Step-by-Step Guide by Lowell Grisham

- Centering Prayer

 

Outside Links

- Visit the Contemplative Outreach web site

From Our Partners:

Come and See by David KellerDavid Keller, close colleague of Thomas Keating, offers practical suggestions for personal prayer, addresses its difficulties, and reveals what is special about it in relation to other prayer traditions. 


Short but substantive, this book is for Christians looking for new insights about prayer and for people who are drawn to contemplation, but do not think the church has much to offer them.

Help explorefaith when you purchase COME AND SEE by David Keller or any other item from Church Publishing, Inc., our Partner in Ministry.

Also available from amazon.com.

   

Spiritual Evolution

Written By Renée Miller

Evolution happens around us every day. We see the world changing. We witness progress, development, and growth. Problems that once plagued human life have been resolved. Things that were old have become new. The advances in medicine and technology alone have altered the quality and length of human life. 

What is less measurable is the evolution of the soul, both how it evolves and the effects its evolution has on the whole human family. Nonetheless, it's clear that spiritual evolution is at the heart of religious practice. Such evolution benefits not only the individual engaged in the practice. It is a nutrient that feeds spiritual movement in all of creation.  

When Nicodemus, a respected religious teacher and leader, approached Jesus, he wanted to know what spiritual evolution looked like. Jesus’ response was, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Jesus wanted Nicodemus to see that spiritual growth and rebirth are always available to those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. Nicodemus moved forward from where he had been, not because he worked at it, but because he spent time in the presence of Jesus. Spending time consistently with the Holy One nudges the soul from its stasis into a new and emerging understanding of the Divine. It also impacts the way humans function in their daily lives and relationships.  

One way that we stay connected to the Divine is through prayer. Scientific evidence shows that contemplative prayer and meditation are physically and medically beneficial. The spiritual benefits, though not as quantifiably measurable, are, nonetheless, profound. Those who regularly practice meditation, who intentionally place themselves in the Divine Presence, find their capacity for spiritual evolution exponentially increased. Just by sitting with the Holy One, the spiritual issues that hold the soul back from growth begin to be resolved.  The negative patterns that have become habitual begin to drop away. The insecurities that create internal anxiety begin to ease.  The soul is brought into an open space—a space of pliability and strength. What had seemed distant and obscure becomes the food that gives the soul wings

Watch the video below.

In this video, Thomas Keating teaches that this contemplative dimension of prayer is at the heart of our spiritual evolution as a human family. He reminds us that when we are present in the relationship with the Godhead, the truth of unconditional love makes it possible for us to share divine love with one another. For Keating, the task for Christians is to embody the teaching of Jesus through contemplative prayer practice. When we step away from all the noise, all the needs and demands of daily life, into that place of utter quiet where only our soul and the presence of God reside, we are led to a place of spiritual movement and change.  And our individual transformation is the beginning of the transformation of the entire world.