Contemplative Worship Online
Contemplation
promotes
peace & calmness
by our resting
in silent communion with God,
who is Love.
Contemplation
promotes
peace & calmness
by our resting
in silent communion with God,
who is Love.
Contemplation and Spiritual Life
Christian writer and mystic, Evelyn Underhill, author of Concerning the Inner Life (1926), compares the movement of inner and outer life to that of a pendulum. She says:
"There must be two movements which must be plainly present in every spiritual life. The energy of its prayer [movement] must be directed on the one hand towards God, and on the other towards [people]. The first movement embraces the whole range of spiritual communion between the soul and God; in it, we turn towards Divine Reality in adoration, bathing, so to speak, our souls in the Eternal Light. In the second, we return, with the added peace and energy thus gained, to the natural world; there to do spiritual work for and with God for other [people]." (p. 51)
Learn Contemplative Prayer Practices for Conscious Daily Life.
Learn Contemplative Prayer Practices for Conscious Daily Life.
As one does in meditation, find a quiet space. Go into a private room and shut the door, or find a space in Nature that inspires you. Go where you can be in solitude, if possible.
Be still.
Focus on a sacred word, image, or on the in and out rhythm of your breath. Observe your thoughts, then let them go. Let them wash downstream like floating leaves.
Letting go of thoughts takes lots of practice. but with practice, you will eventually find your mind able to empty of thoughts as you desire more to hear the "still small voice of God."
God's voice will always bring you to a consciousness of loving-kindness toward others and oneself.
You will soon begin to understand the difference between your ego thoughts and what Love requires of you.
Labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral