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Being still is tremendously difficult in our media-rich, always-on world. Noise crowds into every empty space. Here’s how to reclaim some interior margin. 
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The Interior Castle, by St. Teresa of Avila, [1921], full text etext at sacred-texts.com The Interior Castle is divided into seven mansions (also called dwelling places), each level describing a step to get closer to God. In her work, Teresa already assumed entrance into the first mansions by prayer and meditation. The first three mansions are considered to be ordinary prayer or active prayer. The first mansions begin with a soul's state of grace, but the souls are surrounded by sin and only starting to seek God's grace through humility in order to achieve perfection. The second mansions are also called the Mansions of the Practice of Prayer because the soul seeks to advance through the castle by daily thoughts of God, humble recognition of God's work in the soul and ultimately daily prayer. The third mansions are the Mansions of Exemplary Life characterized through divine grace a love for God that is so great that the soul has an aversion to both mortal and venial sin and a desire to do works of charitable service to man for the ultimate glory of God. The fourth through seventh mansions are considered to be mystical or contemplative prayer. The fourth mansions are a departure from the soul actively acquiring what it gains as God increases his role. The fifth mansions contains incipient Union in which the soul prepares itself to receive gifts from God. If the fifth mansion can be compared to a betrothal, the sixth mansion can be compared to lovers. The soul spends increasing amounts of time torn between favors from God and from outside afflictions. The soul achieves clarity in prayer and a spiritual marriage with God in the seventh mansions.
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This article is an excerpt from a chapter of Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina by Dr. Tim Gray The Word of God is the first source of all Christian spirituality. It gives rise to a personal relationship with the living God and with His saving and sanctifying will. It is for this reason that from the very beginning … what is called lectio divina has been held in the highest regard.
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Richard Foster in his book, Prayer, refers to this kind of meditative prayer as “prayer of the heart” (p. 141). Quiet, reflective prayers are a way to overcome the mind’s tendency to wander and get distracted. It’s a way to increase your consciousness and appreciation of God’s presence. It’s a way to “let the word of Christ dwell in your richly” (Colossians 3:16). http://www.soulshepherding.org/2012/07/breath-prayers/
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
Bill Gaultiere provides techniques for meditative prayer using breath, the body and scripture as a way to deepen one's prayer and connection to God from a Christian point of view. There are many lovely and creative techniques in this article. Some of these techniques are similar to centering prayer, but integrate scripture and the use of breath in different ways than centering prayer. http://www.soulshepherding.org/2012/07/breath-prayers/
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From
wccm
The WCCM International Website. Resources, meditation groups lists, newsletters and information on the meditation practice and all the Community activities worldwide. If we are truly attentive to the mantra we cannot image God. We cannot construct any idea or icon of God. In the context of this pure attention, pure faith, we learn that all images, ideas, memories and words fall short of the reality we are paying attention to. They are unreal. They are illusion. So in meditation we realize that God is not an absent memory or an abstract dream. God is.
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Those teaching a programme of Christian Meditation need to recognise that each child is born as a spiritual being; listen to what the child has to offer; honour each child’s relationship with the divine; always make the experience of meditation positive; and never judge the child’s meditation.
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
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With your inbox overflowing and your to-do list trailing behind you like a tall, dark shadow, you might be prone to defending your time. But the truth is that we could all benefit from breaking up our busy days with a short meditation session. Via American Institute Health Care Professionals
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
The practice of meditative and contempative prayer is one we carry with us throughout the day...this article suggests 7 "sneaky places" to reconnect with ourselves and our creator. Although it's not mentioned as one of these sneaky places, one of my favorite places to reconnect is in the bathtub...a daily baptismal routine :)
American Institute Health Care Professionals's curator insight,
June 18, 2013 10:57 AM
#howtomeditatedaily #learntomeditateanywhere #traininginmeditation
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Silence is not an absence of sound, but rather a shifting of attention toward sounds that speak to the soul. Thomas Moore in the reenchantment of everyday life.
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
Here’s a beautiful gallery of quotes and images about silence. It’s a lovely focus for your reflections on the spiritual value of keeping silent. HT Hugh N Blair
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Neurotheology explores the effect of prayer on the brain, and the results so far have been enlightening.
By scanning the brain activity of people while they pray, he's found that, during meditative prayer, the frontal lobes that handle concentration “light up” and the parietal lobes that process outside sensory information “go dark.” The reaction happens in people of all different faiths Via Hugh N Blair
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Lectio Divina, literally meaning "divine reading," is an ancient practice of praying the scriptures. During Lectio Divina, the practitioner listens to the text of the Bible with the "ear of the heart," as if he or she is in conversation with God, and God is suggesting the topics for discussion. The method of Lectio Divina includes moments of reading (lectio), reflecting on (meditatio), responding to (oratio) and resting in (contemplatio) the Word of God with the aim of nourishing and deepening one's relationship with the Divine.
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
Practicing Lectio Divina has changed my life....It's a way of praying with scripture with all the wonderful scientific benefits of meditation. Stay tuned to this topic for more tips on lectio divina as a deepening spiritual practice.
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Centering Prayer description and link to Contemplative Outreach Website
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
"Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer — verbal, mental or affective prayer — into a receptive prayer of resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Him"
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Centering Prayer with Father Thomas Keating, Father Carl Arico and Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler Be still and know that I am God.” Centering Prayer is a silent prayer practice that can move you toward profound relationship with the Spirit of God within. It is a way of praying that opens the door to the Divine Indwelling—the ground of our being. WithCentering Prayer, Father Thomas Keating and his colleagues Gail Fitzpatrick-Hopler and Father Carl Arico present the first in-depth home study course in this method for deepening your intimacy with God, and ultimately consenting to the presence and action of the Divine in all aspects of your life.
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
If you've ever wanted to learn a new way to grow in relationship to God or to experience contempatlive prayer, but didn't know how...this is a great starting place. This is an extensive and experiential online course about centering prayer. I have really enjoyed it and been blessed by it.
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"Every one of us is called to be a contemplative — not in the sense of a particular vocation we call 'the contemplative life,' but in the sense of a holy habit of contemplative love that leads us forth in partnership with God into creative and redeeming work.
Marty Roddy's curator insight,
August 15, 2013 7:29 PM
definitely a good one- saving to re-read. and Live....
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Sacred Reading (Lectio Divina) is a method created and first practiced by contemplative monks and hermits three to four hundred years after the time of Christ. Only recently, through the efforts of Richard Foster and a host of others, has lectio gained a foothold among Protestants, but its popularity is growing rapidly.Sacred Reading (Lectio Divina) by Gary Gilley
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Meditation and Mental Health Introduction God works in us. In meditation, we work to gradually quiet the ego so that our spirit works with His spirit as we “work out our salvation.” Father Laurence expresses in his book First Sight (2011), that salvation is about healing and becoming well. Our wellness increases as we are faithful to the practice of our daily meditation. Slowly but surely, the love of Christ, or as John Main refers to it as “a stream of love”, flows within us, from Jesus toward the Father. This stream of love transforms our ego and opens us to the Spirit. This transformation leads to healing and greater health – mental, spiritual, and physical.
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He sensed that the meeting of the great world religions could only be fulfilled if members of each faith approached each other from this depth of spiritual experience taught in their own tradition. John Main’s way of teaching reminds us of the oral tradition in which this way of contemplative wisdom has always been transmitted. His recorded talks continue to guide meditation groups each week around the world. He was a teacher who wished to lead others into their own experience, and he believed one could teach meditation only by meditating with people. The movement from thought to experience, theory to reality, mind to heart, is central to his vision of spiritual growth.
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From
wccm
The WCCM International Website. Resources, meditation groups lists, newsletters and information on the meditation practice and all the Community activities worldwide. Meditation is a universal spiritual wisdom and a practice that we find at the core of all the great religious traditions, leading from the mind to the heart. It is a way of simplicity, silence and stillness. It can be practised by anyone from wherever you are on your life’s journey. It is only necessary to be clear about the practice and then to begin – and keep on beginning. http://wccm.org/content/what-meditation
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Western thinkers have tended to draw a line between reality—that which we “actually” experience—and imagination, seen as a frivolous, dreamlike diversion. For millennia, though, spiritual contemplatives and artists have taken flights of fancy much more seriously and challenged the firmness of that line. And surprising recent advances in neuroscience, particularly in the field of brain scanning, have added support to their conviction that our imagination and sense of reality are closely intertwined. The human capacity for imagination not only shapes our minds but also weaves the fabric of reality itself.
Maria Teresa Frezet terapeuta olistica's curator insight,
June 20, 2013 4:49 PM
Once we understand the great power we have to create our reality, then we start clearing up our thoughts and emotions because we definetly want to create a plesant life!!!!
Some suggestions? Let's start learning how we are and what we feel inside by observing the reactions that we arouse in other people...Let's understand that only through this sort of "mirror effect" we can actually get to know ourselves and change our world!
This is the main idea of Thanks Attitude. By accepting the theory of the mirror, the consequence is gratitude towards people and situations that are on our way to show us parts we wouldn't be able to see on our own.
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The Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy spiritual practices from all traditions . . . the letters to know to read the world spiritually and to spell meaning in daily life
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
This is a really cool resource! The Alphabet of Spiritual Literacycreated by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat is a list of beautiful words which are actually spiritual practices from A to Z from all traditions. In the right column, each word has its own explanation with quotations, stories, books, book excerpts, film, music, art, spiritual exercises, etc. Blessings! Amy Fuller PhD
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Simplicity can be complicated. But its spiritual rewards are great. Members of the Lutheran Volunteer Corps (LVC) expect to make sacrifices. Giving a year of your life to serve others and living communally, often in an inner-city neighborhood far from home, will naturally require a level of selflessness. Via Hugh N Blair
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Ignatius thought that a particular type of ignorance was at the root of sin. The deadliest sin, he said, is ingratitude.
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
St. Ignatious and the importance of gratitude. HT @Tabicat @loyolapress: #31DayswithIggy
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Mystical theology Theosis Christian meditation is a form of prayer in which a structured attempt is made to become aware of and reflect upon the revelations ofGod.[1] The word meditation comes from the Latin word meditārī, which has a range of meanings including to reflect on, to study and to practice. Christian meditation is the process of deliberately focusing on specific thoughts (such as a bible passage) and reflecting on their meaning in the context of the love of God.[2]
Dr. Amy Fuller's insight:
Every thing you wanted to know about meditation for Christians.
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