Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening

Rating:
Summary: De-mystifying mysticism
Review: First, a disclaimer: the author is my (informal) teacher. Still, while this might be the reason that I might not submit a negative review, I can submit a positive one with enthusiasm not founded in my personal connection.

There are numerous "de-constructionists" in the Christian market-place -- Bishop John Spong, Marcus Borg amoung them, and I argue that they perform an essential service. But for spiritual growth, these writers are a little more likely to give a stone than a drink of water. Cynthia's book is a refreshing answer to the vacuum that I feel after reading one of those books.

Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening is thoroughly grounded in Christian tradition -- this is a Christian text by an Anglican (Episcopal) priest -- but it draws from a larger context than the 21st century North American one. In doing so, she challenges some perspectives that are unquestioned. The first and perhaps the most important is the question of "where God is". In the long tradition of contemplatives, Cynthia suggests that attempts to look for God "out there" is going to lead to a religion that is fractured and a faith that is out-of-touch with what we know in our hearts to be true. No, God is to be found within -- which must be carefully contrasted with the notion that we are in any way "god".
So the way to discover God? Cynthia gently takes us through the approaches that have been used over the millennia, but lands on a relatively modern approach (about 30 years old) usually called "centering prayer". It would be a disservice here to describe this, except perhaps to say a couple of things about what it isn't. This isn't a New Age technique to lower blood pressure, experience enlightenment, or meet your inner child (and I say this with great respect to methods that do all of the above). Most challenging for those newly introduced to the method, this doesn't "do" very much -- looked at from the external perspective -- at all.

The best I can say in a few words allotted me, is this purports to be the way that we can find our "true selves" (in contrast to that exterior presentation of our selves), and more profoundly, allow our true selves to connect to that ember of God that burns in all of us. And this is an end in and of itself.

Having said that, 30 years of this practice has lead to some observations that need to be made: that the connection to the true self leads to surprising healing of that external self (I'll use the word that is generally used here: the egoic self). Cynthia provides a short phychology of Centering Prayer, and then -- for those who are concerned about the orthodoxy of the method -- a theology of Centering Prayer. Don't be intimidated. This is accessible stuff.

And last, as the book title suggests, she takes us full circle. It turns out that that inner work (work that we ourselves are not aware of -- it is only between our inner self and God), our spiritual life is surprisingly watered. In an age when our religion lives in our heads -- that when that head religion is being unceremoniously dismantled, the age-old contemplative tradition is here to nurture our hearts back to health. This book shows you how. I recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: More Bread for the Journey
Review: I found this book helpful to find some other ways to enter into the joys of contemplative prayer. Keating has written books that introduced many contemporary readers to the topic. Bourgeault uses some creative images from the sea to help invite people to try this rewarding practice of spiritual formation.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I have read many wonderful books over the past years, but this is the first time that I have been motivated to actually send in a review. I heartily recommend this book. I won't go into specifics, but just want to say, get it, read it, mark it up, reread it, then live it out. Thank you, Cynthia.