{"id":140,"date":"2010-08-07T12:44:05","date_gmt":"2010-08-07T11:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/?page_id=140"},"modified":"2010-08-16T12:04:42","modified_gmt":"2010-08-16T11:04:42","slug":"explanation-of-the-guidelines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/centering-prayer\/explanation-of-the-guidelines\/","title":{"rendered":"Explanation of the Guidelines"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following explanation of the guidelines is as Fr. Thomas Keating<\/a> teaches it.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cChoose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God\u2019s presence and action within<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d (Fr. Thomas Keating<\/a>: Open Mind, Open Heart<\/em>, chap. 5)<\/p>\n

1. The sacred word expresses our intention to be in god\u2019s presence and to yield to the divine action. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n2. The sacred word should be chosen during a brief period of prayer asking the Holy Spirit to inspire us with one that is especially suitable to us.<\/p>\n

Examples: Lord, Jesus, Father, Mother, Mary, or in other languages: Kyrie, Jesu, Jeshua, Abba, Mater or Marie.<\/p>\n

Other possibilities: Love, Peace, Mercy, Silence, stillness, Calm, Faith, Trust, Yes; or in other languages: Amor, Shalom or Amen.<\/p>\n

3. Having chosen a sacred word, we do not change it during the prayer period, for that would be to start thinking again.
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\n4. A simple inward gaze upon God may be more suitable for some persons than the sacred word.\u00a0 In this case, one consents to god\u2019s presence and action by turning inwardly to God as if gazing upon him.\u00a0 The same guidelines apply to the sacred gaze as to the sacred word.<\/p>\n

\u201cSitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God\u2019s presence and action within.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. By \u201csitting comfortably\u201d is meant relatively comfortably; not so comfortably that we encourage sleep, but sitting comfortably enough to avoid thinking about the discomfort of our bodies during the time of prayer.
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\n2. Whatever sitting position we choose, we keep the back straight.
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\n3. If we fall asleep, we continue the prayer for a few minutes upon wakening if we can spare the time.
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\n4. Praying in this way after a main meal encourages drowsiness.\u00a0 It is therefore better to wait an hour least before Centering Prayer<\/a>.\u00a0 Praying in this way before retiring may disturb one\u2019s sleep pattern.
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\n5. We close our eyes to let go of what is happening around and within us.
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\n6. We introduce the sacred word inwardly and as gently as laying a feather on a piece of absorbent cotton.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you become aware of thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
\n\"\"
\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

1. \u201cThoughts\u201d is an umbrella term for every perception including sense perceptions, feelings, images, memories, reflections and commentaries.
\n\"\"
\n2. Thoughts are a normal part of Centering Prayer<\/a>.
\n\"\"
\n3. By \u201creturning ever so gently to the sacred word,\u201d a minimum of effort is indicated.\u00a0 This is the only activity we initiate during the time of Centering Prayer<\/a>.
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\n4. During the course of our prayer, the sacred word may become vague or even disappear.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\n

1. If this prayer is done in a group, the leader may slowly recite the Our Father during the additional two or three minutes, while the others listen.
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\n2. The additional two or three minutes give the psyche time to readjust to the external senses and enable us to bring the atmosphere of silence into daily life.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The following explanation of the guidelines is as Fr. Thomas Keating teaches it. \u201cChoose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God\u2019s presence and action within.\u201d (Fr. Thomas Keating: Open Mind, Open Heart, chap. 5) 1. The sacred word expresses our intention to be in god\u2019s presence and to yield … Continue reading Explanation of the Guidelines<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":9,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-140","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":282,"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/140\/revisions\/282"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/contemplativeoutreachireland.com\/coi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}