Description
Book SynopsisThomas Keating was a Cistercian monk who founded the worldwide ''Contemplative Outreach'', teaching people the art of meditation. This is the 20th anniversary edition of Continuum''s best-selling spiritual classic, which has sold over half a million in the English language and has appeared in 10 foreign-language editions.This book is designed to initiate the reader into a deep, living relationship with God. Written by an acknowledged spiritual master, the book moves beyond discursive meditation and particular acts to the intuitive level of contemplation. Keating gives an overview of the history of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition, and step-by-step guidance in the method of centering prayer. Special attention is paid to the role of the Sacred Word, Christian growth and transformation, and active prayer. The book ends with an explicit treatment of the contemplative dimension of the gospel.
Open Mind, Open Heart will take readers into a world where God can d
Trade ReviewThe leader within the Catholic world in the task of recovering our Christian contemplative heritage. -- Ewert H. Cousins * Ewert H. Cousins, general editor, World Spirituality: An Encyclopedic History of the Religious Quest *
My mother is a self-proclaimed 'soul shopper' from way back. We started going to St Benedict's Monastery in Snowmass when I was 7 years old. Several years later, Keating became a St. Benedict's monk. He developed centering prayer, which is a lot like meditation and what this book is about. He says that meditation (or centering prayer) is a way of reducing the obstacles to the development of grace. I can sit for only five to ten minutes. It's very hard for me. Still, when I get in trouble, it shifts my perspective. As they say, we don't pray to change our circumstances; we pray to change ourselves. * Blurb from reviewer from Felicity Huffman's Bookshelf in "Oprah's Books" *
Table of Contents1. The History of Contemplative Prayer in the Christian Tradition 2. First Steps in Centering Prayer 3. The Sacred Word as Symbol 4. The Wanderings of the Imagination 5. The Birth of Spiritual Attentiveness 6. More Subtle Kinds of Thought 7. Unloading the Unconscious 8. Summary of the Centering Prayer Method 9. The Intensive Centering Prayer Experience 10. What Contemplation Is Not 11. Dimensions of Contemplative Prayer 12. Methods of Extending the Effects of Centering Prayer into Daily Life 13. Guidelines for Christian Life, Growth and Transformation Appendices
