Rich Lewis is the author of Sitting with God, and he discusses how centering prayer can help you find clarity in purpose and connection every day.
Table of Contents
Centering Prayer
Connection is something that we are designed to need. Humans are social beings. We are also spiritual beings. Therefore, there is an innate desire within us to be connected with other people and with a higher power.
This show has tackled how to have connections and relationships with other people throughout the years. It’s rare that we’ve tackled the subject of how to have a connection with God. We’ve mentioned prayer and “taking it to God,” but we have never talked about how to have that sense of connection with Him until now.
Rich Lewis is a speaker, author, and coach, who began the practice of centering prayer in 2014. Rather than Rich taking the time to speak to God on all the things he wants in life, the things he is grateful for, to praise God, or to cry out to Him, centering prayer is about shutting up and letting God do the talking.
For someone like myself who is easily distracted by squirrels, this can be a challenge. Rich will share insights on how to keep yourself centered during this time, and how often you can perform this practice.
Rich and I also discuss the topic of dual thinking, its limitations, and how centering prayer can open you up to non-dual thinking leading to more possibilities and solutions.
Centering prayer has been around for a while
Centering prayer is a practice that goes back to the 14th Century. The practice was rediscovered by a Trappist monk named Father William Meninger. He found joy in its practice and saw it as a way for laypeople (non-clergy) to have a connection with God on a level not experienced in a long time. Father William began teaching others how to create time for contemplation by communing with God through centering prayer.
Centering prayer is about getting in tune with the presence of God. His kids were doing this with him at the beginning because they wanted to be in their father’s presence while also connecting to the Father’s presence!
In This Episode
Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode:
- What is contemplative or centering prayer?
- How is centering prayer different from “traditional” or “normal” prayer?
- What introduced Rich Lewis to the practice of centering prayer?
- How has adding centering prayer changed your own life?
- What is a good amount of time to dedicate to a “sit” if you’re new to contemplative prayer
- The prayer examples demonstrated by Jesus
- Leveraging prayer to know what to let go of that’s not important
- Using centering prayer to recharge during the workday
- Dual thinking versus non-dual thinking
Rich Lewis – Sitting with God
RICH LEWIS is an author, speaker, and coach who focuses on centering prayer as a means of inner transformation. He teaches centering prayer in both his local and virtual communities and offers one-on-one coaching. He publishes a weekly meditation, book reviews, and interviews on his site, Silence Teaches.
He has published articles for a number of organizations, including Contemplative Light, Abbey of the Arts, Contemplative Outreach, EerdWord, In Search of a New Eden, the Ordinary Mystic at Patheos, and the Contemplative Writer.
Rich has been a daily practitioner of Centering Prayer since June 1, 2014. Centering prayer has been so life-giving and life-changing that he feels compelled to share his journey with others who wish to learn more. Rich resides with his family in Ambler, Pennsylvania. Learn more about him at www.SilenceTeaches.com.
Resources and Links
Book: Sitting with God: A Journey to Your True Self Through Silent Prayer
Listen to these past episodes:
Reina Rose on Nourishing the Soul in an Empty World – BtR 284
Blog Post: The Morning Routine That Gives You the Advantage to Succeed for the Day
How to Find that Extra Time for Your Own Miracle Morning – BtR 137
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Episode Credits
Host, Editing, and Production: Jerry Dugan
Music: “Oceans Apart” is our theme song composed and performed by Scott Ian Holmes.
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