Contemplative Practices in Action 7] Jewish Contemplative Practices and Well-Being

 7] “The Eternal Is with Me, I Shall Not Fear”: Jewish Contemplative Practices and Well-Being  

Zari Weiss and David Levy

Over the centuries, most religious traditions have developed practices that support the cultivation of a contemplative approach to life. Judaism is no exception. Indeed, many of the practices that have traditionally been considered central to living a Jewish life have a strong contempla- tive orientation, and such practices can be helpful in alleviating the stress of everyday life. In the following pages, we will look at three practices in particular—prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time—that we have found valuable not only in our own practice, but also in teaching and counsel- ing others.

The coauthors of this paper come to this exploration with distinct but overlapping backgrounds. Rabbi Zari Weiss was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1991, a five-year post- graduate educational institution, and has served as a rabbi in a number of capacities. Trained in the art and practice of Spiritual Direction at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California (a Catholic-based institution), she also has worked as a spiritual director/companion with individuals and groups since 1993. She was a founding instructor, and taught for six years in a national program to train other Jews in Spiritual Direction from a Jewish perspective, and she has offered workshops and classes to rabbis and rabbinic students.

David Levy is a professor in the Information School at the University of Washington. Trained originally as a computer scientist (with a PhD from Stanford University), he too has been trained in Spiritual Direction

 

at Mercy Center, and has practiced as a spiritual director, although to a lesser extent than Rabbi Weiss. In his academic work for the past decade, he has explored how contemplative practices and perspectives may help us to understand and alleviate the stress of information overload and the acceleration of daily life.

Both authors, then, are teachers, spiritual directors, and practicing Jews. The religious and spiritual practices we explore in this chapter are ones that that we ourselves have engaged in and experienced. Because our backgrounds and practices are not identical, we ask the reader to understand that we have adopted the first-person plural—“we”—with consideration and care. In most of the issues addressed in this chapter, it is probably less important to know which of us has the greater experi- ence with a particular practice than that we both stand behind the asser- tion we are making. In certain cases, however, which will be clear below, we have found it useful to use “I” for both rhetorical and pedagogical purposes.

THE PRACTICES IN CONTEXT

It is challenging to summarize a long-standing and widespread reli- gious tradition such as Judaism in just a few words. But it might be said that Judaism’s central concern over the thousands of years of its existence has been in maintaining the sacred relationship between the Jewish people and God. Its central sacred texts, which include the Torah and the Talmud, recount the history of this relationship in its formative years and provide laws and guidance (called mitzvot, which we prefer to translate as “sacred obligations”) intended to maintain the vibrancy and sanctity of the relationship with the Divine. One of the central mitzvot, for example, obligates Jews to “love the Eternal your God, with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). Jews are told to speak this truth at all times, when they sit in their house and when they go out on the street, when they go to sleep at night and arise in the morning. In other words, they are to love God at all times. Many of the other laws and customs of Judaism reinforce the importance of fulfilling this sacred obligation in all areas of life: in their interactions with others, in their care of those less fortunate, in their responsibility toward the environment and natural world.

It needs to be said, however, that not all Jews—not even all practicing

Jews—observe all the mitzvot. Modern Judaism is divided into a number of “movements,” the best known of which are Orthodox, Conservative,

 

Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism. These differ in a number of ways, including the extent to which they prescribe adherence to tradi- tional practices. The vast majority of American Jews, however, are unaf- filiated: they do not belong to any movement, do not attend religious services regularly, and observe few if any Jewish holidays. Such individ- uals may report that they are “spiritual” rather than “religious,” and to the extent that they recognize their Jewish identity, it may be more as cultural Jews (appreciating the food and the humor, for example) or in terms of a commitment to social justice, which remains a strong Jewish value.

Yet without question, Judaism’s rich treasure trove of practices has been a source of comfort and solace, strength and stability for thousands of years. Its texts, rituals, and daily practices have offered many people support in stressful and uncertain circumstances. One charming anec- dote illustrates this well:

Sam happened to meet his rabbi on the street one day, and told him of all the troubles he had suffered during the past year. He wound up with: “I tell you right now, rabbi, it’s enough to make a man lose his religion.” “Seems to me, Sam,” the rabbi told him quietly, “it’s enough to make a man use his religion!”1

Not all people, however, know how to “use religion” in a way that offers comfort and solace, strength and stability. Particularly in our modern, assimilated world, where many have been distanced, or worse, alienated from the rich resources that are a part of Jewish tradition, these texts, rituals, and practices may seem inaccessible or foreign. As Plante and Thoresen write, “The lack of skills in using spiritual prac- tices may be the single missing ingredient that inhibits the kind of spiri- tual growth that leads to better health and well-being”;2 this is as true for those in the Jewish community as it is for the broader population.

In our work as teachers and spiritual companions to others, we have had the opportunity and privilege of helping others gain access to these practices and make use of them in their own lives. In particular, it has been our growing understanding of what might be called a more con- templative approach to Jewish practice that has provided a valuable means to access the tradition in new ways. It is clear that a more con- templative approach can help bring about comfort and solace, strength and stability, and can reduce stress.

In this chapter, we will focus on three areas of Jewish practice: prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time. We could easily have chosen

 

three other practices, or three dozen examples of Jewish religious and spiritual practices. The tradition is vast, and many of  the customs and rituals that make up Jewish life provide opportunities for adding meaning and dimension to life.

Each of the contemplative practices we discuss has a long and diverse history. For most of Jewish history they were embedded in a complete Jewish “way of life” that was largely inseparable from the larger Jewish patterns of day-to-day living. Today, except for the most Orthodox Jews, this is no longer the case, and in today’s consumerist society, many Jews are likely to choose certain practices and reject or ignore others.

Jewish prayer is a form of both verbal and nonverbal communion that can be used to praise, petition, thank, or simply communicate with God. In biblical times prayer was largely spontaneous and unscripted (the Torah records, for example, that “Isaac went out into the fields and prayed” [Gen. 24:63]). In time, these spontaneous prayers were recorded and collected, and eventually organized into a set order of specific prayers to be recited at three different times of the day. It is this form of prayer that is most familiar to Jews today. However, there are various places within the tradition where other forms of prayer are described and even encouraged. These include spontaneous prayers from the heart, recitation of a verse from the liturgy or Scripture, and personal kavannot, or introductory meditations. The contemplative approaches to prayer that we will discuss below are largely from this latter group.

Jewish meditation has a long, complex, and somewhat confusing history. The first problem is simply the meaning of the term meditation. An often-cited passage in the Talmud (Berachot 5:1) states that in prepa- ration for prayer the ancient rabbis used to “incline their hearts to God” for an hour. This is now taken as evidence that some form of preparatory meditation was practiced more than 2,000 years ago. Others have sug- gested that the Tetragrammaton, the Divine name spelled out with the four Hebrew letters Yod Hay Vav Hay (often indicated in Roman letters as YHVH), was the sound of the breath, perhaps providing some further evidence for the existence of a form of breath meditation. Today, espe- cially under the influence of Western Buddhist practice, a number of Jewish practitioners have rediscovered or reinvented a wide variety of forms of Jewish meditation, including meditating on a phrase or verse (mantra meditation), visual focusing on the letters of God’s divine name (YHVH), and chanting. In the section on meditation below, we will highlight a few of these approaches.

 

Finally, probably no practice has deeper historical or spiritual roots than the observance of the Sabbath. Genesis, the first book of the Hebrew Bible, states that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. From this came the understanding that Jews must emulate the Divine by themselves resting every seventh day. While the nature and extent of Sabbath practice differs widely today, the basic idea of separating one day a week from the hustle and bustle— and the stress—of daily living seems well suited for today’s 24/7 living.3 In our discussion of incorporating Sabbath time into our cur- rent busy lives, we suggest several contemplative practices that are based on traditional ways of observing the Sabbath.

DIMENSIONS OF THE PRACTICES

Before looking at the specific practices, we want to suggest that their role in health, well-being, and stress-reduction can be viewed and understood from three perspectives: spiritual or theological, physical or physiological, and emotional.

SPIRITUAL/THEOLOGICAL

Any particular practice may help the practitioner put life into a broader or more spiritual perspective. Various studies have shown that gaining a broader perspective is helpful in encouraging well-being and reducing stress. In their essay on meditation, for example, Shauna L. Shapiro and Roger Walsh write: “From a growth perspective, it is essential to learn ways to free ourselves from the artificial and unnec- essary limits we impose, as well as to learn to expand our world views. This liberation involves recognizing and letting go of old structures and boundaries and evolving to more complex worldviews.”4 We will see that various Jewish practices—such as meditating on a verse or line from Scripture, or observing Sabbath time—can help people experi- ence freedom from artificial limits and expand their worldviews.

At times a broader perspective is attained in a generalized way; it may entail a specific feeling or sense of God’s presence. In his article “Prayer and Health,” Kevin S. Masters writes that “persons who during their prayers felt like they were experiencing an interaction with God or had feelings of increased peace were also the ones more likely to report greater levels of well-being.”5 Indeed, cultivating a sense of

 

connection to God or God’s Presence is a core component of many Jewish practices: prayer, meditation, even Sabbath time.

PHYSICAL OR PHYSIOLOGICAL

Various studies have shown that spiritual practices create physio- logical changes or responses in the body, which by their very nature, reduce stress. In their article “Prayer as Medicine: How Much Have We Learned?” Marek Jantos and Hosen Kiat describe “the relaxation response,” one of the effects of meditation first characterized and named by Herbert Benson.6 “Meditation,” Jantos and Kiat observe, “is known to produce desirable physiological changes, such as slowed breathing, reduction in heart rate, a drop in blood pressure, peripheral warming, slower brain wave activity (marked by an increase in alpha and theta activity), and a hypometabolic state. People practicing medi- tation, irrespective of their religious persuasion, report feeling more spiritual and experiencing an enhanced sense of psychological and physiological wellbeing, peace and tranquility.”7 As we will see, a variety of Jewish practices, including prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time, can also create physiological changes in the body, leading to a state of well- being, a phenomenon that was noted by rabbis and teachers thousands of years ago.

EMOTIONAL

It is believed that religions and spiritual practices can also have a positive impact on our emotions. Jantos and Kiat write: “A third mecha- nism by which prayer is seen as exerting its positive impact on wellbeing is by means of the positive emotions it engenders.”7 One of the studies they cite is that of M. E. McCullough, whose research suggests that prayer improves mood and leads to a state of calm that extends to other areas of the life of the person praying.8 They also cite the work of Candace Pert, whose book Molecules of Emotion: The Science Behind Mind-Body Medicine lays out some of the effects of positive emotions in the body; and they observe that “positive emotions generate physiologi- cal changes that have far-reaching consequences on our health and well- being. The positive emotions of peace, joy, hope, faith, trust and love, associated with prayer, can lead to physiological changes affecting a person’s state of wellbeing.”9 Such emotions are fostered by a variety of Jewish practices, including prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time.

 

A CONTEMPLATIVE APPROACH TO JEWISH PRACTICE

What constitutes a contemplative approach to Jewish practice? Rather than starting by referencing what has been written on this topic over the ages, we prefer to illustrate it by drawing an example from our own work as spiritual directors and teachers. It concerns the use of a verse—“The Eternal is with me, I shall not fear”—as the subject of prayer and meditation.

Often in our work as spiritual companions, our directees (i.e., clients) come to the session frazzled from the stress of the day: their bodies are tense, their hearts are racing. Sometimes they are filled with anxiety, sometimes with fear; they may be coping with illness—their own or that of a loved one; they may be anticipating a major life change, such as a loss of employment or the end of a relationship. The stress is palpable— recognizable in their shallow breathing, their tense muscles, their rigid body posture.

In our role as spiritual directors, our job is not to fix, nor even neces- sarily to make people feel better—though often that happens as a result of this work. Rather, it is to help people see their lives or situations from a broader, spiritual perspective.

Most people who arrive with a high level of stress, anxiety, or fear have a desire—expressed explicitly or implicitly—to reduce their level of stress and live with a greater sense of peace, calm, or equanimity. When asked directly, they may acknowledge that they wish they could feel a sense of trust—in God, in the Universe, in Something Bigger— but they also admit that they do not have any idea how to access, or cultivate, such a sense. This is the opening for which we look and listen. It is an opening no bigger than the eye of a needle: the longing of the heart (or soul) for a connection to Something Beyond the Self. From a Jewish perspective, it is the longing for a life lived in relation- ship with God/The Mystery/Ein Sof. (Ein Sof, one of the Hebrew names for God, literally means “That Which is Without End.”) To live in this way is to live the contemplative life.

Though there are times that belief leads to experience, most often, we have seen, it is experience that leads to belief. And if experience doesn’t arise on its own, it can be invited, or perhaps better, awakened.

The following example illustrates this. It is based on a session one of us conducted with a directee who had entered the office feeling very stressed.

 

“I wonder,” I say out loud to the directee, “if there is a prayer or a phrase or some verses from a prayer that might help you feel that sense of calm or peace that you are seeking?” Many times, I haven’t thought consciously about any particular prayer or verses when posing the question; it is only afterward that something comes to mind. Some- times, the last four lines of a well-known prayer known as Adon Olam may come. It is a prayer that is traditionally said at the end of a service. (In some communities, it is also said at the beginning.) We don’t know for certain when the prayer was written or by whom; scholars believe that it is at least 1,000 years old. It has been a part of the service since the fifteenth century. During services, it is often sung to a very upbeat or even boisterous melody (perhaps because everyone is so relieved that the service is finally over!); as a result, the beauty and power of the words’ meaning is often lost. The last four verses of the prayer are quite beautiful; they suggest, almost more than any other verses from Jewish liturgy, the sense of trust that many of us long for—and the comfort that often comes with that trust.

“B’yado afkid ruchee”—“in His hand, I place my spirit.” I recite the first phrase to my directee. “Of course we know that God doesn’t have a hand and isn’t a He—it’s just a metaphor.” The person usually nods. “But can you imagine, for just a moment, placing your soul in God’s hand, in The Eternal’s hand?” I watch as the person shuts her eyes and brings the image to mind. “It’s such a beautiful image, isn’t it? Now .. . can you allow yourself to rest in it?” I continue gently. I watch as the directee’s breath becomes slower and her body begins to relax. “B’eyt eeshan v’ah’ee’rah—when I sleep and when I wake,” I continue translating. “Imagine what you would feel like, if you started and ended each day this way, allowing yourself to rest, for just a few minutes, in God’s hand.” “V’im ruchee g’vee’a’tee,—and with my spirit my body too.” The release of tension in her body is now visible. “Adonai lee, v’lo ee’rah—The Eternal is with me, I shall not fear.” I pause, and ask: “What would it be like not to feel fear?” My directee’s eyes well up with tears. “It means that no matter what happens, everything will be okay.” “Okay,” I repeat the word, knowing that it doesn’t neces- sarily mean that everything will be great, or even good, but simply that, on some level, against the larger backdrop of the greater Mystery of the world and of life, everything will be all right.

“Finally,” I then say, “I wonder if this is something you can return to throughout the day, when you are feeling stressed or anxious. Maybe you can recite these verses, which I’d be happy to write out for you, or perhaps you might just return to the image of resting in God’s hand.

 

Is this something that might be helpful?” She answers yes; our time together has given her access not only to Jewish Tradition, but also to God, in a new way. It is a way that is meaningful not only in terms of her Jewish way of life, but also in terms of specific practices that may help reduce her stress and, as a result, bring about a greater sense of peace and calm.

A life lived in relationship with Something Beyond the Self: for most people caught up in our rushed, overly busy, and stress-filled culture, this is an ideal that is hard to achieve. Many people assume that to live in such a way they must seclude themselves in a monastery or convent, or disengage from their daily routines by attending an extended retreat. And while these choices certainly can be helpful for some, they are not realistic for most. There are other ways that one can cultivate a more contemplative life, even in the midst of our ordi- nary, everyday activities. Indeed, in our work as spiritual companions and teachers, we have found three Jewish practices that are particu- larly helpful in cultivating the contemplative life: prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time. We now turn to these practices.

THREE JEWISH CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICES

PRAYER

Traditional Jewish practice specifies that one pray three times a day: morning, afternoon, and evening (these prayer services are known as shacharit, minchah, and ma’ariv). Today, generally only those who are at the more observant end of the spectrum fulfill this obligation; most contemporary Jews probably do not pray at all, and only a small per- centage may set aside time for daily prayer.

Because people bring the real stuff of their lives to spiritual direction, and the stuff of life is, by nature, stressful, most people enter our office filled with stress. While the purpose of Spiritual Direction is not to alle- viate the stress, alleviating it and living with greater calm and equanimity is often part of the person’s longing or desire.

In our work as Spiritual Directors, then, we might ask in our first session if the person has any sort of a daily or regular spiritual practice. Most often, people do not. We ask if it might be reasonable to set aside some time, as little as five minutes and as much as an hour, for such a practice. Even a few minutes, particularly at the start and at the end of the day, we explain, can go far in creating a sense of greater calm or

 

equanimity, which can be accessed throughout the day. Together with the directee we think of what might be the most realistic time of the day to build it in, given the actual circumstances of their lives (family, work, etc.).

We have found prayer to be particularly helpful in leading to feel- ings of calm and equanimity. As Kevin Masters writes, “The English word prayer comes from the Latin precari meaning to entreat or ask earnestly. Curiously, this is the same root found in the word precari- ous. Indeed, many pray when life seems precarious and it is during times of illness or great need that prayer is perhaps most widely acknowledged and practiced. There seems to be an almost intuitive notion among people of faith in many cultures that prayer and health are related.”5

There are three prayers from Jewish tradition that we have found to be particularly helpful. The first prayer, part of the morning liturgy, is found in a section known as Birchot HaShachar, Blessings of the Dawn. Traditionally this prayer is said immediately upon awakening in the morning: “Modeh (modah for a woman) ani lifanecha: I am grateful before You, Sovereign that lives and endures, she’he’chezarta bi nishmati b’chem- lah, for you have restored my soul to me in graciousness, rabbah emuna- techa, great is your lovingkindness.” Though many Jews may, in fact, have grown up saying this prayer, most are unaware of its deeper mean- ing. They probably have always recited it in a rote or formulaic way.

We often begin with this prayer as a starting point for building a meaningful spiritual practice. The prayer can be said in just a minute, but its effects can last throughout the day.

We invite the directee to consider why the prayer might be recited immediately upon awakening. If they don’t know, we explain that upon awakening, a person realizes that she has not died during the night; on the contrary, she has been blessed with another day of life. Furthermore, we point out, the word nishmati, a contraction of nesha- mah sheli, my soul, is related to the word nishimah, breath: when we breathe in, we can become aware of our soul, the unique soul that is implanted within each one of us. As we then pause to become aware of the life-breath that flows through us, we also can become aware of the Ultimate Breath-of-Life, God/the Source, which has granted us the gift of another day. Often, as our awareness expands, the burdens which all- too-often weigh us down lighten, and our hearts somehow feel lighter, filled with gratitude instead. Gratitude is an almost guaranteed antidote to stress: when we take the time to become aware of the gift of life, of the life-breath that fills us, our breathing slows and grows deeper, our

 

“hearts” (in reality, probably, our muscle and nerve systems) become less tight, instead opening to whatever gifts the day may bring. This awareness may result in positive emotional feelings, which in turn may have physiological effects. As the feelings help reduce stress and anxiety, they can promote a more positive outlook, which in turn can strengthen the will to live life more fully, one more day.

We sometimes use a different prayer when the directee gives evi- dence of a negative self-image or depression, a prayer that can lead to a more positive self-image, and to feelings of acceptance and self- love. This prayer too comes from the section of prayers known as the Morning  Blessings.  “Elohai  neshamah  sh’natatah  bi .. . My  God, the soul that you have given me, it is pure,” it begins. This first line alone is sufficient to shift someone’s perspective. We invite the directee to become aware of his soul. This is something that most people have never even considered. “Think of your unique essence,” we might suggest, “the part of you that is uniquely you.” And then we repeat the words of the prayer, and encourage him to become aware, if he is able, of the pureness of his soul. “Separate from the layers of ‘stuff’ that we accumulate over the course of our lives, which result from our own behaviors or our personality flaws, Judaism teaches us that our soul is pure. And God knows that.” The tightness in his body begins to release; there is a letting go, a release. Again, we explain how in Hebrew the word for soul, neshamah, and the word for breath, neshimah, are related. Our breath connects us to our soul; every time we take a breath, we have the opportunity to remember the pure, precious soul inside us, the soul that also connects us to God. We sit patiently, watching as the directee’s breath gradually begins to flow more freely, and as the muscles begin to relax. There is a sense of acceptance and compassion; with these more positive feelings comes a softening of the heart, a release of the physiological tension that often accompanies self-judgment.

Finally, there is another prayer (actually a declaration) that we often draw upon in our work, the Shema. Often translated “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” the Shema, we believe, is a statement of equanimity. It affirms that all—the good, the bad, and the ugly—are a part of the Mystery of Life, a part of the underlying Unity (One, in Hebrew, Echad) that is present in all existence. Tradi- tionally Jews recite the Shema morning and evening: when they rise up (u’vkumecha) and when they lie down (uv’shachb’cha) (Deut. 6:4–9). In the bedtime version of this prayer, there is an additional prayer that can be found only in traditional prayer books; for some unknown reason

 

many liberal prayer books have left it out. In this version, there is a para- graph in which the person reciting it forgives those who have harmed her, and asks forgiveness of anyone whom she has harmed. “Can you imagine saying this at the end of every day?” we ask, knowing what a profound spiritual practice forgiveness can be. The opposite—not forgiving—creates tremendous stress in the body: it leads to repressed anger, guilt, hurt—all of which are emotions that cause restriction, tightness, as opposed to expansiveness, openness. To forgive—even just to make the effort to forgive—makes the heart soften into a more supple state; that suppleness ripples out through the muscles, and stress is reduced. With forgiveness comes a letting go. Affirming the Unity of Life, and letting go of anger and hurt—what more profound spiritual practice could there be?

MEDITATION

Meditation in Jewish tradition takes many forms. In our work as Spiritual Directors, we have found several meditative practices to be particularly helpful in creating a more expansive consciousness, a deeper sense of peace and equanimity. Many people come to Spiritual Direction with an expressed desire to feel a connection to God more often throughout their daily lives, not only during the time in the morning or evening when they are engaged in some sort of spiritual practice. When we meet with them, we often explain the age-old prac- tice of meditating on a verse, particularly the verse from the book of Psalms: Shi’vi’ti HaShem L’negdi Tamid. “I place the Eternal before me always” (Psalms 16:8). Some do this by sitting in front of a wall hanging, known as a Shi’vi’ti, a traditional wall card, poster, or plaque with the verse from Psalms on it. Some of these wall hangings are elaborate works of art, with beautiful illustrations and other scriptural verses surrounding Psalms 16:8. The Hebrew letters of God’s name (YHVH) are often arranged vertically; they become the focus for visual meditation. Various teachings throughout the ages describe this practice: “Many people write the name YHVH on a piece of parchment .. . and keep it in front of them while they pray, according to the way of ‘I have placed the Lord before me always.’ And this brings awe of God into their heart and clarifies your soul to purity.”10 They then strive to keep the image of God’s name before them throughout the day, without any external visual aids. Visualizing God’s name encourages one to be aware of God’s Presence—in every

 

action, in every interaction. One delightful folktale tells of the holy Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Hasid of Kolomaya, the disciple of the Baal Shem Tov (the founder of Hasidism), who would repeat the line from Psalms at all hours of the day, nonstop. He would even repeat it during the hours of work and business. It is said that even the gentiles called him “The Shvittinik [the Shiviti person].”10 In our work with individuals, we might make a copy of a Shi’vi’ti that can be found in certain prayer books; we suggest they experiment with the practice of meditating on God’s Divine name as a means to remind them to strive to be aware of God’s Presence at all times.

Of course, one can enter into a meditative state without focusing on a particular verse, but rather, simply by immersing oneself in a con- sciousness of God’s presence or existence in the universe. Various great teachers from Jewish tradition spoke of this practice, known as hitbonenut. Following is one teaching of Moses Maimonides, the great thirteenth-century physician and philosopher:

What is the way to love and fear G-d? When a person contem- plates (hitbonen) His great, wondrous deeds and creations, seeing through them His boundless, infinite wisdom, he immediately loves, exults, and is ecstatic with a passion to know the great Name. This is, what King David meant when he said, “My soul thirsts for G-d, for the living Deity.” (Psalms 42:3)

When one thinks about these things, he immediately becomes awed and abashed. He realizes that he is but an infinitesimal creature, lowly and unenlightened, standing with his diminutive, deficient mind before the Perfect Mind. David thus said, “When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers .. . what is man that You consider him?” (Psalms 8:4–5)11

In other words, Maimonides suggests, by pausing and seeing beyond what appears on the surface a person can become aware of the various ways that God is or might be present: in any created object, in an event, in any experience of life. When he is able to do this, he will be filled with an awareness of God, and will realize his own minuteness relative to the magnificence of the Great Mystery of the Divine. His sense of self will recede, and his awareness of God will move to the forefront.

To help them imagine this state of consciousness, we might invite our directees to close their eyes and see themselves against the backdrop of the mystery of all life. We might ask if they are aware of God’s role in

 

that mystery, as well as their own place in it. Often they sink into silence, and we sit quietly together, humbly aware of the Mystery of Life of which they, and we, are a part.

Kevin Masters writes “persons who during their prayers felt they were experiencing an interaction with God or had feelings of increased peace were also the ones more likely to report greater levels of well being.”5 Indeed, we have found that from the meditative state that is achieved, whether through visualizing God’s name and becoming increasingly aware of God’s Presence, or sitting against the backdrop of the mystery of life, there often emerges a deep sense of calm and tranquility. With that sense of calm and tranquility often comes a letting go of the obses- sive concern with things that in our day-to-day lives seem so important.

SABBATH TIME

As noted earlier, the theological basis for Sabbath observance is found in Genesis: “The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done” (Genesis 2:1–3). This understanding has led Jews over the ages to emulate the Divine pattern and to abstain from all work from night- fall on Friday evening to nightfall on Saturday (the Jewish day begins at sunset). The English word “Sabbath” is a direct translation of the Hebrew “Shabbat,” which means “rest.”

Over the centuries there has been much discussion and debate about this apparently simple prescription. What exactly is meant by work, and what is meant by rest? Does work refer simply or primarily to physical exertion, or perhaps to paid labor? What about intellectual work? Does rest refer to the abstention from effort, or to leisure activ- ities? And what exactly is the purpose of the Sabbath? While it would carry us too far afield to discuss these points now, it is worth pointing to one traditional answer to the last of these questions. The intent behind Sabbath observance, the ancient rabbis suggested, is to cel- ebrate Creation. Jews, they argued, were to abstain from creative acts in order to savor and appreciate the created world—to enjoy it, as the following description points out:

Work can make man free, but one can also be a slave to work. When God created heaven and earth, says the Talmud, they went

 

on unreeling endlessly, “like two bobbins of thread,” until their Creator called out to them, “Enough!” (Talmud Chagigah 12a). God’s creative activity was followed by the Sabbath, when He deliberately ceased from His creative work It is thus not

“work,” but “ceasing from work” which God chose as the sign of His free creation of the world. By ceasing from work every Sabbath, in the manner prescribed by the Torah, the Jew bears witness to the creative power of God. He also reveals Man’s true greatness. The stars and the planets, having once started on their eternal rounds, go on blindly, ceaselessly, driven by nature’s law of cause and effect. Man, however, by an act of faith, can put a limit to his labor, so that it will not degenerate into purposeless drudgery. By keeping Sabbath the Jew becomes, as our Sages say, domeh l’Yotzero—“like his Creator.” He is, like God, work’s master, not its slave.12

One of the prayers from the Sabbath liturgy expresses this senti- ment well: “Those who keep Shabbat by calling it a delight will rejoice in Your realm. The people that hallows Shabbat will delight in Your goodness. For, being pleased with the Seventh Day, You hallowed it as the most precious of days, drawing our attention to the work of Creation.”13

Here then is an understanding, and a practice, that speaks to the stress of living in both the ancient and the modern world. For surely the work- ing day in all cultures, past and present, has been filled with the stress of physical and mental labor: continuously engaging in acts of creation and productivity, continually striving for achievement. The Sabbath is con- ceived as a day to let go of the willful striving for productivity; it is instead a day to appreciate the simple experience of being alive, to feel gratitude for the marvels and mysteries of the created world. Abraham Joshua Heschel’s well-known passage speaks to this understanding: “He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering commerce, of being yoked to toil      He must

say farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world has already been created and will survive without the help of man. Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul  Six days a week we seek to dominate the world, on the seventh

day we try to dominate the self.”14

In our work as Spiritual Directors and teachers, we have found some of the traditional practices and customs of Shabbat to be a valuable

 

starting place for helping to create islands of calm in the otherwise hectic and hurried lives of our directees. Here are three simple prac- tices that can be used to create a few moments, an hour, or a full day of Sabbath time.

One custom practiced by more observant Jews entails going to a mikveh, a natural or artificial body of water in which one fully immerses, in preparation for the Sabbath. Short of going to a mikveh, one can simply wash in hot water. The following description, based on various traditional teachings, helps explain the benefits—not only physical, but spiritual as well—of this practice:

It is a traditional practice to wash in hot water before Shabbat. The hot water will change your body-feeling, removing any neg- ativity and the weekday “set,” and ready you for the renewal that comes with Shabbat. Bodily cleanliness also has a spiritual effect. It is hard to feel spiritually pure when you are physically unclean; conversely, being clean in body natural conduces to a feeling of spiritual cleanliness.10

For those who hope to incorporate some sort of Sabbath time into their lives, we might suggest that they prepare by taking a hot bath, allowing themselves to linger in the water for a while. As is reflected in the above teaching, water—particularly hot water—can have healing and transformative qualities. As they relax in the water, preparing themselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally for the sacred time they are about to observe, their muscles relax, and stress is released.

Alternately, for a shorter period, they might simply do a ritual hand washing, to delineate sacred time from ordinary time. Even symboli- cally, pouring water over one’s hands can suggest a release from nega- tivity or a sense of letting go of the past (stress) and opening to the future (a new way of being). We might suggest singing a lovely melody set to a verse from the Prophet Isaiah: “Draw water in joy, from the living well. Mayyim Chayyim. Waters of Life. Shalom.”

The second suggestion is based on the traditional practice of wel- coming the Sabbath by lighting candles. The flame of a candle is a universal symbol of God’s Presence, as well as of the soul and the spiritual; indeed, there is something transformative that can happen when one lights candles, demarcating one period of time from another. One teaching, for example, says “On the holy Sabbath, whose inner meaning is the spiritual elevation of all the worlds .. . the

 

Sabbath candles serves to symbolize the elevation of the soul and of holiness.”10 We might suggest then, that to begin a period of sacred time, whether an hour or a day, our directees light a candle and sit in front of it for at least a few moments, meditating on the flame, open- ing to God’s Presence, or simply sitting quietly.

Finally, the third practice comes out of the traditional understanding of the Sabbath as a time to abstain from working. Over the centuries, to decide what was permitted and what was prohibited on the Sabbath, the ancient rabbis had to grapple with what exactly constituted work (the word for work in Hebrew is melakhah). While the details of their understanding is mainly relevant for Jews who fully observe a traditional Sabbath, the underlying principle they came up with is more broadly applicable: on the Sabbath, Jews are to abstain from the ordinary, task-oriented practices of the workweek in order to remember and feel gratitude for the gift of God’s creation. Thus Grunfeld, referencing the writings of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, one of the foremost Jewish thinkers of the nineteenth century, writes, “Man .. . is engaged in a constant struggle to gain mastery over God’s creation, to bring nature under his control. By the use of his God-given intelligence, skills and energy, he has in large measure succeeded in this. He is thus constantly in danger of forgetting his own creaturehood—his utter and complete dependence on the Lord of all things. He tends to forget that the very powers he uses in his conquest of nature are derived from his Creator, in Whose service his life and work should be conducted.”12

Taking this principle into our work with directees, we may suggest that they create sacred time by unplugging for a period of time from all their devices: BlackBerry, computer, telephone, etc. For many this is a radical notion and takes some getting used to; it makes them realize that they do have some choice in whether they are always “on” or sometimes “off,” and forces them to confront their own addictions and attachments to these tools. We have found that for some, the prac- tice of unplugging is liberating, providing periods of quiet and calm.

THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

There is an extensive and growing literature on the value of Buddhist meditation as a source of stress reduction and general wellness (see else- where in this volume). There is also an active literature that explores the efficacy of prayer, both from a specifically Christian and from a multi- denominational perspective. Yet as far as we know, there are no scientific

 

studies that have addressed specific Jewish practices of the form we have been discussing here.

A considerable amount of work, however, has been done over the last decade or two on the topic of healing from a Jewish perspective. This body of work may have some relevance for the subject of spiritual practice and well-being; as far as we know, however, scholarly studies have not yet been conducted. This would be an area that would be fruitful for further research and exploration.

APPLICATIONS

Our experience suggests that it is a select group of people who are drawn to a more contemplative approach to Jewish practice. But there are limited opportunities within the mainstream Jewish community for such people to study and experiment more deeply. Some more spiritu- ally oriented retreat centers do exist, and in addition to three or four programs training Jews in Spiritual Direction, there is also now an Institute for Jewish Spirituality, which introduces Jewish professionals (rabbis and cantors), and more recently, laypeople, to a more contem- plative approach to Judaism. This program is growing in popularity, and satellite programs are being offered at various places around the country.

It is currently hard to know to what extent this approach might be of interest to the majority of the Jewish population if it were to be more widely available. For such people, we would hope, there may be value in creating opportunities for ongoing learning and experi- mentation, as well as additional resources, such as this collection, for study.

CONCLUSION

The Jewish practices we have described in this chapter—prayer, meditation, and Sabbath time—are rich and multifaceted. While each of them clearly has correspondences in other traditions, the specifically Jewish manifestations we have discussed here have deep roots in Jewish history, texts, and culture. A Jewish person searching for solace, com- fort, and healing may well find it in non-Jewish practices; indeed, it is well known that many Western Jews now fill Buddhist and Hindu meditation halls well out of  proportion  to  their representation in the larger culture. But there is a kind of healing that we have both

 

experienced and witnessed that occurs when one makes peace with one’s own tradition and is able to find sustenance through it. It is the rare individual who, when looking for peace and stress reduction, is likely to embrace a full Jewish life. It is much more likely that such an individual may adopt one or more of the practices discussed here, and gain some of what she is looking for not only through the techniques themselves but through the power of their connection to a vast and life-giving tradition.

REFERENCES

1. Schur, T. G. (1993). Illness and crisis: Coping the Jewish way. New York: National Conference of Synagogue Youth, 79.

2. Plante, T. G., & Thoresen, C. E. (Eds.). (2007). Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (p. 6). Westport, CT: Praeger.

3. Muller, W. (1999). Sabbath: Finding rest, renewal, and delight in our busy lives. New York: Bantam Books.

4. Shapiro, S. L., & Walsh, R. (2007). Meditation: Exploring the farther reaches. In T. G. Plante & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 57–69). Westport, CT: Praeger. See p. 60.

5. Masters, K. S. (2007). Prayer and health. In T. G. Plante &  C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science, and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 11–24). Westport, CT: Praeger.

6. Benson, H. (1975). The relaxation response. New York: Avon Books.

7. Jantos, M., & Kiat, H. (2007). Prayer as medicine: How much have we learned? Medical Journal of Australia, 186(10 Suppl.), S51–S53.

8. McCullough, M. E. (1995). Prayer and health:  Conceptual  issues, research review, and research agenda. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 23, 15–29.

9. Pert, C. B. (1999). Molecules of emotion: The science behind mind-body medicine. New York: Touchstone.

10. Buxbaum, Y. (1990). Jewish spiritual practices. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.

11. Kaplan, A. (1978). Meditation and the Bible. New York: Samuel Weiser, 132–138.

12. Grunfeld, D. D. I. (2003). The Sabbath: A guide to its understanding and observance. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 16–17.

13. Mishkan T’filah: A Reform Siddur (2007). New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis.

14. Heschel, A. J. (1985). The Sabbath: Its meaning for modern man. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young, 13.

 

CHAPTER 8

Contemplative Practices in Action 5] Centering Prayer: A Method of Christian Meditation for Our Time

 5] Centering Prayer: A Method of Christian Meditation for Our Time  

Jane K. Ferguson

Thousands of people from a variety of backgrounds and ethnicities are gradually becoming aware of the Christian tradition of contem- plative prayer as a quieting practice in a fast-paced world. Having been exposed in the 1960s and 1970s to the value of meditation from Eastern religious practices, a steadily growing number of Christians are often surprised to learn that a meditation practice exists in their own faith tradition, based on the classical mystical theology of the church.1

This chapter focuses on a contemporary form of contemplative prayer known as Centering Prayer, which is based on the ancient Christian tradition of resting in God. The chapter explores the reli- gious context in which Centering Prayer arose, its historical roots in early Christianity, the method of the prayer, and its distinctive qual- ities and accompanying practices. Emerging empirical research about the spiritual and health effects of Centering Prayer is highlighted, including a study in progress on Centering Prayer’s effects on the brain’s neural networks and a published account of the prayer’s impact on stress. Everyday applications of Centering Prayer are reviewed within a variety of settings, from churches to prisons, hospitals to

Sections of Chapter 5 are reprinted with kind  permission  from  Springer  Science+Business Media:  Pastoral  Psychology,  “Centering  Prayer  as  a  Healing  Response  to  Everyday  Stress: A Psychological and Spiritual  Process,” June 9, 2009, Jane K. Ferguson, Eleanor W. Willemsen, and MayLynn V. Castaneto. Copyright (c) Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.

 

psychotherapy sessions, and 12-step recovery workshops to college classrooms. Cross-cultural considerations of the practice in different settings also are touched upon.

Of course Centering Prayer is not the only form of Christian meditation. Modern teachers and authors who have helped advance understanding of a practical method to access the Christian mystical path are Benedictine monks and priests John Main and Laurence Freeman of the World Community for Christian Meditation, as well as Episcopal priest Tilden Edwards and psychiatrist and spiritual director Gerald May of the Shalem Institute. The contemplative prac- tice of the Jesus Prayer that grew out of Eastern Christianity in the early sixth century endures today. This chapter focuses on Centering Prayer because of my own familiarity with it as a trained presenter and my personal daily prayer practice the past nine years. I helped establish two Centering Prayer groups in my professional ministry at St. Mary Parish in Los Gatos, California, and conducted a doctoral study on the prayer’s spiritual and health effects in the lives of parishioners, discussed below.

RELIGIOUS CONTEXT

Centering Prayer’s emphasis on a personal relationship with God distinguishes it from some Eastern approaches to meditation that seek still-mind or observation of the present moment. While acknowl- edging this distinction, the terms contemplative prayer and meditation are used interchangeably in this chapter to recognize their similarity as a quieting practice.

Importantly, the Centering Prayer movement encourages dia- logue with the contemplative dimension of other religions and sacred traditions. In this climate, Centering Prayer developed in the mid- 1970s when Fr. Thomas Keating, then abbot of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, became engaged in interreligious dialogue with Buddhist and Hindu teachers and their students. What impressed Keating during these dialogues was a psycho-spiritual wisdom presented in Buddhist meditative disciplines that was not as readily available in the Christian contemplative framework in the same detailed and prac- tical way.2 Keating believed that he and his fellow Trappist monks, Basil Pennington and William Menninger, might be able  to  distill the essence of the Christian contemplative tradition into an accessible method, too, based on the Egyptian Desert experience that was the

 

basis of St. Benedict’s Rule. They were responding to Pope Paul VI’s request of monastics to share the contemplative life with the laity to encourage the spirit of church renewal promoted by Vatican II.

The method became known as Centering Prayer to reflect the classical contemplative experience of interior silence described in the sixteenth century by St. John of the Cross: “We are attracted to God as to our center, like a stone toward the center of the earth.”3 When through ongoing surrender to God we reach the very core of our being, there remains one more center that is deeper and greater than us, Keating adds. “This center is the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who dwells at the inmost center of our being. It is out of that Presence that our whole being emerges at every moment.”4

An estimated 150,000 people are now practicing Centering Prayer individually and in hundreds of small prayer groups throughout the United States and in 39 countries in Latin America, Africa, the Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. Keating’s books have been translated from English into French, Korean, Spanish, Croatian, Czech, and Polish. The Centering Prayer movement has grown largely through the grassroots efforts of laity and religious who are affiliated with Contemplative Outreach, the nonprofit organization Keating founded in 1984 to support the growing ecumenical base of practi- tioners from mainstream denominations, principally Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Presbyterian. Centering Prayer introduc- tory workshops are being offered on the Internet internationally, and Fr. Keating can be found on YouTube teaching the method of Center- ing Prayer.

While interest and practice of Centering Prayer is steadily growing, it generally is perceived as a peripheral practice within mainstream Christianity today, even though contemplative prayer was commonly practiced by devout lay men and women, as well as clergy, during the first 16 centuries of the church. Today’s ordained clergy and their congregants generally have not been introduced to the Christian con- templative prayer tradition in seminaries and churches, and so it is not well understood. Some fundamentalist sectors remain to be con- vinced that Centering Prayer is authentically Christian, viewing it as a New Age knock-off of Eastern meditation practices. Yet it is a rich and living vein of the Christian experience. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, for example, likens contemplative prayer to entering into the Eucharistic liturgy to abide in the dwelling place of the Lord: “We let our masks fall and turn our hearts back to the Lord who loves us, so as to hand ourselves over to him as an offering to be purified

 

and transformed. .. . Contemplative prayer is silence, or  ‘silent love.’ ”5 Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault, PhD, an Episcopal priest, author, and teacher of contemplative prayer, sees theological congruence between Centering Prayer and the biblical concept of kenosis (Greek for “to let go” or “to empty oneself”), which describes the very nature of Christ, who emptied himself to become human, and again in the Garden of Gethsemane turned his will over to God. This is the ges- ture of Centering Prayer: “It’s a surrender method, pure and simple, a practice based entirely on the prompt letting go of thoughts as they arise. I often think of it as kenosis in meditation form, a way of patterning into our being that continuously repeated gesture of, ‘let go,’ ‘let go,’ ‘let go,’ at the core of the path that Jesus himself walked.”6

HISTORICAL ROOTS OF CENTERING PRAYER

The biblical basis of Centering Prayer is Jesus’s intimate experience of God as Abba (Mark 14:36), his teaching of the prayer in secret (Matthew 6:6), and the final discourse of the Gospel of John describ- ing the divine indwelling (John 17:21–23a). Centering Prayer also is rooted in the spirituality expressed in the third and fourth centuries by the Desert Fathers and Mothers in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria who informed mainstream Christianity. The essence of desert spirituality is expressed by the term hesychia, the Greek word for rest as well as stillness or silence in prayer. This rest, however, has little to do with the absence of conflict or pain. It is a rest in God in the midst of intense daily struggle. Desert spirituality as an effective response to the tensions of daily existence came not through escape but from cultivating an interior “peace of the heart”7 during one’s trials. This spirituality is particularly fitting for contemporary Christians who seek respite from daily turmoil because “the real desert lies within the heart.”8 Here, one learns from the Desert Mother Syncletica of Egypt (380 to ca. 460) that “it is possible to be solitary in one’s mind while living in a crowd, and it is possible for one who is a solitary to live in a crowd of personal thoughts.”9

This awareness that one’s thinking has a profound effect on the body, mind, and soul is characteristic of the desert spirituality that was exported to Western Christendom by the desert monk John Cassian in the fifth century when he moved from Egypt to France and founded two monasteries near Marseilles. Cassian’s instructions on silent prayer, drawn from his interviews of other desert monks and chronicled in his

 

influential Conferences, focus on the prayer in secret that informs the method of Centering Prayer:

We need to be especially careful to follow the gospel precept which instructs us to go into our room and to shut the door so that we may pray to our Father. And this is how we can do it.

We pray in our room whenever we withdraw our hearts com- pletely from the tumult and the noise of our thoughts and our worries and when secretly and intimately we offer our prayers to the Lord.

We pray with the door shut when without opening our mouths and in perfect silence we offer our petitions to the One who pays no attention to words but who looks hard at our hearts. Hence, we must pray in utter silence.10

Contemplative spirituality became the norm for the devout Christian and for clergy. This slowly began to change over the centuries with a continuing shift in emphasis from the experiential to the intellectual in spirituality beginning with the rise of Scholasticism in Western Europe in the thirteenth century. With the suppression of monasteries in many European countries during the Reformation, and the Inquisition’s pros- ecution of individuals who practiced certain forms of quiet prayer that were deemed suspect by the church, contemplative prayer faded into a rarefied practice appropriate for cloistered monks well advanced on the spiritual journey but not for laity.

THE METHOD OF CENTERING PRAYER

To revive the Christian contemplative tradition within the wider church, Keating and his fellow monks developed an accessible method for modern-day seekers. The method of Centering Prayer is recom- mended for 20 minutes, two times a day to deepen one’s intimacy with God and to manifest the prayer’s healing effects in one’s life. These are the four guidelines:

1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to the presence and action of God within.

2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes closed, settle briefly and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God’s presence and action within.

 

3. When engaged with your thoughts, return ever so gently to the sacred word.

4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of minutes.

Guideline 1. The sacred word is a one- or –two-syllable word selected beforehand. It may be a word of scripture, like “Jesus,” “Peace,” “Abba,” “Mary,” “Shalom,” or some other word that is meaningful but does not stimulate thought—for example, “let go,” “calm,” or “be.” The sacred word is “sacred” not because of its meaning but because it sym- bolizes one’s intention to consent to God’s presence and action within.11 Generally, one does not change the sacred word after it has been chosen because with use over time it becomes infused in the depths of one’s being, leading one to enter more willingly into contemplative prayer.

Guideline 2. The posture is relaxed yet aware. One sits upright. The eyes are closed to reduce external stimulation. The basic disposition is receptive and diffuse. One silently introduces the sacred word, without using the lips or vocal cords. “The sacred word comes from the heart and reverberates in the imagination only momentarily.”12 The method of Centering Prayer is not a technique that can be used to automatically produce either a relaxation response or a mystical experience. Instead, it is both a method and a form of prayer in itself to help dispose the prac- titioner to receive the divine gift of contemplation by quieting the mind through the use of a sacred word.

Guideline 3. Thoughts refer to any perception. This might be a feeling, sensation, emotion, image, memory, reflection, concept, com- mentary, or even spiritual experience. When one becomes aware of “engaging,” that is to say, becoming overly interested in, any kind of thought other than the original intention to consent to God, one renews the intention by returning to the sacred word ever so gently. The loving attitude toward oneself in this prayer is based on advice given to spiritual seekers 400 years ago by St. Francis de Sales: “Act with great patience and gentleness toward ourselves. We must not be annoyed by distrac-

tions or our failures but start over without further ado.”13

Guideline 4. The additional two minutes serve as a bridge to ease back into ordinary awareness and sustain the effects of silence into the day.14

For those interested in exploring the method more deeply, read Keating’s Open Mind, Open Heart and Bourgeault’s Centering Prayer and Inner Awakening (referenced).

 

THREE DISTINGUISHING FEATURES

1. Centering Prayer is often called a prayer of intention rather than attention, making it a receptive as opposed to a concentra- tive form of meditation. The only “action” on the part of the practitioner is to consent to one’s intention to open to God by returning to the sacred word as necessary. The sacred word does not function as a mantra in that it is not constantly repeated or used to focus one’s attention. Instead, it is introduced only on those occasions when one is “engaged” in thoughts. Otherwise, one simply lets the thoughts drift by as one continues to rest in God.

2. Centering Prayer is an apophatic (Greek for negative), as opposed to cataphatic (positive) form of prayer within the two classic streams of Christian theology. Cataphatic prayer is positive because it is everything that can be said or imagined of God, typical of the prayers recited in church. Apophatic prayer, by contrast, is a prayer of “no-thinking,” that is, without images or ideas of  any kind,  asserting  the  ultimate incomprehensibility of God, the mystery of mysteries whom we meet in a cloud of unknowing like Moses did on Mount Sinai. Though distinct, cataphatic and apophatic forms of prayer are profoundly comple- mentary. Centering Prayer, for example, can enhance one’s expe- rience of spoken prayer and overall faith commitment.

3. Keating has developed a conceptual framework of Centering Prayer called the divine therapy to offer an understanding of the classical spiritual path of purification that is accessible to today’s laity. He uses the jargon of popular psychology to unpack the spiritual insights of Thomas  Aquinas,  Teresa  of  Avila,  and St. John of the Cross in light of the modern theory of the uncon- scious and developmental psychology. This has helped many people incorporate the Christian spiritual tradition more easily into their twenty-first-century lives.

Thus, while Centering Prayer may promote deep relaxation as a side effect it does not stop there: the deep rest one experiences in the prayer encourages the healing of an individual’s emotional wounds of a lifetime through the purification of the unconscious. This process of purification is itself prayer, “not a preparation for the (divine) rela- tionship but the relationship itself,”15 leading to one’s true self in

 

God, as St. Paul describes, “It is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).

Those interested in a more extensive presentation of the divine therapy may reference Keating’s Intimacy with God as well as a lecture he delivered at Harvard Divinity School on The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation.16 As an individual progresses in a regular practice of Centering Prayer, both psychotherapy and spiritual direction may be supportive adjuncts in helping to integrate this transformational process. While Centering Prayer does not appeal to everyone because of its radically receptive method it is available to all who are attracted to it.

ACCOMPANYING PRACTICES

The positive effects of Centering Prayer are to be found not so much in the actual prayer period but rather in the transformation of one’s attitudes and behaviors in daily life. Friends and co-workers often notice these changes before the practitioner does, for example, greater peacefulness, patience, kindness, wisdom, compassion, and a desire to serve others. To help extend the effects of the prayer into daily life, several other spiritual practices have been elaborated by Contemplative Outreach to accompany a Centering Prayer practice.

1. Cultivation of Silence, Solitude, and Service

These traditional values of Christian monks are translated in practi- cal ways for lay people who live and work in the world. Silence means avoiding making a lot of noise when one is walking, sitting, or work- ing, and refraining from unnecessary chatter or gossip in order to be tranquil and open to God’s presence. Solitude is not a withdrawal from ordinary life but taking moments apart like Jesus did when he withdrew from crowds to be with God, for it is in solitude that God renews one. Contemplative service is prayer in action. It is comprised of forming an intention to be open to God’s will as the “why” of one’s activity at a business meeting, for example, teaching a class, or reach- ing out to the homeless; and paying attention to “how” one is doing the activity through listening and presence, which allows one’s rela- tionship with God to be developed at the contemplative level even as one is actively engaged.17

 

2. Lectio Divina

One of the classical sources of Centering Prayer is the monastic practice of lectio divina, Latin for “sacred reading,” characterized by four interwoven moments: lectio (reading), meditatio (reflecting), oratio (praying), contemplatio (resting). The process involves a deep listening from one’s heart to the word of God in scripture, leading to moments of simply resting in God, beyond words and thoughts.

Practitioners of Centering Prayer often use lectio divina as a way to end a prayer period. The quiet time spent in Centering Prayer pre- pares one to savor scripture, or even a poem, more deeply, either indi- vidually or in small groups. At the small prayer group at my parish, for example, we practice lectio divina for a half hour after a 20-minute Centering Prayer period. The scriptural passage is selected from the lectionary for the upcoming Sunday Gospel, linking the prayer prac- tice to participants’ overall worship life.18

3. Welcoming Prayer

The Welcoming Prayer is a nonsitting practice known as “consent on the go.” It describes a way to surrender to God in the present moment during the activity of daily life, inspired by the eighteenth-century spiritual classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence, by Jean-Pierre de Caussade. The method of the Welcoming Prayer includes noticing the feelings, emotions, thoughts, and sensations in one’s body, welcoming them, and then letting them go. Practicing the Welcoming Prayer helps a person respond instead of react to the present moment. I have found it to be useful in transforming inner turmoil to greater peace and accep- tance when I am emotionally upset. Here is the method:

• Focus, feel, and sink into the feelings, emotions, thoughts, sensa- tions, and commentaries in your body.

• Welcome the divine indwelling in the feelings, emotions, thoughts, commentaries or sensations in your body by saying, “Welcome, welcome, welcome.”

• Let go by repeating the following sentences:

“I let go of my desire for security, approval, and control.” “I let go of my desire to change this situation or person.”

• Repeat the prayer as often as you need it.

 

4. Active Prayer Sentence

The active prayer is also a nonsitting practice involving a phrase or short sentence drawn from scripture and comprised of five to nine sylla- bles, which one says aloud or silently in harmony with one’s heartbeat. Examples include, “O Lord, come to my assistance”; “Abide in my love”; “Jesus, my light and my love.” The advantage of repeating the active prayer phrase frequently during the day is that, “it eventually becomes a ‘tape’ similar to the ‘tapes’ that accompany one’s upsetting emotions. When this occurs, the aspiration has the remarkable effect of erasing the old tapes, thus providing a neutral zone in which common sense or the Spirit of God can suggest what should be done.”19

EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES

While extensive research exists on the health benefits of Eastern religious practices, only a small number of experimental studies have explored the bio-psycho-social correlates of Judeo-Christian prac- tices. Empirical research is beginning to emerge on the promising impact of Centering Prayer, exemplified in three instances:

1. The subtle but distinguishing feature of intention in Centering Prayer is being studied by Michael Spezio, a social neuroscientist at Scripps College and the California Institute of Technology. Spezio, who is also an ordained Presbyterian minister, is investi- gating the effects of Centering Prayer on the brain’s neural net- works, using magnetic resonance imaging and other methods to discover how the brain contributes to such complex activities as returning to one’s intention to be with the divine in Centering Prayer and how this compares to an attentive practice. Spezio’s hypothesis is that the brain activation in Centering Prayer is statis- tically different than an attentive practice. Experimental research is in progress.

2. A study funded by the Templeton Foundation and the Fetzer Insti- tute is investigating how involvement in spiritual practices such as Centering Prayer—and the lay communities that support them— influence people’s health, life, and well-being over a one-year period. The study, called the “Spiritual Engagement Project,” is directed by psychologists John Astin and Cassandra Vieten of the Mind-Body Medicine Research Group at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. It involves 50 practitioners of

 

Centering Prayer, as well as 100 practitioners from two other groups, Religious Science/Science of Mind, and Contemplative Non-Dual Inquiry.

3. A published study based on a doctoral dissertation by this author, in collaboration with Eleanor Willemsen, PhD, professor of psy- chology and advanced statistics at Santa  Clara University,  and May Lynn Castan˜ eto, a PhD candidate in psychology at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, reports the impact on Catholic parishioners (n = 15) of a three-month program focused on Cen- tering Prayer.20 The study explores the  connection  between health, stress, and the unconscious  using Keating’s paradigm of the purification of the unconscious and psychologist Richard Lazarus’s theory of stress.  It hypothesizes that a  regular practice of resting in the arms of a loving God may inspire an unburdening of emotional wounds from the past, which in turn may lower a per- son’s susceptibility to stress.

To test this hypothesis, participants received guidance in twice-daily Centering Prayer. The project used quantitative and qualitative mea- sures to assess the prayer’s effects. The quantitative measures included Kenneth Pargament’s Relationship-With-God Coping Styles (Col- laborative, Self-Directing, Deferring). Qualitative measures involved open-ended questionnaires and observation of participants by  the author and an interdisciplinary team. A comparison group of other parishioners (n = 15) filled out pre- and postmeasures but did not have a Centering Prayer experience.

The study concludes that participants in the first three months of their introduction to a twice-daily Centering Prayer practice experienced:

(a) Change in their style of relationship to the divine as measured by an increased Collaborative Style. The Collaborative Style is based on an interactive relationship with God that is consis- tent with Centering Prayer’s theological grounding where those praying establish an increasingly intimate relationship with God. It is associated with reduced stress and the greatest overall sense of well-being among the three styles.

(b) Healing of stress through the effects of this relationship, corroborated by qualitative results indicating signs of purifica- tion of the unconscious and positive coping behavior. For example, unexpected tears emerged “all of a sudden” for one participant—“I just needed to let go and let it flow.” Several

 

participants said thoughts “came up, and were let go,” of child- hood flashbacks and of people and events that they had not entertained in years.

Participants relayed that their detachment from thoughts during the prayer period also became a habit in daily life as they disengaged from reactive patterns of behavior with their children, co-workers, and spouses. This resulted in less conflict and greater intimacy in their interactions with others, which indicates an overall reduction in stress since interpersonal relationships are a  prime  source  of  source.21 For example, one participant reported the experience of a double awareness of her outward behavior on the one hand, and her inward, observing self, on the other: “I’m not as ‘engaged’ in my children’s dramas like I used to be. I can step back more, and if I do start arguing unproductively with my kids, I can catch myself sooner, and stop.”

Many of the participants found that in letting go of their expectations for stress relief or other goals, they were better able to relax by surren- dering to God, which brought them rewards beyond their expectations. This included a desire for a relationship with God in and of itself.

APPLICATIONS

It is primarily laity who practice the prayer and have found ways to share it in a variety of settings as church members and as psychothera- pists; volunteers in prisons and 12-step recovery workshops; health professionals in hospitals and educators in high schools, universities, and seminaries. Here are some examples:

TEACHING MODEL IN A UNIVERSITY CLASSROOM

Vincent Pizzuto, PhD, professor of theology and religious studies at the Jesuit University of San Francisco, teaches Centering Prayer in his semester-long course, “Mystery of God.” The course involves thirteen three-and-a-half-hour sessions that revolve around the theology of Keating with references to his inspiration from the scriptural and tradi- tional roots of Christian mysticism. Each class opens with a 10-minute Centering Prayer group practice. This is followed by lecture and dia- logue on required readings that include Keating’s books and texts by other authors such as Martin Laird’s Into the Silent Land and selections from Harvey  Eagan’s Anthology of Christian Mysticism. A series of

 

20-minute DVDs featuring interviews with Thomas Keating sets the weekly class themes of Centering Prayer, the human condition, the pur- suit of happiness, sin, suffering, redemption, Trinitarian love, divine indwelling, and divine transformation. The course also invites students to attend a day-long field trip in nearby Marin County to hike in meditative silence on nature trails leading to a mountaintop. The point of the trip is to get students away from cell phones and text messaging in order to experience nature as a sacred place to encounter the divine. Grading is based on class participation (40%), written critical reflec- tions on all of the readings (50%), and a final exam (10%) in which stu- dents are observed practicing Centering Prayer for 15 minutes in order to demonstrate their “skill set” of being able to quiet the body, mind, and emotions—to “be” instead of “do.” Students especially appreciated integrating Centering Prayer meditation into the classroom experience because it helped them experience the theological concepts and ideas that they were studying, and appropriate the course material on a deeper

level contributing to their own personal development and learning.

CENTERING PRAYER SUPPORT GROUPS

There are Centering Prayer groups worldwide to support individ- uals in the daily practice of the prayer. Most of them meet in churches, generally for an hour a week, but Centering Prayer groups also gather in prisons, hospitals, and other locations. Typically, groups range from 6 to 12 participants, with chairs arranged in a circle in a quiet place. Formats include a 20-minute period of Centering Prayer followed by either lectio divina (described above) or a walking meditation in which participants walk slowly and mindfully before returning to a second Centering Prayer period.

IN A PRISON

Prison outreach has been integral to the Centering Prayer movement for decades, currently involving 187 volunteers who teach contemplative prayer to inmates in 69 state, county, and federal prisons across the United States. Reduced recidivism and a lessening of violent behavior among inmates who practice Centering Prayer has been observed by prison staff, but firm statistics have not been compiled to corroborate this. Savario Mungo began volunteering in prisons after his retirement as a college professor. He now leads a Centering Prayer group attended

 

by 180 inmates of different ethnicities and religious backgrounds who gather each week and sit together in silence in the gym at the McConnell Prison Unit in Beeville, Texas: “It’s amazing how they respond to silence because it gets them away from the chaos. This is a private prayer they can do on their own.” Prisoners themselves have written about the inner freedom and healing they have found through a Centering Prayer practice.

IN A HOSPITAL

At Santa Fe’s Christus Saint Vincent Regional Medical Center, hospital chaplain Susan Rush leads a weekly Centering Prayer group on Wednesday evenings for patients, their caregivers, hospital staff, and the wider community.  Participants have found  the practice to be restorative on all levels in a hectic medical setting. The chaplain also teachers the prayer to her hospice patients: “In Centering Prayer, we consent to God’s presence and action within. In dying, it is the same consent, the very same surrender. We do the prayer in life, we become the prayer in death.” At the final stages of death, Rush does not teach Centering Prayer to patients, but through her own practice of the prayer she is able to extend to the dying her own compassionate and contemplative presence.

AS AN ADJUNCT IN PSYCHOTHERAPY

Len Sperry, clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at Florida Atlantic University, used Centering Prayer and other spiritual interventions in his treatment of a 45-year-old Roman Catholic woman with chronic depression and an eating disorder.22 The focus of the therapy was reducing the stressors related to the patient’s symptoms. Several spiritual disciplines were employed during the three-year psychotherapeutic treatment process, including Centering Prayer, a focusing body awareness practice, journaling, and participation in a faith community. Sperry attributes the spiritual practices to the quieting effect that helped derail his patient’s ruminative, internal mental chatter. At the beginning of therapy, the woman indicated that her image of God was, “judge and taskmaster .. . emotionally withholding, unsupportive, and critical.”23 By the end of therapy this image gradually changed to that of a “smiling, caring grandmother.”24 Her depression and eating disorder lessened considerably and she stopped taking antidepressants.

 

12-STEP RECOVERY

Contemplative Outreach offers Centering Prayer workshops for people in 12-Step Recovery groups. The 11th Step seeks “through prayer and meditation to increase our conscious contact with God.” Workshop presenters are people in recovery themselves, and their vocabulary is tailored to the culture of Alcoholics Anonymous, for example, surrendering to God as a Higher Power. The purpose is to integrate the 12 Steps with the Christian contemplative tradition of Centering Prayer in order to elaborate a journey of healing. Recom- mended further reading is Keating’s Divine Therapy and Addiction: Centering Prayer and the Twelve Steps.

CROSS-CULTURAL CONSIDERATIONS

While the method of Centering Prayer itself remains the same across cultures, it sometimes is contextualized differently depending on the country or denomination. For example, a Pentecostal pastor found that his congregation did not like the term Centering Prayer and so he renamed it “Abiding Prayer,” which they embraced. In France Center- ing Prayer is called Prier dans le Secret (Prayer in Secret).

The choice of language in conveying the theology of the prayer can be crucial in making it “tasty” enough to try, observes Hee-Soon Kwon, professor of pastoral care and counseling at the Methodist Theo- logical University in Seoul, Korea, where Kwon has offered Centering Prayer to seminary students and the wider community. Kwon consid- ered the first Korean translation of Open Mind, Open Heart to be abrasive to some South Korean Protestants because of its Catholic terminology. So she translated a second version with a Protestant sensibility. For example in South Korea, the Catholic name for God is “God in Heaven” (Hanunim), while the Protestant name is “Only One God” (Hananim).

At a workshop in the Philippines, Fr. Carl Arico, cofounder of Contemplative Outreach, remembers needing to use the affective practice of lectio divina first in order to engage participants in Centering Prayer; whereas in Great Britain, his audience preferred a more intel- lectual theological discussion of the prayer’s value before they warmed up to the prayer.

One has to be open-minded in teaching the prayer in order to meet people where they are, concludes Isabel Castellanos of Exten- sio´ n  Contemplativa  Internacional,  the  Spanish-speaking  arm  of

 

Contemplative Outreach. Latin America has a strong charismatic move- ment and sometimes people come to the Centering Prayer workshops looking for experiences when they begin the prayer: “ ‘I see these clouds and angels,’ they say. ‘Well if you see clouds and angels, you let them go and return to the sacred word,’ ” Isabel responds. “ ‘What?!’ ” partic- ipants incredulously ask. “Yes,” Isabel replies, ever so gently.

CONCLUSION

Centering Prayer is a form of Christian meditation that provides a practical way to rest in God in a hectic world and offers a psycho- spiritual healing paradigm that has been embraced by thousands of individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ethnicities, denominations, and countries. Centering Prayer’s ancient biblical and theological sources prove it to be an integral Christian practice that is easily acces- sible using four guidelines, with recommended accompanying daily practices. Promising empirical research into the prayer’s beneficial bio-psycho-spiritual effects include its healing impact on stress. The relevance of Centering Prayer to today’s world is shown in examples of its applications inside the church setting and outside in a university classroom, psychotherapeutic treatment plan, prison, hospital, and 12-Step recovery workshop.

The cross-cultural aspects of this prayer, while lightly touched upon in this chapter, open a vista to research that remains to be done in this area, for example, looking at the importance of cultural context in the appeal of beginning and sustaining a contemplative prayer practice. Another promising area is exploration of the similarities of the theologies that undergird the meditation practices of different mystical traditions, for example the emptying practices in Buddhist

S´ u¯ nyata¯, Jewish Ayin, and Christian Kenosis.25 What implications does

a shared experience of silence through different meditation methods have in healing a world broken by wars and theologies?

REFERENCES

1. For a scholarly treatment of the ancient origins of Christian mysticism, see McGinn, B. (2007). The foundations of Christian mysticism: Vol. 1. The presence of God: A history of Western Christian mysticism. New York: Crossroad. For a pas- toral treatment of the subject, see Arico, C. (1999). A taste of silence: A guide to the fundamentals of centering prayer. New York: Continuum.

 

2. Miles-Yepez, N. (Ed.) (2005). The common heart: An experience of interre- ligious dialogue (p. 41). New York: Lantern Books.

3. Kavanaugh, K., & Rodriguez, O. (Trans.) (1991). The collected works of St. John of the Cross (p. 645). Washington, DC: Institute of Carmelite Studies.

4. Keating, T. (1981). The heart of the world: An introduction to contemplative Christianity (p. 233). New York: Crossroad.

5. Catechism of the Catholic Church. (1997). 2nd ed. (pp. 651–652). United States Catholic Conference. Washington, DC: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

6. Bourgeault, C. (2008). The wisdom Jesus: Transforming heart and mind— a new perspective on Christ and His Message (p. 142). Boston: Shambhala.

7. Wong, J. (2005). The Jesus Prayer and inner stillness. Religion East and West, 5, 86.

8. Ibid., 88.

9. Swan, L. (2001). The forgotten desert mothers: Sayings, lives, and stories of early Christian women (p. 58). New York: Paulist Press.

10. Cassian, J. (1985). Conferences (pp. 123–124). C. Luibheid, Trans. New York: Paulist Press.

11. Keating, T. (1986). Open mind, open heart: The contemplative dimension of the Gospel (p. 43). New York: Continuum.

12. Keating, T. (1994). Intimacy with God (p. 68). New York: Crossroad.

13. Keating, T. (2008). A traditional blend. In Spirituality, contemplation, & transformation: Writings on centering prayer (p. 5). New York: Lantern Books.

14. Keating, T. (n.d.). The method of centering prayer: The prayer of consent. [Brochure]. Butler, NJ: Contemplative Outreach. Available online at http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/site/PageServer?pagename

=about_practices_centering.

15. Bourgeault, C. (2004). Centering prayer and inner awakening (p. 94). Cambridge: Cowley.

16. Keating, T. (1999). The human condition: Contemplation and transfor- mation. The Harold M. Wit Lectures, Harvard University Divinity School. New York: Paulist Press.

17. Frenette, D. (Speaker). (n.d.). Contemplative service: Intention/ attention. In The practices that bring the fruits of centering prayer into daily life (CD recording available at http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/site/ PageServer?pagename=store). Butler, NJ: Contemplative Outreach.

18. A brochure published by Contemplative Outreach outlining a format for both individual and group practice of lectio divina may be found online at http://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/site/PageServer?pagename

=about_practices_lectio.

19. Keating, Open mind, open heart (pp. 133–134).

20. Ferguson, J., Willemsen, E., & Castan˜ eto, May Lynn V. (2009). Centering prayer as a healing response to everyday stress: A psychological and spiritual process. Pastoral Psychology, DOI: 10.1007/s11089-009-0225-7. See also J. K. Ferguson. (2006). Centering prayer as a healing response to everyday

 

stress at a Roman Catholic parish in Silicon Valley. Unpublished doctoral disserta- tion, Pacific School of Religion, Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley.

21. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophic living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness (p. 368). New York: Dell.

22. Sperry, L. (2004). Integrative spiritually oriented psychotherapy: A case study of spiritual and psychosocial transformation. In P. Scott Richards (Ed.), Casebook for a spiritual strategy in counseling and psychotherapy (pp. 141–152). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

23. Ibid., 144.

24. Ibid., 146.

25. Cynthia Bourgeault is  exploring  the  similarities  of  contemplative prayer practices from different world religions in her work at Spiritual Paths Institute in Santa Barbara, California, http://www.spiritualpaths.net/.

 

CHAPTER 6

Contemplative Practices in Action 4] Daily Life: The Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation

 4] Translating Spiritual Ideals into Daily Life: The Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation

Tim Flinders, Doug Oman, Carol Flinders, and Diane Dreher

===

An inspirational passage turns our thoughts to what is permanent, to those things that put a final end to insecurity. In meditation, the inspirational passage becomes imprinted on our consciousness. As we drive it deeper and deeper, the words come to life within us, transforming all our thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds. (p. 48)1

Passage Meditation (PM) is an eight-point contemplative program whose foundational meditation practice is designed to help practitioners deepen their spirituality and manage the pressures of contemporary life by drawing directly upon the words and wisdom of the world’s spiritual traditions. A growing number of adherents across all the major faith tra- ditions use the PM program, as do many seekers who characterize themselves as “spiritual but not religious.” Together, the program’s eight tools constitute what Oman (this volume) calls a “fully integrated contemplative practice.”

In this chapter we will describe the historical development of PM, also known as the Eight-Point Program, outline its special features, and then describe the basic instructions for the practice of each of its eight points. The chapter will emphasize two particular strengths of PM. The first is PM’s appeal to seekers who draw inspiration from the saints and sages of their own religious traditions as well as perhaps

Table 4.1. Distinctive Features of the Eight-Point Program

Feature Explanation

Universal PM can be used by members of any religious faith, or by those who identify as “spiritual, but not religious.”

Comprehensive PM provides a comprehensive program for spiritual

living, offering a classical meditative practice with supporting tools for practitioners with families and careers.

Wisdom Based PM offers direct daily contact with the world’s wisdom

traditions.

from other traditions. Preliminary evidence suggests that PM fosters learning from spiritual wisdom figures such as the Psalmist, St. Francis, and the Buddha. We outline the psychological theory of spiritual modeling,2 which identifies ways that PM may support assimilating attitudes and wisdom embedded in the words of these revered figures.

The second strength we will emphasize is PM’s potential usefulness to educators, physicians, psychologists, caregivers, and other human ser- vice professionals who are increasingly called upon to respond to the diverse spiritual needs of their clientele. We will suggest that PM pro- vides significant added value to psychological or educational interven- tions, especially when set alongside more familiar professional resources such as mindfulness methods. In this way, PM may expand the ability of health and human service professionals to address more effectively the spiritual needs of diverse clientele. This added value is in part due to several of PM’s distinctive features highlighted in Table 4.1.

We then describe several controlled empirical studies of PM that suggest a wide range of benefits, including enhanced professional work skills, increases in empathy, forgiveness, and mindfulness, improved mental health, and substantial reductions in stress (see fuller reviews elsewhere).3,4 Finally, we describe several recent applications of the program among two highly stressed populations, workplace professionals and college students.

HISTORY AND CONTEXT

PM was first systematized and taught at the University of California– Berkeley, during the 1960s by Fulbright scholar Eknath Easwaran (1910–99), to support students entering professional life. Since that

 

Table 4.2. Eight-Point Program of Passage Meditation (PM) and Contemporary Challenges

PM Point Modern Challenges It Addresses

1. Passage Meditation Distraction, spiritual alienation

2. Mantram Repetition Negative thinking, chronic, obtrusive thoughts

3. Slowing Down Chronic hurry/“Hurry Sickness”a

4. One-Pointed Attention Compulsive multitasking/“Polyphasic thinking”a

5. Training the Senses Sensory overload, overconsumption

6. Putting Others First Self-absorption, egocentricity

7. Spiritual Association Social and spiritual isolation

8. Inspirational Reading Disillusion, pessimism

Total PM program Chronic stress, lack of meaning, lack of spiritual

growth

aQuotation marks show how this challenge was characterized in research on Type A Behavior Pattern.

time, thousands of practitioners of all religious faiths, as well as nonreli- gious seekers, have used PM throughout the United States and else- where to help them deepen their spirituality and manage the stresses of contemporary life with greater clarity and calm.5 The PM program has been used in college and seminary education,6 substance abuse recovery,7 and psychotherapy.8 Translations of PM instructional mate- rials by independent publishers appear in more than 20 languages in two dozen countries in North and South America, Europe, and Asia.9 But possibly because the appeal of PM cuts across and transcends the most common categories of religious and sectarian identity, it has only intermittently appeared on lists of popular meditation practices such as Transcendental Meditation, Vipassana, and Zen. Table 4.2 summarizes the eight points and places them alongside some major modern lifestyle challenges that each addresses.

PASSAGE MEDITATION PROGRAM

POINT 1—MEDITATION ON AN INSPIRATIONAL PASSAGE

Among contemporary forms of concentrative meditation, Passage Meditation may be unique in focusing attention on the words of inspirational passages, rather than on the breath (Vipassana), sounds (Transcendental Meditation), or brief spiritual phrases (Centering

 

Prayer). This feature of the program may help explain why PM has been used by members of all the major religious faiths traditions, including various branches of Protestant Christianity, Judaism, Roman and Eastern Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism.5 As such, the practice might be characterized as “multisectarian” in that many observant religious practitioners readily embed PM fully within their religious practice without conflict. Figure 4.1 presents sample passages from the world’s major religious traditions.

Since practitioners of PM may select their meditation passages from theistic or nontheistic sources (or both), many nonreligious seekers

Figure 4.1.  Theistic Inspirational Passages.

 

find PM especially appealing. Recent surveys show that as many as one-third of Americans place themselves in the category of “spiritual, but not religious,” rejecting traditional organized  religion  as  the sole means of furthering their spiritual growth.10 While they profess belief in a spiritual reality, many prefer nontheistic representations. Figure 4.2 shows examples of inspirational passages from nontheistic traditions that have been used in PM.

Figure 4.2.  Nontheistic Inspirational Passages.

 

While these brief instructions below are sufficient to begin the prac- tice of PM, those interested in a  more  detailed presentation  should look at Easwaran’s Passage Meditation: Bringing the Deep Wisdom of the Heart into Daily Life, the definitive description of PM.1

1. Memorize an inspirational passage from a scripture or major spiritual figure that is positive, practical, inspiring, and universal.

2. Choose a time for meditation when you can sit for half an hour in uninterrupted quiet. (It is not recommended to meditate for more than 30 minutes without personal guidance from an experi- enced teacher.) Sit with your back and head erect, on the floor or in a straight-backed chair.

3. Close your eyes and go through the words of an inspirational pas- sage in your mind as slowly as you can and with as much concentra- tion as possible. For instance, the first line from Rumi’s “A Garden Beyond Paradise” would be repeated like this: “Everything ... you ... see ... has its ... roots .. . in ... the .. . unseen .. . world .. . ” Concentrate on each word, without following any association of ideas or allowing your mind to reflect on the meaning of  the words. When distractions come, do not resist them, but give more attention to the words of the passage.

4. If your mind strays from the passage entirely, bring it back gently to the beginning of the verse and start again.

5. In time, develop a repertoire of inspirational passages to keep them from becoming automatic or stale. They may be selected from within a single religious tradition, or from several traditions.

TWO DIMENSIONS OF MEDITATING ON AN INSPIRATIONAL PASSAGE

Meditating on an inspirational passage has two dimensions, accord- ing to its developer: training attention and the absorption of spiritual content (pp. 12–13).1 When fused these dimensions make the practice transformational. Training attention is achieved by the discipline of returning the mind back to the words of the passage each time it becomes distracted. Over time, this develops a capacity for sustained concentration that can be used outside of meditation, to remain focused during interruptions, in times of emotional stress, and in making wise lifestyle choices.

 

The second dimension, content absorption, focuses on values- laden, inspirational passages. Popular practices like Vipassana or Transcendental Meditation have a concentrative dimension, but PM more systematically couples the power of focused attention to the spiritual content of wisdom-based inspirational passages. This does not occur by thinking about or reflection on the words of the passage, which, in PM, would constitute a distraction. Rather, as concentration on the words deepens, the values embedded within these passages from the world’s great sages, mystics, and seers become absorbed so that their values and qualities may become accessible in the lives of practitioners.

POINT 2—HOLY NAME (MANTRAM) REPETITION

To help practitioners refocus themselves during the day, repetition of a mantram is highly recommended. A mantram is a hallowed word or phrase that is silently repeated or chanted aloud; versions of this practice appear in all major spiritual traditions, both East and West.1,11 In PM, mantram repetition acts as a bridge for integrating the calm and clarity gained from sitting meditation into the remainder of the day. Unlike the sitting practice, the mantram can be invoked almost any- where, any time, at home or in the workplace, to help maintain clarity and wisdom. Such a portable practice is a core component of what Oman (this volume) calls an integral contemplative practice system, and is a key coping resource for those living in a fast-paced, highly com- petitive society. The following are instructions for using the mantram:

1. Choose a mantram that appeals to you (see Figure 4.3), from a traditional source that has been widely used over time (for a fuller discussion of mantram instructions, see Bormann, this volume.)

2. Repeat your mantram silently in the mind (“Rama, Rama, Rama” ... “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus”) as opportunities arise: while walking, waiting in line, stopped at a traffic light, while falling asleep, etc.

3. Remember to repeat your mantram in times of stress, to calm the mind when pressured by time urgency, or to interrupt negative thinking when angry or afraid.

Note that in PM, the mantram is not used during sitting meditation. Consequently, PM’s use of mantram repetition should be contrasted with other recent popularizations of mantram repetition, such as in

 

Figure 4.3. Selected Mantrams.

Tradition Mantram Meaning

Buddhist Om mani padme hum “The jewel in the lotus of the heart”

Christian Jesus

My God and my all (St. Francis of Assisi is reported to have used this.)

Hindu Rama

Om Bhavani “Joy” (Gandhi’s mantram) A mantram in honor of the Divine Mother

Jewish Barukh attah Adonai Ribono shel olam “Blessed are you, O Lord” “Lord of the universe”

Muslim Allah

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim “In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate”

Herbert Benson’s Relaxation Response, and in Transcendental Medita- tion. Contrary to PM, these methods use mantrams as the focus of sitting meditation practice. In PM, the mantram is used as a bridging tool between meditation on an inspirational passage (typically done in the early morning), and the remainder of the day.

Studies suggest that the use of a mantram at free times throughout the day is effective in decreasing stress, anger and anxiety (see Bormann, this volume).

POINT 3—SLOWING DOWN

In PM, Slowing Down denotes the practice of moving with care and deliberation through the day to minimize the stress caused by hurry and time pressures. It does not necessarily mean going slowly,  but rather setting priorities and limiting activities  so  as  not to  live  with the constant time urgency of contemporary life.  Excessive  time urgency not only undermines quality of life, but has been linked to coronary illness. For example, a recent 15-year longitudinal study of young adults (n = 3,142) found that the “time/urgency and impatience syndrome” was a “strong predictor” of developing hypertension. Another recent study (n = 340) found that a heightened sense of the time/urgency and impatience syndrome was associated with a dose- response increase in the risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction.12

 

The practice of Slowing Down includes looking at and adjusting daily patterns and habits that may contribute to increased time urgency, such as driving patterns, eating habits, responses to work- place pressures, and technology use. Recommendations for altering these patterns to a healthier lifestyle include setting a more relaxed pace by getting to work earlier, setting limits, and avoiding over scheduling. As such, Slowing Down may represent a buffer against the pressures of the time/urgency and impatience syndrome.

POINT 4—ONE-POINTED ATTENTION

In PM, the practice of One-Pointed Attention involves trying to do only one thing at a time, and giving it full attention. Suggestions for practicing One-Pointed Attention include not listening to the radio while driving or studying, and not checking e-mail while talking to someone on the phone. While this practice may appear counterintui- tive in a multitasking, workplace culture, it offers a way to remain cen- tered amid the continuous assault of interruptions that characterize contemporary life.

Multitasking has become a commonplace phenomenon of contem- porary life, especially in the modern workplace. Yet serious questions are increasingly being raised about its actual benefits (e.g., Gallagher, 2009).13 Recent research suggests, for example, that trying to do more than one thing at a time may, in fact, have adverse consequences on learning and efficiency. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activity, researchers in one recent study found that while multitasking participants’ learning was less flexible and less easily retrieved.14 Another study reported that “heavy media multi- taskers” who attend simultaneously to two or more media (e.g., phone, e-mail, print, etc.) performed “worse on a test of task-switching ability” and are “more susceptible to interference from irrelevant environmen- tal stimuli and irrelevant .. . memory” (emphasis added; p. 15583).15

Traditional Indian yoga stresses one-pointed concentration (ekagratha) as do certain forms of Buddhist meditation. One-Pointed

Attention and Slowing Down can be understood as the two primary dimensions of mindfulness, which work together to assist PM practi- tioners in staying focused and calm while managing competing demands and interruptions. Indeed, PM appears at least as effective for increasing mindfulness as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR),  according  to  evidence  described  later.16  Furthermore,

 

a recent randomized, controlled study of American veterans (n = 29) with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) combined PM man- tram repetition, Slowing Down, and One-Pointed Attention in a five- week intervention and found significant reductions in PTSD symptom severity, psychological distress, and increasing quality of life.17

POINT 5—TRAINING THE SENSES

Training the Senses directs practitioners to discriminate in lifestyle choices. It is not presented as a moral injunction, but as a corrective to compulsive behaviors like smoking, excessive drinking, and overeat- ing, which are strongly implicated by research in chronic conditions such as cancer and coronary illness.

The goal of Training the Senses is to develop a balanced lifestyle, in which we make wise and healthy choices in the foods we eat and the exercise we get, while avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking and overeating. Training the Senses also includes being discriminating in our entertainment choices. Some form of sense discrimination can be found in all major religious and contemplative systems, both East and West, and is referred to as the “Middle Path” in the Buddhist tra- dition. Such moderation can help support a contemplative practice, even as it promotes better health.

POINT 6—PUTTING OTHERS FIRST

Putting Others First encourages practitioners to move their concern and attention to the needs of others—family, colleagues, community, world—and away from serving only private self-interest. Putting Others First recasts into a contemporary formulation the early Christian concept of agape, universal love, as well as Buddhist metta, compassion.

Several decades of research have demonstrated the therapeutic value of helping others, showing positive relations between volunteerism and health, including increased longevity. A recent review suggested that the benefits of volunteering may be greatest when it is comple- mented by other practices, such as PM, that offer resources for coping with important life tasks.18

 

POINT 7—SPIRITUAL ASSOCIATION

Like Christian fellowship or the Buddhist Sangha, Spiritual Associ- ation emphasizes the importance of coming together on a regular basis with other PM practitioners to offer and receive support. Social support has long been recognized as a factor in both physical and psychological health, and is associated with longevity.19

POINT 8—INSPIRATIONAL READING

Daily spiritual reading from the world’s wisdom traditions is rec- ommended as a source of inspiration and motivation for PM practi- tioners. Lectio divina, for instance, is an ancient Christian devotional practice centered on reading and reflecting on scripture.

AN INTEGRATIVE PROGRAM

Each of the eight points has analogues in other traditional contem- plative systems as well as among contemporary practices (see Table 4.3). However, the PM points are not isolated protocols, independent of each other. Rather, as codified and used in PM, they are structurally integra- tive. They jointly reinforce each other in a web of supportive strategies that draw on the calm and clarity of meditation to help practitioners deepen their wisdom, and more effectively face the challenges of daily life. For example, in meditation, practitioners are instructed to repeat the words of the inspirational passage as slowly as they can, and with as much concentration as possible. Slowing Down and One-Pointed Attention replicate these interior practices during the day, supporting efforts in meditation to slow down and focus attention. The repetition of the mantram at moments of stress helps the mind refocus and regain some of the calm and clarity of meditation.

Some of the processes by which PM points complement each other are suggested by Oman’s (this volume) concept of four synergistic ele- ments that together comprise an integrated contemplative practice system.20 However, the developer of the PM program has described a wide range of additional processes by which PM points appear to complement each other.21 Some PM points are flexible tools for self- regulation and problem-focused coping;22 others help participants

 

Table 4.3. Elements of Easwaran’s PM and Similar Practices in Traditional Religion and Health Interventions

 

Element of PM

 

Similar Practices in Religious Traditions

 

Similar Existing Health Interventions

 

 

 

1. Meditation Raja Yoga, Kavvanah, Prayer

of the Heart, higher Lectio Divina

2. Mantram Jesus Prayer; Dhikr, Japa Yoga

 

Benson’s Meditation, Transcendental Meditation

Affirmations

 

3. Slowing Down     Right Mindfulness Treating Type A (alleviate

sense of time urgency); Mindfulness—informal practices

 

4. One-Pointed Attention

 

Right Mindfulness Treating Type A (avoid polyphasic thinking), Mindfulness—informal practices

 

5. Training the Senses

6. Putting Others First

7. Spiritual Association

8. Inspirational Reading

 

Pervasive (e.g., Middle Way in Buddhism; Temperance in Christianity)

Pervasive (e.g., “Love Thy Neighbor”; humility)

Pervasive (e.g., faith communities; scriptural study groups; Sangha)

Pervasive (e.g., scriptural study; preparatory Lectio Divina)

 

Pervasive (e.g., 12-Step programs)

Treating Type  A (be compassionate)

Social support, 12-Step programs

Reading sacred writings in counseling

 

 

draw on spiritual wisdom traditions to cultivate adaptive goals.23 Users sometimes state that PM helps them frame almost any situation as an opportunity for growth—for example, one reported that PM “can take any experience and work with it. it no longer has a static

presence—it’s clay in your hands to shape into something more.”24 Participants in one research study described 15 distinct ways  that PM points worked together to promote work effectiveness.25

INTERPRETATION: LEARNING FROM SPIRITUAL MODELS

One of PM’s distinctive features, noted earlier, is its systematic sup- port for assimilation of key elements of spiritual wisdom traditions.

 

Most distinctively, meditating on a passage supports assimilating the attitudes and perspectives of revered spiritual wisdom figures such as the Buddha, Jesus, and others. Inspirational Reading (Point 8) also supports learning from such spiritual models. An intuitive appreciation of these features may account for some of PM’s appeal across cultures and faith traditions. A recent review reported that among meditation- based health interventions, PM offered the highest level of support for learning from exemplars from spiritual wisdom traditions.26

Scientifically, the process of learning from exemplars is known as spiritual modeling, an extension of Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory (SCT), the most highly cited and widely applied theory in contemporary psychology. Bandura’s SCT helps illuminate from a scientific perspective how PM may foster spiritual growth through spiri- tual modeling. Spiritual and religious traditions have long recognized that “spirituality is caught, not taught.” But decades of SCT-guided research have extensively documented four major psychological processes that underlie all types of learning from human models of behavior: attention to the model, retention of information about the mod- el’s behavior and attitudes, reproduction of what is learned in behavior, and motivation to persist. By extension, Bandura and other psychologists have theorized that these same four processes underlie the effective transmission of spiritual behaviors and attitudes. Not surprisingly, therefore, evidence suggests that religious traditions have sought to foster these four processes throughout history (e.g., fostering retention through frequent repetition at worship services of key verses from scripture).2,10,27

These four modeling processes are also clearly evident in PM, which appears to foster them systematically. For example, memoriz- ing and meditating on an inspirational passage gives focused attention to the modeling information contained in the passage. Repeatedly meditating on the words builds retention. This, in turn, enhances the reproduction of the ideals in the passages during the day. Many passages also recount positive experiences that come to those who persist in spiritual practice, thereby supporting motivation to practice (“It is in giving that we receive”). Anecdotal evidence shows that meditation passages are sometimes recalled later in the day, in the midst of daily stressors, when they can facilitate improved coping and self-control.28 Passage Meditation’s support for spiritual modeling is corroborated

by controlled empirical research in college populations. A recent study reported that practicing PM enhances the influence and number of revered spiritual models, as well as one’s self-efficacy for learning

 

from spiritual models.6 Self-efficacy is a technical term for a person’s self-confidence for carrying out tasks in a particular skill domain, and is a central construct in Bandura’s SCT. Self-efficacy is typically among the strongest predictors of objective performance for any type of activity, and is increasingly used to evaluate programs for educa- tion, training, and behavioral modification.22 These documented gains in self-efficacy represent a pioneering application of Bandura’s theory to spirituality, and support PM’s theorized capacity to foster learning from spiritual models.

For this reason, we have argued that PM holds interest not merely as a health intervention,10 but as a model of a more general educational approach. That is, PM demonstrates a nonsectarian approach, feasible in appropriate settings in a pluralistic society, for reintegrating spiritual modeling into education and other human service professions. In what follows, we describe three applications of PM to educational settings— one for the continuing education of health professionals, and two for college undergraduates. We also describe research that documents beneficial impacts for stress reduction and gains in professional skills, forgiveness, mindfulness, and spirituality, and other outcomes. Fuller reviews of research on PM are available elsewhere.3,4

PM APPLICATION #1: WORKPLACE PROFESSIONALS

Health care workers, like many modern professional groups, often experience chronically high stress levels. Unfortunately, sustained stress experiences are a risk factor for accelerated rates of biological aging,29 as well as major chronic health conditions such as hypertension and coro- nary heart disease. Among health care professionals, stress has also been directly linked to problems ranging from depression, decreased job satisfaction, and disrupted personal relationships, to reduced concen- tration, impaired decision making, and poorer relationships with patients.30

Could training in Passage Meditation help hospital-based profes- sional caregivers to better manage the formidable stresses and challenges of their workplace? To study this question, an eight-week, 16-hour course was taught to health professionals in a large midwestern urban hospital. Study participants included nurses, physicians, chaplains, and other health care professionals who were randomly assigned to a

 

treatment group receiving PM classes (n = 27), or to a wait-list control group (n = 31).

Treatment group participants met together weekly in one large group. Part of each week’s activities took place in facilitated subgroups of six to eight persons. The classes emphasized using all eight points of PM to manage the challenges common to health care professionals with patient contact. Each weekly meeting lasted two hours, and included time for presentation, discussion, a break, and a group meditation.

Several outcomes of interest were measured using validated self- report questionnaires. All participants completed questionnaires on four occasions: prior to the beginning of the course, immediately after it concluded, 8 weeks later, and again 19 weeks after the course ended.

FINDINGS

The study found large and statistically significant reductions in stress which remained significant nearly five months after the course ended (see Figure 4.4a). Stress reductions were actually slightly larger eight weeks after the course ended than they were at postintervention, despite the lack of social support from the weekly classes. And at the 19-week follow-up assessment, nearly five months after classes ended, PM group reductions in perceived stress relative to the control group remained statistically significant. These stress reductions are quite large when compared with the effects seen in most intervention stud- ies, and the effects on stress were mediated (explained) by adherence to PM practices.30

The PM group also showed statistically significant benefits on sev- eral other outcome measures, in comparison with the control group. Mental health, assessed with a widely used scale, showed significant improvement, although changes were less dramatic than for stress.30 Smaller benefits, not statistically significant, were observed for burnout. But larger and statistically significant benefits for PM group participants were found for compassion31 (Figure 4.4b), empathy, forgiveness, and confidence in their professional caregiving skills (tech- nically called relational caregiving self-efficacy) (Figure 4.4c).32,25 All of these benefits were nearly fully retained at the final 19-week follow-up assessment.

These quantitative results were corroborated by semistructured inter- views with 24 of the participants (5 physicians, 12 nurses, and 7 others),

 

Figure 4.4. Effect of Passage Meditation Practice by Health Profes- sionals on (a) Stress, (b) Compassion, (c) Caregiving Self-Efficacy, and by College Students on (d) Forgiveness, in Comparison with Controls: Group Means Over Time.

an average of three months after the intervention. The interviews revealed that most participants could recount specific ways in which pro- gram points had helped them to be more effective in their work. For example, one caregiver reported:

I’ll tell you a couple of things that have happened to me recently from the [PM] Program. I’m more focused and I also feel like I’m making a conscious effort to look in people’s eyes so that I feel like they are hearing me and I’m hearing them. Recently someone said to me that my eyes show my compassion. So that

 

made it very real to me that I am coming across, that I do care. (p. 1129)25

Another said this about the mantram:

The mantram calms me down, slows me down and I feel that I can deal with whatever the situation is that got me upset. (p. 1129)25

PM APPLICATION #2: AN EIGHT-WEEK “STAND-ALONE” COLLEGE COURSE

Today’s college students cope with a variety of academic, social, and personal challenges that leave many of them feeling overwhelmed.16 Recently, undergraduates at a private university in California were taught PM in an eight-week course in which PM was taught along with spiritual modeling theory. Participants (n = 44) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group received PM training, a second group received training in MBSR, and a third control group was wait-listed. PM and MBSR groups were conducted concurrently, and each met over eight weeks for 90 minutes each week. Questionnaire self-report mea- sures were administered to all study participants immediately before and after the intervention, and eight weeks following its completion. Each week in the PM group, students were taught to use one or more of PM’s points, were familiarized with a prominent spiritual model, and participated in a 10- to 30-minute session of meditating on a passage. A detailed description of the PM course pedagogy has been published elsewhere.33

FINDINGS

For several outcomes, changes in PM and MBSR groups did not significantly differ from each other, suggesting very similar effects, and were pooled together in analyses of how they differed from controls. Compared to controls, the intervention groups showed significant reductions in stress and significant increases in the ability to forgive others (Figure 4.4d).16

PM and MBSR differences were also noted with regard to spiritual

modeling. Compared to controls, PM participants showed significant increases in self-efficacy for learning from famous/traditional spiritual models, the availability of pre-1900 spiritual models, and the influence

 

of famous/traditional spiritual models (these findings were mentioned earlier). Furthermore, the PM group gained significantly more than the MBSR group on these measures, and the MBSR group did not gain more than the controls. These findings were expected because of the higher support offered by PM for learning from spiritual models, especially traditional models.6

Interestingly, on a measure of mindfulness, the PM group showed

slightly larger gains than the MBSR group, which itself gained substan- tially in comparison to controls (Figure 4.5). According to the research- ers, findings suggest that “mindfulness ... can be trained through a variety of different practices that differ in ... level of explicit emphasis on mindfulness” (p. 858).34 These findings hold important implications, since mindfulness methods have recently inspired a variety of effective psychological interventions. Apparently benefits associated with mind- fulness need not be obtained only from Buddhist-derived mindfulness practices; these findings suggest that such benefits might equally be derivable from methods, such as PM, that draw spiritual content from other sources, including Western faith traditions.

Figure 4.5. Changes in Mindfulness Over Time for College Students Trained in Passage Meditation (PM), in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and for Controls (Cx).

 

PM10APPLICATION #3: PM EMBEDDED WITHIN

Along with experiencing enhanced stress, U.S. college students have become increasingly anxious, depressed, and uncertain about what to do with their lives.35 In response, a private California univer- sity in 2006 developed a 10-week academic course, English 189: Voca- tion. Offering ongoing support from PM along with role models from Renaissance lives and guest speakers,6 the course fulfills both English major and core religious studies requirements, attracting a wide range of students annually. This successful course demonstrates how PM can make a valuable contribution at the heart of liberal arts education. Easwaran’s Passage Meditation is used as the primary course text,

along with Dreher’s Your Personal Renaissance, which presents a pro-

cess for vocational discernment blending passage meditation with research from Renaissance biography and positive psychology. Several other historical and literary texts are also used.1,36

On the first day of class, after introductions and a short lecture, students begin their meditative practice, as described in Chapter 1 of Passage Meditation. They spend 10 minutes silently meditating on the first four lines of the Prayer of St. Francis, followed by time for ques- tions and comments. They are then assigned to read the first chapter of Passage Meditation and memorize the St. Francis prayer or another passage from their own spiritual tradition. For the rest of the quarter, they practice daily passage meditation, starting with 10 minutes and working up to 30 minutes a day, recording their experience in para- graph assignments.

In the second class, students practice PM, discuss their practice and readings on vocation, and select one Renaissance biography for their research paper and oral report from a list that includes St. Teresa of Avila, Leonardo da Vinci, John Milton, and Sor Juana Ine´s de la Cruz. The paper is due at the end of the term, along with a personal vocation narrative.

Each class begins with 10 minutes of passage meditation. Classes include regular check-ins with a professor who follows PM, offering personal insights and time for students’ questions.37 Throughout the course, students learn and practice each of the eight points, discuss them in class, and write about their experience. They read chapters in Your Personal Renaissance about discovering their gifts, detaching from distractions, discerning their values, and charting their direction,

 

while learning about how Renaissance role models, such as John Donne, St. Teresa of Avila, and St. Ignatius Loyola, used meditation to discern their vocations.

During the second week, students read about vocation, learn about how Giotto, Cimabue, and Botticelli discovered their gifts, look for parallels in their own lives, and take a survey to discover their gifts.38 In the third week, students review Chapter 1 of Passage Meditation, and consult the description of PM at www.Easwaran.org, another sup- portive guide for their practice. They read about da Vinci and other Renaissance artists, and learn about a guest speaker’s spiritual journey. During the fourth week students read Chapter 2 of Passage Meditation,

learn about using the mantram to relieve stress (see Bormann, this volume), then select and begin using their own mantram. They also learn about detachment, reading meditations by Traherne and Marvell. In the fifth week, students take a midterm on course readings and concepts. Then they focus on Chapter 3 of Passage Meditation, “slowing down,” along with reading on discernment and the life of St. Ignatius Loyola. The sixth week focuses on Chapter 4 in Passage Meditation, “one- pointed attention,” the search for direction, John Donne’s struggle, and the spiritual journey of another guest speaker. The seventh week focuses on Chapters 5 and 6 in Passage Meditation, “training the senses,” and “putting others first,” and the life and sonnets of Michelangelo.

During weeks eight and nine, students read Chapters 7 and 8 in Passage Meditation, focusing on “spiritual association” and “inspirational reading,” learn about the lives of George and Magdalen Herbert, and give their oral reports. In the tenth week, they meet individually with their professor for conferences on course papers. Course portfolios (research paper, personal vocation narrative, and final paragraphs) are due at the end of the week.

The final grade is based on the midterm, paragraphs, oral report, class participation, research paper, and personal vocation narrative. The daily paragraphs (written for each class period) provide a conven- ient means to assess student progress in their PM practice. For the personal vocation narrative, a grading rubric with key concepts and expectations helps students relate course lessons to their own lives.

OUTCOMES

Numerical evaluations for English 189 are high, averaging 4.7 on a 5-point scale. Student comments in paragraphs and narrative

 

evaluations reveal their appreciation for PM, which provides valuable tools for dealing with stress as well as a common culture and vocabu- lary to support students’ quest for vocation.

Although initially some students found it difficult to meditate, after a few weeks most looked forward to their daily meditation, finding peace and comfort in their practice. They appreciated the 10-minute medita- tion before each class, even requesting it the day of the midterm. Some students sought further meditation opportunities, joining a student- faculty Wednesday evening meditation group. Students repeatedly referred to “hurry sickness,” realizing when they needed to slow down, and reported that the mantram helped them deal with exam stress and to get to sleep at night. Many also found spiritual models in the course through PM, the guest speakers, and Renaissance lives.

CONCLUSIONS

We have suggested that PM’s use of inspirational passages from the world’s wisdom traditions gives it a distinctive appeal to many reli- gious and nonreligious spiritual seekers. PM appears unique among nonsectarian contemplative practices in its systematic support for learning from spiritual models, especially revered saints, sages, and founders. The inspired deeds and words (Figures 4.1 and 4.2) of such revered spiritual models represent a global legacy that many modern seekers continue to find relevant. The PM program’s support for learning from such models provides potentially important “added value” not only to individual seekers, but also to health and human service professionals who are increasingly called upon to respond to the diverse spiritual needs of their clientele.

We have described several applications of the PM program, includ- ing two educational courses for college undergraduates, as well as a continuing education course for health professionals. We outlined empirical research findings that confirmed that these PM-based courses helped participants to draw upon their spiritual resources to manage the challenges of the workplace and of college life with more clarity, resolve, and compassion. Benefits were promising and some- times dramatic. Stress reductions could plausibly translate into better physical health and longer life.29 Yet much remains to be discovered about how the PM program may be applied in other educational, health, and human service  settings.  Can  PM  support  diabetics and other chronic-disease victims in adhering to lifesaving health

 

behaviors, despite the stresses and distractions of  modern  life? Can PM assist business executives to recover a spiritually grounded sense of purpose in the midst of challenging and stressful careers (see Delbecq, this volume)? Do PM-based courses offered through colleges or other organizations foster increased cross-cultural and interfaith understanding?

Because of its nonsectarian character, its comprehensive set of tools, its support for direct engagement with spiritual wisdom traditions, and its appeal to diverse populations, PM warrants careful consideration from all human service professionals, including caregivers, campus health services, and educators.

REFERENCES

1. Easwaran, E. (2008). Passage meditation: Bringing the deep wisdom of the heart into daily life (3rd ed.). Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press. Full text also online at http://www.easwaran.org.

2. Bandura, A. (2003). On the psychosocial impact and mechanisms of spiritual modeling. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13, 167–174.

3. Flinders, T., Oman, D., & Flinders, C. L. (2007). The  eight-point program of passage meditation: Health effects of a comprehensive program. In T. G. Plante & C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science and health: How the spiri- tual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 72–93). Westport, CT: Praeger.

4. Flinders, T., Oman, D., & Flinders, C. L. (2009). Meditation as empow- erment for healing. In J. H. Ellens (Ed.), The healing power of spirituality (Vol. 1, pp. 213–240). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

5. Two of the authors (Tim Flinders and Carol Flinders) have presented PM workshops over several decades to thousands of individuals observant in every religious tradition. The website www.easwaran.org lists over 100 current PM fellowship groups around the world.

6. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Flinders, T., Driskill, J. D., & Plante, T. G.  (2007).  Learning  from  spiritual  models  and  meditation: A randomized evaluation of a college course. Pastoral Psychology, 55, 473–493.

7. AA Meditators (n.d.). Passage meditation & the eleventh step: The method of meditation developed by Eknath Easwaran [booklet, 24 pages]. http://www

.meditationandrecovery.org (accessed December 13, 2009).

8. Plante, T. G. (2009). Spiritual practices in psychotherapy: Thirteen tools for enhancing psychological health. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

9. Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish. Asian languages: Bahasa Indonesian,

 

Chinese (PRC), Chinese (Taiwan), Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Malayalam (India), Marathi (India), Telugu (India).

10. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2007). How does one learn to be spiri- tual? The neglected role of spiritual modeling in health. In T. G. Plante &

C. E. Thoresen (Eds.), Spirit, science and health: How the spiritual mind fuels physical wellness (pp. 39–54). Westport, CT: Praeger.

11. For holy name repetition through the day in  Christianity,  see Oman, D., & Driskill, J. D. (2003). Holy name repetition as a spiritual exercise and therapeutic technique. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 22, 5–19.

12. Cole, S. R., Kawachi, I., Liu, S., Gaziano, J. M., Manson, J. E., Buring, J. E., & Hennekens, C. H. (2001). Time urgency and risk of non-fatal myocardial infarction. International Journal of Epidemiology, 30(2), 363–369.

13. Gallagher, W. (2009). Rapt: Attention and the focused life. New York:

Penguin Press.

14. Foerde, K., Knowlton, B. J., Poldrack, R. A., & Smith, E. E. (2006). Modulation of competing memory systems by distraction. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103, 11778– 11783.

15. Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106, 15583–15587.

16. Oman, D., Shapiro, S. L., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders,

T. (2008). Meditation lowers stress and supports forgiveness among college students: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American College Health, 56, 569–578.

17. Bormann, J. E., Thorp, S., Wetherell, J. L., & Golshan, S. (2008). Spiritually based group intervention for combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: Feasibility study. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 26, 109–116.

18. Oman, D. (2007). Does volunteering foster physical health and lon- gevity? In S. G. Post (Ed.), Altruism and health: Perspectives from empirical research (pp. 15–32). New York: Oxford University Press.

19. Taylor, S. E. (2007). Social support. In H. S. Friedman & R. C. Silver (Eds.), Foundations of health psychology (pp. 145–171). New York: Oxford University Press.

20. Oman (this volume) defines an “integrative contemplative practice system” as including (1) set-aside  time  for  attention  training  practice (e.g., sitting meditation), (2) cultivation of character strengths or virtues (e.g., Putting Others First), (3) centering practices for use throughout the day (e.g., the mantram), and (4) learning from spiritual models.

21. Easwaran published an extensive set of practical commentaries on Western and Eastern spiritual figures and scriptures. Many describe ways that PM points are complementary tools for coping with challenges of daily living and spiritual growth. His most comprehensive discussion is the Bhagavad Gita for Daily Living (1977–1984, 3 vols., Tomales, CA: Nilgiri Press).

 

22. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

23. Sheldon, K. M., Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., & Kasser, T. (2004). The independent effects of goal contents and motives on well-being: It’s both what you pursue and why you pursue it. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 475–486.

24. Anonymous (2008). Life persists. Blue Mountain, 19(4), 7. (This journal, at http://www.nilgiri.org/page/140, regularly publishes anecdotal accounts of PM coping and results.)

25. Oman, D., Richards, T. A., Hedberg, J., & Thoresen, C. E. (2008). Passage meditation improves caregiving self-efficacy among health profes- sionals: A randomized trial and qualitative assessment. Journal of Health Psychology, 13, 1119–1135.

26. Oman, D., & Beddoe, A. E. (2005). Health interventions combining meditation with learning from spiritual exemplars: Conceptualization and review. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 29, S126.

27. Oman, D., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spiritual modeling: A key to spiritual and religious growth? International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 13, 149–165.

28. For example, see an account of improved automobile driving after remembering a passage: Anonymous. (2008). “Finding peace on the road.” Blue Mountain, 19(1), 12.

29. Epel, E., Daubenmier, J., Moskowitz, J. T., Folkman, S., & Blackburn,

E. (2009). Can meditation slow rate of cellular aging? Cognitive stress, mind- fulness, and telomeres. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1172, 34–53.

30. Oman, D., Hedberg, J., & Thoresen, C. E. (2006). Passage meditation reduces perceived stress in health professionals: A  randomized,  controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 714–719.

31. Changes were observed in a measure of “compassionate  love,” a form of “other-focused” love or concern that is the subject of an emerging scien- tific research field—see Fehr, B. A.,  Sprecher,  S.,  &  Underwood,  L. G. (2008). The science of compassionate love: Theory, research, and applications. Malden, MA: Blackwell.

32. Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., & Hedberg, J. (2010). Does passage meditation foster compassionate love among health professionals? A ran- domized trial. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 13, 129–154. DOI: 10.1080/13674670903261954.

33. Oman, D., Flinders, T., & Thoresen, C. E. (2008). Integrating spiri- tual modeling into education: A college course for stress management and spiritual growth. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 18, 79–107.

34. Shapiro, S. L., Oman, D., Thoresen, C. E., Plante, T. G., & Flinders,

T. (2008). Cultivating mindfulness: Effects on well-being. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64, 840–862.

 

35. Twenge, J. M. (2000). The age of anxiety? Birth cohort change in anxi- ety and neuroticism, 1952–1993. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 1007–1021.

36. Additional course texts include Dreher, D. E. (2008). Your personal renaissance: 12 steps to finding your life’s true calling. New York: Da Capo; Vasari, G. (1998). The lives of the artists. J. C. Bondanella & P. Bondanella (Trans.). New York: Oxford University Press (originally published 1550); Perkins, W. (1970). A treatise of the vocations or callings of men. In I. Breward (Ed.), The work of William Perkins (pp. 441–476). Abington, Berkshire, England: Sutton Courtenay Press (originally published  1603);  Hardy,  L. (1990). The fabric of this world. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

37. As Kabat-Zinn explains, the support of an experienced meditator is vital when learning a new contemplative practice: Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice, 10, 144–156.

38. The VIA-IS survey, based on Peterson, C., &  Seligman,  M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification. New York: Oxford University Press, is available online at http://www.authentichappiness

.org, and also in Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New York: Free Press.

 

CHAPTER 5