Guidelines of Centering Prayer

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly, and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.
3. When engaged with your thoughts*, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes

Thoughts include body sensations, feelings, images, and reflections.

1. The sacred word is sacred not because of its inherent meaning, but because of the meaning, we give it as the expression of our intention and consent. Examples: Love, Let Go, Serenity, Peace, Silence, Faith, Trust, Gentle, etc. Sitting comfortably means relatively comfortably so as not to encourage sleep during the time of prayer.
2. By returning ever-so-gently to the sacred word a minimum of effort is indicated. This is the only activity we initiate during the time of Centering Prayer.