Centering prayer was developed in the 1970s by the Trappist monks Thomas Keating, William Meninger and Basil Pennington, drawing on The Cloud of Unknowing and the desert tradition. The practitioner consents to God’s presence and action, returning gently to a chosen sacred word whenever aware of thoughts.
Centering prayer
A modern method of silent contemplative prayer using a sacred word, developed from The Cloud of Unknowing.