Prayer begins in us the restoration of the divine image

Prayer begins in us the restoration of the divine image, in all its hiddenness and wonder. It brings us closer to the "region of likeness" and every prayer is an act of letting the old self go. It involves "dying". The grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies. Dead, it is destined to bear much fruit.

The gift of contemplation

The gift of contemplation is eternally given; it is always there... It is that moment when the ache in my heart becomes so intense that I can no longer bear it. And in that moment, I cry out in my agony to the One I never knew and have always known. It is the moment when the depth of the ache becomes the depth of the knowing, the moment when I know that I am in the Presence of God.

Love solitude and silence

In order to make it easier to keep your thoughts continually on God in accordance with your wish and your need, this is what you can do. First, love solitude and silence, which greatly help the spirit within, and sacred meditation. Second, choose to read books that are sound spiritually. Pause frequently, trying to appreciate rather than understand or remember them. And third, throughout the day turn to God in prayer about all that takes place... All will be well in time.

Mindfulness is meditation in action

Mindfulness is meditation in action and involves a "be here now" approach that allows life to unfold without the limitation of pre-judgment. It means being open to an awareness of the moment as it is and to what the moment could hold. It is a relaxed state of attentiveness to both the inner world of thoughts and feelings and the outer world of actions and perceptions.

Memo to God

Memo to God: I've been demanding and demanding things from You, often quite rudely, in fact often very rudely, like an ill-bred spoilt child, but I think prayer must have made me better mannered or perhaps it's helped me grow up a little and now I should like to say politely: "thank you very much" -- not just for staying with me no matter how unpleasant I was, but for actually moving closer and surrounding me with people who care.

March 1996 (Vol. IX, No. 3)

BLESSED BE in the Silence, dear friends. May the deep prayers of your heart radiate out to those in need around the world. For indeed, our heart prayer is a double blessing: awakening our own soul's growth, while benefiting others in ways we may never know. Don't you love the Mystery!

The all-important aim in meditation is to allow God's mysterious and silent presence within us to become more and more not only a reality, but THE reality in our lives; to let it become that reality which gives meaning, shape and purpose to everything we do, to everything we are.

~ from WORD INTO SILENCE by John Main
John Main Word Into Silence meditation Buy on Amazon

When you pray, do not pray half-heartedly. Pray with every part of your being. Let your physical body resound to your intention, your feelings and you thoughts. Let prayer manifest in your life's motives and in your aspirational body. Beyond all else, trust that your prayers will be answered as they are needed to be answered... Let your prayer carry the sound of your deepest love, for most surely Love is the cause of life and Love is its own effect... Love is universal, so part of our life's work is to become so universal in our words, thoughts, feelings and deeds that we become "the sounding box of God".

~ from REASON IS POWERLESS IN THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE by Reshad Feild
Reshad Feild Reason Is Powerless In The Expression Of Love meditation Buy on Amazon
The more we love, the better we pray.
~ Anonymous
Anonymous meditation

We parked the car at the roadside and walked onto the grass. We stood together and sent our praises to the Most High. The prayer was sweet and when I dropped my head onto the cool, grass-covered earth, I felt myself truly a servant. For just a fleeting moment my heart was full of joy. As we walked back to the car, I began to understand. Prayer is service in the absolute. It is selfless service to God. Actually, one's entire life could be a prayer.

~ from THE WRITING ON THE WATER by Muhyiddin Shakoor
Muhyiddin Shakoor The Writing On The Water meditation Buy on Amazon

Silence provides an atmosphere for prayer, and it preserves the growth that has been gained in prayer. People who begin to speak immediately after prayer in common, will not be able to preserve the fruits of their prayer. Their Recollection is dissipated, and they pour out all that has been accumulated within them. The observance of silence, on the other hand, allows the spirit of prayer to reverberate and take root in the heart.

~ from THE CHALLENGE OF SILENCE by Anselm Grun
Anselm Grun The Challenge Of Silence meditation Buy on Amazon

You are prayer. You are a special and sacred word of God made flesh. To pronounce your own unique word is to pray the most beautiful -- if not the holiest -- of prayers.

~ Edward Hays
Edward Hays meditation Buy on Amazon
Meditation is not a means to an end; It is both the means and the end.
~ Krishnamurti
Krishnamurti meditation Buy on Amazon
Come!Spirit of Love!Penetrate and transform us by the action of Your purifying life.May your constant, brooding love bring forth in us more love and all the graces and works of love.Give us grace to remain still under its action, and may that humbles stillness be our prayer.Amen.
~ Evelyn Underhill
Evelyn Underhill meditation Buy on Amazon

O God of wonder and mystery, teach me by means of your wondrous, terrible, loving, all embracing silence.

~ from PRAYERS OF THE HEART by Richard J. Foster
Richard J. Foster Prayers Of The Heart meditation Buy on Amazon

Prayer begins in us the restoration of the divine image, in all its hiddenness and wonder. It brings us closer to the "region of likeness" and every prayer is an act of letting the old self go. It involves "dying". The grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies. Dead, it is destined to bear much fruit.

~ Alan Jones
Alan Jones meditation Buy on Amazon

The gift of contemplation is eternally given; it is always there... It is that moment when the ache in my heart becomes so intense that I can no longer bear it. And in that moment, I cry out in my agony to the One I never knew and have always known. It is the moment when the depth of the ache becomes the depth of the knowing, the moment when I know that I am in the Presence of God.

~ from THE SMELL OF INCENSE, THE SOUND OF SILENCE by John W. Groff, Jr.
John W. Groff, Jr. The Smell Of Incense, The Sound Of Silence meditation Buy on Amazon

In order to make it easier to keep your thoughts continually on God in accordance with your wish and your need, this is what you can do. First, love solitude and silence, which greatly help the spirit within, and sacred meditation. Second, choose to read books that are sound spiritually. Pause frequently, trying to appreciate rather than understand or remember them. And third, throughout the day turn to God in prayer about all that takes place... All will be well in time.

~ from THE SPIRITUAL LETTERS OF JEAN-PIERRE de CAUSSADE with thanks to Joyce Lang
Jean-Pierre de Caussade The Spiritual Letters Of Jean-pierre De Caussade meditation Buy on Amazon

Mindfulness is meditation in action and involves a "be here now" approach that allows life to unfold without the limitation of pre-judgment. It means being open to an awareness of the moment as it is and to what the moment could hold. It is a relaxed state of attentiveness to both the inner world of thoughts and feelings and the outer world of actions and perceptions.

~ from MINDING THE BODY, MENDING THE MIND by Joan Borysenko
Joan Borysenko Mending The Mind, Minding The Body meditation Buy on Amazon
Prayer, Silence and Wisdom are sisters.
~ Anonymous
Anonymous meditation

Memo to God: I've been demanding and demanding things from You, often quite rudely, in fact often very rudely, like an ill-bred spoilt child, but I think prayer must have made me better mannered or perhaps it's helped me grow up a little and now I should like to say politely: "thank you very much" -- not just for staying with me no matter how unpleasant I was, but for actually moving closer and surrounding me with people who care.

~ from ABSOLUTE TRUTHS by Susan Howatch
Susan Howatch Absolute Truths meditation Buy on Amazon

There is a contemplative
in all of us,
almost strangled
but still alive,
who carves quiet
enjoyment of the Now,
and longs to touch
the seamless
garment of silence
which makes whole.

~ Alan P. Tory
Alan P. Tory meditation

There is a contemplative in all of us

There is a contemplative
in all of us,
almost strangled
but still alive,
who carves quiet
enjoyment of the Now,
and longs to touch
the seamless
garment of silence
which makes whole.

Quiet, contemplative prayer happens

Quiet, contemplative prayer happens when we are still and open ourselves to the Spirit working secretly in us, when we heed the psalmist's plea: "be still and know that I am God." These are times when we trustingly sink into God's formless hands for cleansing, illumination, and communion. Sometimes spontaneous sounds and words come through us in such prayer, but more often we are in a state of quiet appreciation, simply hollowed out for God. At the gifted depth of this kind of prayer we pass beyond an image of God and beyond any image of self. We are left in a mutual raw presence. Here we realize that God and ourselves quite literally are more than we can imagine.

The silence of meditation is not the silence of a graveyard

The silence of meditation is not the silence of a graveyard; it is the silence of a garden growing. There is no deadness in a garden, but in that all-pervading silence an intense activity is going on in the ground which will later take form as buds, blossoms and fruit. So, too, in meditation there is not a blankness, but a rhythmic activity of the Spirit. As the mind exhausts itself the Spirit comes through, and we are in the realm of heaven. True, we are still on earth, our feet are solidly on the ground -- the holy ground of spiritual awareness.

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