Deepening Techniques, Part 3: Meditation
October 16, 2024 § 3 Comments
Centering Prayer
The final step in my deepening process is meditation. I usually practice Transcendental Meditation myself; I’ve been practicing TM since 1968, and I really like it.
But sometimes I practice an alternative that is universally accessible, simple, and effective: centering prayer.
Centering prayer uses the same meditation process as TM, which is a universal technique that’s not unique to either system. But where Transcendental Meditation uses a Sanskrit mantra, a word or phrase of spiritual power that’s drawn from the Bhagavad Gita, centering prayer uses a word that you yourself decide on.
I’m going to describe the process first, and then talk about the word.
Process
Comfort. Sit comfortably with eyes closed and say the word mentally, softly, and repeatedly, with no rush, just in a natural rhythm and pace.
Distraction. At some point, you’ll get distracted by other thoughts and stop repeating the word. No problem.
Start again. Just start in again, repeating the word “at the level of your thoughts.”
Thought stream. By the level of your thoughts I mean that the farther into your meditation you get, the quieter and slower your thought stream will become. So you reintroduce your word at that same level of “volume” and softness as the thoughts you are replacing with the word.
Distraction and repeat. You will keep being distracted and will have to repeatedly return to saying your word internally. That’s perfectly natural.
Deepening. But the deeper you get into your meditation time, the deeper your state of consciousness will become, the slower and quieter your thought stream, the longer you will sustain the repetition without forgetting or getting distracted.
Time. Transcendental Meditation recommends twenty minutes. That seems to be a very common recommendation. More would be fine; less is okay but not ideal.
The word
Meaning. I recommend choosing a word that has some sacred meaning or a meaning that speaks to you with some depth. But it should not be a word that would entice you into thinking about it, or analyzing it. I recommend a word that expresses a single, simple thought, or that brings up one nurturing image.
Syllables and accent. I recommend two-syllable words with an accent on the second syllable. My reason is that the accented second syllable of a two-syllable word draws you forward. As your consciousness deepens, this forward-drawing effect becomes an “inward”-drawing effect, a deepening effect.
Vowels. I recommend words with long vowels or strong vowels, rather than short vowels, because I feel that they last longer and they carry more “weight”, somehow.
Consonants. I recommend soft consonants. Hard consonants, like “t”s and “p”s and “d”s stop the flow of the word. The goal is maximum flow.
Consonants that appear in the middle of the word, which, for instance, end the first syllable of the word, should be round. Good examples are “y”, “m”, “n”, “l”, “sh”, etc.
Consonants that end the word should be naturally extendable, if possible; they should be consonants that almost have no end at all. Good examples are “m” again, and “n”, and especially “ng”.
Examples. I like “amen” pronounced the way it’s pronounced in Hebrew: “ah-MAIN” with the accent on the second syllable. The word means “let it be” and has sacred usage and connotations; it’s “m” rolls nicely, and the “n” just keeps going.
I know people who use “Jesus”. Its meaning could not be more powerful and the image it evokes is wonderful. Its accent is on the first syllable, and it starts with a bit of a sonic jar with the “J”, but its precious place in the consciousness of some meditators would compensate for that. But one could try the Aramaic version of Jesus’ name instead, the name his close companions called him: Yeshua—soft consonants, a fine rhythm, and an open ending. And it decouples the brain from all the connotations that the more common Jesus might evoke.
Or try words that end in “-ying”, like praying, saying, waying. My TM mantra his this “-ying” ending.
And there’s Om. Properly pronounced, om is actually aum; it starts with “ah” sound, morphing into “o” through a “u” that is close to a “w”, and ending on an “m” that slides into an “-mg” sound—almost the same sound as our “-ng” (as in saying), but with the an “m” instead of an “n”. The “-mg” sound can be held for a long time, as in chanting om, and it sort of just fades into peaceful silence.
Resources on centering prayer
Intimacy with God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer, by Thomas Keating. Keating is the fellow who has popularized this age-old Christian practice for our modern times. He’s written a number of books on centering prayer.
Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, by Cynthia Bourgeault. I’m not so sure about this one. I thought it was the one I had partially read and had in library, but I couldn’t find it, so I’m not sure. This book is both an introduction, and ties the practice Christian contemplation more broadly.
Through the Flaming Sword 
wordpress is not making easy to tell if my current comment went through or not… Please ask if I need to repeat it!
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The gist is, this has been a very helpful explanation; thank you!
Your comment did go through. Thanks!
I’ve started trying this at the start of our regular meditation at home. I had not been sympatico to “Centering Prayer” in the forms I was initially told about it; but a less structured and more permissive description has allowed me to keep thinking (I don’t expect or intend to stop!) while the periodic return to the word (a very natural one for me, at this point) does serve to rescue me from the squirrel wheel I’d normally be spinning with this subject.
“Natural” in this context, for me, seems to be “every inbreath and every outbreath.”
Thank you very much!