"At a time in our Christian life when the factional extremes, like the proverbial two cats of Kilkenny, seem intent on fighting each other to death while the rest of the world goes on its way in massive indifference, I know from my own experience that there is something in this prayer that can restore harmony, dignity, and depth to our lived Christian community."
-Cynthia Bourgeault, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening
Welcoming Prayer -“Consent on the Go”
(Thomas Keating, Contemplative Outreach)
- Focus, Feel & Sink Into
- Welcome/Consent
- Let go
“I am where I need to be. Everything around me includes and hides the sacred.”
- Mary Mrozowski
Welcoming Prayer Practice – an embodied practice of YES for everyday life. This “consent on the go” provides a means for moving deeper into trust and intimacy with the living God – the reality that we are not just with God, we are in God – each of us and all of us in every moment, in every experience. God is with us and loves us personally and uniquely, without exception.
This prayer practice encourages a relationship with the Spirit of God within you and a capacity for tuning into the presence and action of the Spirit in your life NOW. Be patient with yourself. The practice is simple and uncomplicated. Trust the process and the wisdom of this embodied practice. It is an active contemplative practice. It is not passive; it is not about tolerating or becoming a spiritual doormat. Welcoming is an active, conscious embrace of ourselves and situations in the present moment. It is a radical wake-up call to love, to “walk the talk” of the Gospels in everything as it is – even ourselves.
The Three Movements of The Welcoming Prayer Practice:
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Focus, Feel & Sink Into what you are experiencing at this moment in your body.
Using your intuitive eye, move gently through the body, scanning for any discomfort, pain, uneasiness, itching, heat, cold, tension, tingling, or other sensations. Rest (stop) there and experience it. All feelings, whether perceived as positive or negative, are welcomed. Feelings may intensify, dissolve, or change as we are present to them in the moment. Simply follow their movement. This part of the prayer helps us access the unconscious through the body, in the moment. Stay with it.
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“Welcome” what you are experiencing this moment in your body as an opportunity to consent to the Divine Indwelling. “Welcome” is the sacred word, the symbol of our consent to the presence and action of the Indwelling Spirit, whom we know by faith is always present, in and through our experience. Welcome is to embrace what we find happening within and embrace The Spirit.
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Let Go by saying the following:
“I let go of my desire for security, affection, control and embrace this moment as it is.”
Saying this gets to the root of obstacles in the unconscious.
We consent to being transformed which includes the dismantling of our emotional programs for happiness and the healing of our unconscious.
We let go in order to open to the will of God in our life. We let go and “let God.”
We let go of that which we are attached to, cling to, unconsciously or consciously, in an attempt to possess and control a perceived source of happiness.
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