Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we subconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

~ Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

In preparation for the "top-down" practice of Centering Prayer, we are encouraged to cultivate and integrate bottom up practices – movement, touch, breath, affirmation, sound. Trauma gets stuck in the body – “the issues are in our tissues” – so integrating bottom up with top down really helps us get "unstuck." In addition to Welcoming Prayer, we used the following two Vestibule Practices  –  Grounding in Gratitude and Grateful Heart - as introduced by Dr. Christine O'Brien at the 2019 annual conference of Contemplative Outreach International, which met in Denver in September.

(From Pamela Begeman's presentation at the 2019 MN Contemplative Outreach Fall Retreat)

Guidelines for Christian Life, Growth and Transformation

1. The fundamental goodness of human nature ... is an essential element of Christian faith. This basic core of goodness is capable of unlimited development; indeed, of becoming transformed into Christ and deified.
2. Our basic core of goodness is our True Self. The center of gravity is God. The acceptance of our basic goodness is a quantum leap in the spiritual journey.
3. God and our True Self are not separate. Though we are not God, God and our True Self are the same thing.

~ Thomas Keating, from Open Mind, Open Heart

From Pamela Begeman's presentation at the 2019 MN Contemplative Outreach Fall Retreat

The fundamental practice for healing the wounds of the false-self system is to fulfill the duties of our job in life. This includes helping people who are counting on us. If prayer gets in the way, there is some misunderstanding. Some devout persons think that if their activities at home or their job get in the way of praying, there is something wrong with their activities. On the contrary, there is something wrong with their prayer.
~ Thomas Keating, The Mystery of Christ

From Pamela Begeman's presentation at the 2019 MN Contemplative Outreach Fall Retreat

"Perhaps it is easy enough to understand that God can be grasped in and through every life. But, can God be found in and through every death, every diminishment? This is what disconcerts us, and yet, this is what we must learn to recognize. […] The forces of diminishment are possibilities. Their number is vast. Their forms infinitely varied. Their influence constant. There is a time of growth, and a time of diminishment in the lives of each one of us. All of these attitudes spring from the same inner orientation of the mind. From a single law, which combines the two-fold movement of the natural personalization of a man, a woman, and their supernatural, depersonalization in Christ."
~ Teilhard de Chardin

From Pamela Begeman's presentation at the 2019 MN Contemplative Outreach Fall Retreat

"Since [Centering Prayer] is not only pleasant, but also purifying, do not be surprised by the ups and downs of our subjective experience and just accept what happens. This is when you truly consent in practice. You are giving away any control whatsoever over the results of what you are doing. It is allowing that consent to be purified by the Spirit, who will send into your life inwardly and outwardly the people, teaching, or trials that you need. The bottom line … is to place all our trust in God and in [God's] determination to bring this about because of [God's] immense, gratuitous love for us."
~ Thomas Keating, God is Love: The Heart of All Creation

By Michael Kassner

What is hope? That's what I was asked to write about. I felt clueless: What insight can I offer that hasn't been discussed already?"

Fortunately, I received answers to my questions during Holy Week.

By Michael Kassner
Re-posted with permission from www.benedictinecenter.org

Two questions have plagued me over the years: How does one bring God into the process of making decisions, and how does one know if a thought is appropriate?

As a Benedictine Oblate, I knew of the Benedictine Center’s School of Discernment but did not immediately make the connection that the school, conducted by Dr. Kathleen Cahalan of St. John’s School of Theology Seminary, was exactly what I needed. Cahalan defines discernment as, “Following the inclination of Grace, those personal, subtle promptings of the Holy Spirit,” and adds that, “Decisions become sacraments of grace when we yield to ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.’”

It took about two seconds for me to check my schedule and sign up for the class. During the retreat, Cahalan introduced what she called afflicted thoughts, offered tools to recognize and eliminate them, and finally, suggested practical ways to bring God into the process of making decisions.

Not long after the school ended, I was able to apply what I learned, in particular, how to bring God into my decision-making. I was asked to join my parish’s sacristan team—truly an honor. However, I did not answer right away. The position required a significant time commitment, and I was unsure if I could make it work.

Cahalan, during one of the classroom sessions, talked at length about “how to imagine the possibilities and live into each one of them.” That seemed perfect for my situation. I imagined saying yes, as well as saying no. Several interesting scheduling options surfaced that I would not have foreseen any other way. After juggling my commitments, I found the time. Several weeks later, I am proud to say the decision seems right, and as sacristan, I have all sorts of new and exciting decisions to discern.

Michael is a freelance writer and editing professional with a particular interest in the field of cyber-technology. He is also an Oblate and volunteer of St. Paul’s Monastery and has attended both the School of Lectio Divina and the School of Discernment.