Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     vi
Abbreviations     xi
Introduction     xv
The Beginnings of Centering Prayer     1
What is "Silent Prayer"?     4
Healing and What Needs to he Healed     6
The False Self     7
Growing in Consciousness     19
Reptilian or Uroboric Consciousness     20
Typhonic Consciousness     21
Mythic Membership Consciousness     23
Mental-Egoic Consciousness     27
Original Sin     30
Centering Prayer and Contemplative Prayer     35
The Practice of Centering Prayer     40
The Afflictive Emotions     48
Consent and Growing Up     54
The Night of Sense and Spirit     59
The Struggle with Cultural Conditioning     69
The Night of Spirit     71
The Transforming Union     78
The Influence of the Desert     81
Evagrius Ponticus     85
John Cassian     93
John Climacus     99
The Cloud of Unknowing     105
Contemplation as a Work of Love     105
The Method of Prayer     106
A Contradiction?     109
The Question of Healing     111
Lectio Divina     115
Meditation East and West     123
Zen Buddhism     125
Transcendental Meditation     136
What the Church Teaches     143
St. Teresa of Avila     151
Four Ways of Watering a Garden     154
Prayer of Simplicity or Acquired Recollection     162
The Prayer of Quiet     163
The Way of Perfection     170
The Interior Castle     175
The Fruits of Union     181
St. John of the Cross     185
The Living Flame of Love     187
The Ascent of Mount Carmel     195
The Dark Night     209
Fruits of the Dark Night     214
The Transforming Union     220
Centering Prayer and the New Age     225
The New Age     225
Keating's Teachings and the New Age     229
More Objections     235
"Is Centering Prayer Contemplation?"     236
"The Danger of Centering Prayer"     247
Prayer and Everyday Life     251
Practical Application     251
The Need for the Experience of Prayer     258
The Training of Priests     260
Charismatic Renewal     264
A Word on Ecumenism     267
The Question of Healing     269
The Spiritual Aspect of Healing     270
The Psychological Aspect of Healing     273
Conclusion     281
Select Bibliography     306