144 the rice diet renewal
Day 18: How to Do the Centering Prayer
Thomas Keating ’ s method for teaching centering prayer is simpli-
fi ed as follows:
- Secure a comfortable position for your body, preferably in a
quiet location, and set a gentle wake - up alarm for twenty to
thirty minutes. - Close your eyes, and choose a sacred word that expresses
your intention to open and surrender to God. Any simple
one - to two - syllable word that you feel comfortable with is
fi ne. - Become aware of this word, and repeat it in your mind when-
ever you recognize any other thoughts arising. You do not
need to move your lips.
The suppression of thoughts is not the goal, nor is the sacred
word a directional sign. Keating stated that the sacred word “ only
directs your intention toward God and thus fosters a favorable
atmosphere for the development of the deeper awareness to which
your spiritual nature is attracted. Centering prayer is not a way
of turning on the presence of God. Rather, it is a way of saying,
Here I am. The next step is up to God. It is a way of putting yourself
at God ’ s disposal; it is He who determines the consequences. ”
After your twenty - to thirty - minute centering prayer time, you
may want to converse with God, but give yourself a few min-
utes in this delicious place before opening your eyes to the world
as you knew it. As with all of the practices introduced in this book,
you need to give it a one - month trial. It ’ s recommended that you
do this twice a day. For some people, it is a challenge to not do any-
thing for twenty minutes straight, but assure yourself that if you are
seriously making yourself totally available for your Creator, twice
a day, you will feel a growth spurt of faith. Your faith will begin
to fl ourish in unexpected ways. You may fi nd your awareness of
God ’ s presence arising within you during ordinary activities, which
you had previously not considered to be spiritual experiences.