centering prayer . . . .

i've just returned from 'centering' with my centering prayer group. daily meditation is such a helpful way to remind me what is important in life. do you know centering? 'simply' let yourself be with god; try it for twenty minutes in the morning...and why not try it for twenty minutes at night?! create a word that will bring you back to your center (god) whenever your mind wanders -- and your mind will wonder! mine is 'shalom'. our minds are generally so full of chatter, it is difficult to focus; it takes practice. meditating allows us to simply try to be with god, and listen for that still small voice.

our group gets together on tuesdays at 1 pm. we check in for twenty minutes, center for twenty minutes (we use a song bowl to begin and end our centering time), and then we reflect on a reading from a book -- in this case, everything belongs; the gift of contemplative prayer, by richard rohr. if nothing else, i can just be for 20 minutes; i even turn off my phone! amine!!

we have been reading and discussion rohr's book for quite some time now. we've found his writings rich with thought-provoking things. the chapter we are currently on, don't push the river', has many sub-parts. but rohr says (p. 143), 'faith does not need to push the river precisely because it is able to trust that there is a river. the river is flowing; we are in it. the river is god's providential love -- so do not be afraid. we have been given the spirit. . . . the fears that assault us are mostly simple anxieties about social skills, about intimacy, about likeableness, or about performance. we need not give emotional food or charge to these fears or become attached to them.'

sometimes i can get focused on "pushing the river". i miss out on all the other 'stuff' around me, and i neglect to simply be in this moment, and not "make" the river be anything other than what rivers are; my trying to change the flow of things is like trying to get a river to change direction.

i can get so focused on completing the task that i miss out on enjoying the moment. completing the task may be glorious, but if one does not feel good about the process, than it's just a task that got done. what's so good about that?! other than the fact that i can now go onto the next task. and believe me, there is always another task that waits my attention. is that true for you?

so, why not spend a little time every day with god?! this 20 minute slice of heaven is, if nothing else, an opportunity to focus on nothing! and yet, it is not a waste of time. and besides all that, there are no calories involved! Now THAT is even a better reason to stay centered, don't you think?