurts that arise in a given day we would be better equipped to follow Christ. Centering Prayer is crucial for this journey.
Sunday we will talk about the discipline of Study and next Wednesday we practice centering prayer. See you there!
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1 comment:
I'm so sad I won't be able to come on Wednesday. Make sure this one is recorded :) I definitely need to practice "letting go." I completely agree that if we practice it now, it will greatly be of benefit when we are in times of anger, sadness, and hurt.
Have I told you that I'm loving this series yet?
Jaime
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