Methods of Contemplation

This week in Methods we build upon the Split Breath prayer from episode 12, moving into what is called a Three Phrase Cycle. Sounds complicated, but it's really not. This method uses the comfort we have built with our breath over the season to break it into three distinct phases: Inhale, Exhale, and Pause (Kumbhaka). Utilized in the context of prayer, this way of breathing gives different texture...

This week we continue our series on the breath in the context of prayer and meditation. Typically the breath serves as a focus point for meditation, but in this case, breath is the medium we use to express our prayer to God. Meister Eckhart is quoted to say, "If the only prayer you ever said in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." This weeks episode uses a modified split breath metho...

This week in Methods, we continue with our series on the breath, using it to focus our attention and hone our awareness to bring us closer to a state of wellbeing by the shedding of our attachments to our self-prescribed programs for happiness. This week we focus on a method called Vipassana, coming from the Theravada stream of Buddhism and popularized in the modern era by S.N. Goenka. If you enjo...

This week we continue in our Breath series with a meditation on the Tetragrammaton, or the sacred name of God in the Jewish tradition. Given initially in the theophany of Moses, the Divine reveals itself in existential poetry, as being itself. This is why theologians such as Paul Tillich describe God not as a being, but as the ground of all being. As per tradition Some Rabbi's have said that the n...

Hello, and welcome to Methods, an exploration in guided prayer and meditation. This week, we are exploring the theme of Agape within the context of our breath-work. In ancient Greece, there were many different words to describe love. There was Philia (or brotherly love), Eros (or intimate love), Storge (or affectionate love), Pragma (or dedicated love), and Agape – unconditional love. Agape is a G...

This week we continue with the second episode of our Breath series. In this exercise we combine visualization and embodiment with our breathwork in a method called Praying from the Clay, inspired by Franciscan Priest, Father Richard Rohr in his book "Just This". The exercise is primarily based on ideas from Genesis 2:7, Romans 8:26, and 1 Corinthians 3:16.

This is the first episode of our second season: Breath. In our first season, we explored Tradition in the context of Western Christian spirituality, and various familiar and unfamiliar practices. This season, we'll take a step back from the Christian tradition, and focus more on various breathing methods that can be utilized in any faith tradition or spiritual setting. These practices can form a s...

This episode is our last in the Traditions series, and it may be the most difficult, but arguably the most essential. In this episode, we'll strip down our prayer, liturgy, theology, and philosophy to simply sit in silence and solitude with God. Try to go into this time of silence with a feeling of receptivity, with your heart open to what you might receive, or what you may not receive. Will God s...

This week, we continue our season theme of "Tradition" - the ways in which some (mostly western) parts of the church have viewed prayer and liturgical practices. It can seem at times like the contemplative path or modern spirituality can be insular or too self-referential, ignoring the external world and societal change that we feel impelled to bring about via the concept of the Kingdom of God. Th...

This season, we've been focusing on the lens of Tradition as it pertains to prayer, meditation, and contemplation. We encourage those who were raised in the Christian tradition, or in western society in general, to invest time in getting to know these ancient methods as tools to assist you in growing closer to God. In doing this, you accept an invitation into the larger history of Christendom in i...

In this episode, we introduce the practice of Lectio Divina, or "divine reading" an ancient method of relating to scripture. In this process, we engage the text not buy studying it in an academic way, but instead by relating to it. We begin by Lectio (reading), followed by meditatio (meditating), and then oratorio (prayer). We end in a silent time of contemplation. This way of relating to the Bibl...

In this episode, we explore an orienting prayer, as well as a practice known as The Jesus Prayer, or prayer of the heart. The early desert fathers thought this is what Paul the apostle had in mind when he said things like, "pray without ceasing". After constant repetition, the prayer absorbs you into itself, and you find it humming along with you everywhere you go.

This first episode of Methods introduces us to an Orienting Prayer, a prayer of Thanksgiving, and finally an Imaginative Prayer exercise, or "Ignatian Contemplation" as it might be recognized in the Jesuit community.