Religion Teacher's Journal
This is a good choice for lenten reflection and a perfect gift for anyone seeking to deepen their spiritual life.
The Catechist's Connection
A little book filled with fresh insights into spirituality and the role of prayer...Keating is a wise guide.
The Mennonite
Full of wisdom.
Liguorian
This is a small work but one to ponder and pray over.
Book Description
One of the founders of the Centering Prayer movement, Thomas Keating offers a reflection on contemplative prayer, the human search for happiness and our need to explore the inner world. The spiritual search for God, he says, is also the search for ourselves. Drawing from Christian mystical tradition, Eastern and Orthodox religions, contemporary psychology, and the recovery model, Keating shows how the practice of contemplation can become a process of psychological and spiritual transformation. And as we move into a global culture, this process is of greater importance than ever. He begins with the great questions of self-knowledge: "Who are you? Where are you hiding?" The seemingly fruitless search for human happiness hinges on the answers to these: "Where am I in relation to God, myself and others?" and "Whoever I think I am, I am not." The contemplative journey is "divine therapy" for the illness of the human condition, a way to open up gradually to our own wounded unconscious. It is an excuse in letting go of the false self, which is the only self we know, and in realizing that God is the only true security. Divine love is the full affirmation of who we are. Writing with simplicity and depth, Keating brings common sense, extraordinary enlightenment, and fifty years of experience to the topic and the practice of discovering the presence of God.
About the Author
One of the founders of the Centering Prayer movement, Thomas Keating, OCSO, was abbot of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, before retiring to St. Benedict's Abbey in Snowmass, Colorado. There he established an intensive retreat program in the Centering Prayer. He is president of Contemplative Outreach Ltd., an organization that provides a support system for Centering Prayer practitioners. His books include The Mystery of Christ, Invitation to Love, and Open Mind, Open Heart.
The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation FROM THE PUBLISHER
One of the founders of the Centering Prayer movement, Thomas Keating offers a reflection on contemplative prayer, the human search for happiness and our need to explore the inner world. The spiritual search for God, he says, is also the search for ourselves. Drawing from Christian mystical tradition, Eastern and Orthodox religions, contemporary psychology, and the recovery model, Keating shows how the practice of contemplation can become a process of psychological and spiritual transformation. And as we move into a global culture, this process is of greater importance than ever. He begins with the great questions of self-knowledge: "Who are you? Where are you hiding?" The seemingly fruitless search for human happiness hinges on the answers to these: "Where am I in relation to God, myself and others?" and "Whoever I think I am, I am not." The contemplative journey is "divine therapy" for the illness of the human condition, a way to open up gradually to our own wounded unconscious. It is an excuse in letting go of the false self, which is the only self we know, and in realizing that God is the only true security. Divine love is the full affirmation of who we are. Writing with simplicity and depth, Keating brings common sense, extraordinary enlightenment, and fifty years of experience to the topic and the practice of discovering the presence of God.
About the Author: One of the founders of the Centering Prayer movement, Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O., was abbot of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, before retiring to St. Benedict's Abbey in Snowmass, Colorado. There he established an intensive retreat program in the Centering Prayer. He is president of Contemplative Outreach Ltd., an organization that provides a support system for Centering Prayer practitioners. His books include The Mystery of Christ, Invitation to Love, and Open Mind, Open Heart.