This book is excellent in helping one to understand the differences between the different forms of meditation. Contemplative prayer is different from Christian Zen and also Christian meditation and has a different goal. "The goal of the contemplative life is unitive seeing...gradually coming to realize that really, there is nothing that is not God." p.158. Having practiced many forms of meditation this has been very helpful for me and having found the Contemplative Prayer app for my phone have begun on the journey into this form of meditation.

This dense book really helped me deepen my prayer life and therefore my happiness level. It was very technical and precise in some places, but really got to the heart of this prayer practice.

Excellent book on the practices of ‘centering prayer’ and ‘welcoming prayer’.
The practice is thoroughly explained and I appreciated how the author conveyed that the fruits of the practice typically manifest in our ordinary lives in unexpected ways. She related that our role is to just do the practice and then to allow and accept the journey without expectations or judgements.

Inspired by spending too much time with this book.

A great explanation of, introduction to, and defense of Christian meditation.

On my third reading

I keep coming back to this book and learn something new/more each time. And it has pointed me to other valuable resources in the last three years. It remains a core guide to me as I continue to grow spiritually.

Inside this book lies a hidden resource and wisdom that it's title and apparent topic mask. Advice on how to begin the practice of Centering Prayer does not require a 150-page book. In fact, Bourgeault covers the topic quite accessibly in about 15 pages at the front of the book. From there she goes on to in her words "defend" the practice from those who would say it lies outside the realm of classical Christian theology and praxis (which she does quite skillfully). I do not know the inner politics of the Christian meditative world, but it appears that Centering prayer is assulted on both fronts - not meditative enough to be embraced by the mystical purists and too contemplative for the fundamentalists who rule the Christian West. If the rock and hard place of these forces is what led Bourgeault to write the book, then they are blessings in disguise.
What comes from her defense is a rich, deep and multifaceted explanation of the goal of Christian formation and grounded psychotherapy while unwinding the idolatries and distractions of both, she merges complex and otherwise competing thoughts into a full-throated vision of deep level heart transformation made possible not by Fruedian technique or Eastern mysticism (though these both are given their place), but rather by the undemanding and unmitigated gazing into the eye of Love which sits at the center of every human life: the Presence of God.
I've never dog-eared such a high percentage of pages for later review in my life. Grab this book, drink from it slowly, realize you probably missed the point, and then do it again.

Another thing to add about 'teaching' or 'using' this book: Bourgeault distinguishes between the cataphatic self (the ego, the personality, the uniqueness in us) and the apophatic self (the Something Deeper in us), and stresses the importance of bringing these selves into harmony; it occurred to me that this could be helpful in the artist's life. What is individual and unique about our art -- its aesthetic -- seems often to come out of the cataphatic self, and maybe it is the artist's true task to bring the cataphatic self in alignment with the apophatic self, or in service to it... The C. self is more sensitive, esp., to the opinions of others; grounding the artist in her A. self might help her weather the storms of critique of, and even indifference toward, her work.

One of the better books on prayer that I’ve read; she’s careful and clear; very helpful on the distinctions between cataphatic prayer (using human faculties of imagination, language, etc) and apophatic prayer (bypassing the faculties), which is the category for Centering Prayer; great stuff on silence in the apophatic: silence as more than a backdrop or a precondition for receiving a message—silence as its own kind of perceptivity, its own kind of communion” (34); also wonderful nuancing of other tricky terms: sacred word and mantra, attention and intention, concentrative practice and surrender practice; lots of work in this book defining the “false self,” pulling from Thomas Keating and Thomas Merton.

Most significant for me was her discussion on how Centering Prayer can strengthen an attitude of spiritual non-possessiveness—really beautiful.

I found the first section the freshest and most illuminating, “The Method of Centering Prayer” (5 big stars for this section). In the other three sections, Bourgeault reads a bit more like a church person (sermonizes—but then she is an Episcopal priest) and deals with Centering Prayer’s theological/traditional underpinnings, its psychological effects, and some fine-tuning stuff that felt beyond me [except some helpful explanations of the “inner observer” and the “welcoming prayer”:]; still, all of it is clear and accessible.

I love the way this book describes the difference between meditation practice in its traditional form as differentiating from Eastern meditation as Buddhist practice it. This old Christian form has been allowed to lapse, but is being resurrected and practiced in spiritual communities all over the world. The “bottom up” approach this book advocates is something that has been missing from my more “egoic” approaches that involve working with the mind. Activating the heart center allows us to reach the same place with less noise because the mind is removed from the equation to connect with our authentic selves. There is nothing that needs removal, it is simply (yet not easily) a matter of bringing the fullness of our being into alignment.

A lucidly written book about how to practice centering prayer from a well-known teacher on the sunbject.

I love how succinct and personal Cynthia Bourgeault writes as she opens up what can often be an arcane and overly-mysterious topic. I appreciate how she stays firmly in Christ. I appreciate the good summary of the historical background and basic elements of a crucial practice for everyone desiring to know the love of God that is beyond understanding. - Rod

Cynthia Bourgeault writes wonderfully of spiritual matters. This book, Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening, is no exception. I wanted to drop everything and follow the form of meditation described in this book.

The book outlines how Centering Prayer was developed, its location within the Catholic tradition, as well as how to follow the practice. It is honest about the potential drawbacks: not the more immediate benefits of other kinds of meditation; in fact, sometimes, apparently, things get much worse before they get better.

So the book left me torn between wanting to follow what appears to be a very pure and purifying practice (poetically and moving described by Bourgeault) and hesitating to potentially destabilize my life. It's to Bourgeault's credit that while clearly weighing in on the overall benefits of the practice, she doesn't blink from what may be at stake.

So I am unclear about my personal decision but very glad to have read this book.

This is both a deeply spiritually practical and theologically deep and rich book. I can not recommend it more highly.